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ERA – AIMS AND ASPIRATIONS

ERA (Eurobodalla Ratepayers Action) candidates undertake to:

1. Represent the ratepayer, not Council management; TO TAKE BACK THE COUNCIL FOR THE COMMUNITY by ensuring that:
• Processes are transparent and open
• The process is correct
• Councillors, as the community’s representatives, are more involved in Council decision making
• Community volunteers are to be cherished and encouraged with more control given back to volunteer community groups
• Dictatorships are dead; the customer is right – in fact the customer is right until proven otherwise, not the other way around

2. Create a ‘CAN DO’ Council. “How can we help?” will become the staff mantra; a change of culture by providing a prominent, accessible, dedicated problem solving pathway for ratepayers and others with a goal of same day resolution and a bias for resolution in favour of the client.

3. Empower staff by listening to and, more importantly, acting upon their input, especially those at the “coal face”. To ensure that the staff have good management.

4. Obtain a plain English description of the current financial position of ESC with a view to an independent external review of Council.

5. Ensure no pay rises, bonuses, cars to be even considered for senior management outside of the required contractual obligations until ALL of the above criteria have been met.

Written and authorised by C. Klippan for ERA: 58 Beach Rd, BATEMANS BAY 2536

Read our latest Election newsletter

EUROBODALLA RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION

ERA supporter Milton Leslight of Beaches and Bush Properties has requested that we put the letter and concerns he has written to Mr. Hazzard regarding the LEP on our website --- hoping a wider audience might see it.

It is his considered view that the impending changes to local councils’ controls and the implementation of the proposed LEPs is creating a vacuum within our State

Click here for his Letter and Here for his list of concerns

Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association Press Release -16 July 2012

EUROBODALLA RATEPAYERS DISAPPOINTED WITH MINISTER'S APPROVAL OF "SWISS CHEESE" LOCAL ENVIRONMENT PLAN

The Minister for Planning, Brad Hazzard, has approved the controversial and incomplete Eurobodalla Local Environment Plan 2011. This plan, which introduces inaccurate environmental overlays, excludes areas of rural land wrongly assigned an E3 zoning by Eurobodalla Shire Council staff.

Gary Smith, deputy chair of Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association (ERA), commented:

"It is disappointing that the Minister did not listen to the people of Eurobodalla Shire and direct the council to finish the LEP. Many rural land owners will now have a patchwork of both old and new zonings on their land and will have to live with the practical difficulties and uncertainty this creates."

"The shire's rural zoning plan is now like Swiss cheese - full of holes and on the nose!"

"The development of the LEP has been plagued by delay, poor management, inadequate direction by the mayor and councillors and a failure to listen to the people. The E3 zoning and overlay problems, which first emerged in 2009, should have been fixed by now. Andrew Constance, the Member for Bega, has been tireless in speaking up for the community by pursuing council on this particularly poor piece of governance."

"In the circumstances it is vitally important that the new Rural Land Strategy Steering Committee, to be chaired by Ian Armstrong, considers, as its first priority, E3 zoning and the misuse of poor quality environmental overlays. The ERA would like to see Mr Armstrong's report on these matters with the Minister by November."

Mr Smith concluded: "Failure to deliver an integrated LEP acceptable to the community after ten year' work is this council's legacy. Let's hope that the councillors elected in September have the competence and commitment to finish the plan in line with the community's wishes."

ENDS

Media inquiries: Greg Malavey

Read The Ministers press Release here

PRESS RELEASE

June 20th, 2012

EUROBODALLA RATEPAYERS DISAPPOINTED IN PAUL ANDERSON’S REAPPOINTMENT

Eurobodalla's under-performing Council has just committed about $2.5million of ratepayers funds with a new employment contract for its general manager, Mr Paul Anderson, for a further 5 years. While the decision has expensive and long term consequences for all of the shire it was taken in secret.

The terms of Mr Anderson’s new contract have not been disclosed. Information about which Councillors supported this travesty is hidden.

"Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association is extremely disappointed by the way Mr Anderson’s reappointment was handled” commented Geoff Plews, Chair, Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association. "Councillors failed to determine whether more capable candidates were available and the decision is very inappropriately timed, with Council elections in September. This short-sighted decision unnecessarily burdens ratepayers with heavy compensation liabilities if future Councillors require a general manager who can deliver the level of performance Eurobodalla desperately needs."

“This general manager's performance over the past four years has been unsatisfactory in too many areas. Staff surveys and consultants reports reveal council's 480 staff are poorly managed. And an independent survey conducted by council shows that council’s relations with the community are extremely poor. Uproar over mismanagement of the local environment plan is just one of many examples."

“Mr Anderson has had little impact on the introspective and secretive culture of the organization. Nor has he put council in a strong financial position to face future challenges. The new 10 year financial plan shows a long string of future operating deficits, ever increasing rates and charges, and no clear strategy to return council’s budget to balance."

“Yet again Eurobodalla Shire has failed to convince Commonwealth and State authorities that this Council would use a proper share of infrastructure funding as efficiently as competing councils. Private sector investors are bypassing the shire, local businesses are failing rapidly, property values are declining and many residents must search for employment outside the shire.”

"The surprise announcement attempts to justify council's decision with vague references to the general manager's commitment, some matters he has overseen and assorted activities. Dubious credit is claimed for a continuous improvement program. Not one tangible achievement is listed after four years at the helm of the shire."

“Eurobodalla ratepayers will benefit only when councillors are able to recognise the difference between activity and achievement, with real, measurable, on the ground improvements in roads, health services and appropriate environment protection”, concluded Mr Plews.

EUROBODALLA RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION

20 June 2012

Media inquiries: Greg Malavey: 0428 428 869 Geoff Plews: 0409 662 869

May 29th - ERA endorses the community push seeking funding for the upgrading of the Kings Highway

The ERA also acknowledges that the ESC has also completed an excellent submission to the Kings Highway Safety Review 2012.

We have provided a copy of A Letter to the Community- Kings Highway Urgent Upgrade on our website for members consideration and support this iniative as well as the ESC submission

May 16th - the May edition of ERA News is out now

Letters to the Editor Bay Post
16 May, 2012
Let the new councillors decide

Eurobodalla Shire Council is considering the general manager’s request for an extension of his employment contract.

At this stage the process is secret and expressions of interest from other executives have not been sought.

Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association believes that the general manager’s position should be opened to competition and the appointment decision made after September’s election by the incoming council.

Councillors are obliged under Section 232 of the Local Government Act to ensure that the best value is obtained for ratepayers’ money in all council contracts. If the appointment of the shire’s chief executive is done secretly, in the absence of competition, current councillors are unlikely to judge objectively whether Mr Anderson’s performance warrants a lengthy extension of his term.

After all, they have taken little action in response to the findings contained in consultants’ reports and reinforced recently in

the extraordinary levels of community dissatisfaction with council’s performance revealed in Micromex survey research.

New councillors will be able to bring fresh eyes and wider community consultation to whether Mr Anderson has contributed significantly to improving council’s financial position, service provision, its standing in the community, its progress in planning and development and its relations with other levels of government.

In any event, it is in the community’s interest that the market is tested every five years or so to identify the availability of other executives attracted to the high salary and the challenges of managing the change so clearly necessary at council.

Geoff Plews, Chair, Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association

May 8th - This letter has been sent to Minister Hazzard and others via the Eurobodalla Ratepayers (ERA)

May 1st 2012 LEP Petition

Huge vote of NO Confidence in ESC LEP
5101 ratepayers and friends say NO

The petition saying NO the ESC draft LEP was handed to Andrew Constance last Friday. At 5101 signatures it is the largest petition ever to come out of this Shire and underpins the community’s views on Council’s inept handling of the LEP.... read more here

April 24th, 2012 ERA Meeting with Neil McGaffin
Department of Planning and Infrastructure
Executive Director Planning Operations

Read the SUMMARY OF RESIDENT CONCERNS WITH EUROBODALLA SHIRE
DRAFT LOCAL ENVIRONMENT PLAN letter presented to Neil McGaffin by ERA represenatives

Council advertises new Director Position
Note the adjoining advert - the irony
How many of those depressed are because of ESC?

13 April 2012 Weyman statue confuses pedestrians
Pay Post BY KERRIE O’CONNOR

Gary Smith has no problem with the new statue of footballer Michael Weyman, but says he and others are still scratching their heads as to why it was installed in the middle of a busy Moruya pathway. "If council can’t manage these little things, how can they manage the big issues, for example the Local Environment Plan"

April 1st - the April edition of ERA News is out now

27 MARCH 2012 ADDRESS TO EUROBODALLA SHIRE COUNCIL PUBLIC FORUM 27 MARCH 2012 BY PAUL BRADSTREET, SECRETARY, EUROBODALLA RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION

Read some of the Issues that have been identified by the community as Key to the reasons why the LEP should be rejected.

Tuesday 20 March, 2012

ANDREW CONSTANCE
Member for Bega

MEDIA RELEASE

PANEL TO SET DIRECTION FOR FAR SOUTH COAST COUNCILS

Andrew Constance Member for Bega welcomes a major review into Local Government in NSW which will result in major change to the structural arrangements of councils on the Far South Coast and across the State.

"The community has raised with me consistently their concerns about the performance of local government and we are determined to bring about reform.

"We want to work with Councillors and Local Government bureaucracy to create stronger and better councils in the future.

“The newly appointed Local Government Review Panel will investigate and identify options for governance models, structural arrangements and voluntary boundary changes for local government,” Andrew Constance said.

“The Review Panel will take into consideration councils’ ability to support the needs of their communities, ability to deliver services and infrastructure efficiently, ability to provide local representation and decision making, the financial sustainability of each council area, and any barriers that inhibit, or incentives that could encourage, voluntary boundary changes.

The three-member Review Panel will be chaired by Professor Graham Sansom, who has considerable local government experience and currently heads up the Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government.

“Stronger local government will be able to deliver services more efficiently and effectively for residents, provide better governance for communities, and maintain and upgrade their infrastructure.

“The Review Panel will consult widely with Far South Coast communities and local government stakeholders while making its determinations.”

Monday March 12th, 2012

The following two motions raised were passed unanimously by the community meeting on Saturday 10 March 2012.

1. That this meeting rejects the Draft LEP and calls for the immediate suspension of all LEP activity by the Eurobodalla Shire Council and the Department of Planning based on the current standard instrument.

2. That this meeting calls for continued community action to oppose the Draft LEP.

Survey finds one in four ratepayers dissatisfied
Bay Post BY PAMELA FROST 10 Feb, 2012

Bay Post Letters to the Editor 15/2/12
Dissatisfaction with council well deserved