April 24, 2018
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell has submitted the following response to southburnett.com.au in the wake of recent reports about proposed Budget measures which will affect local community groups.
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There is no compromise on the responsibility I was given when elected as the Mayor which was to ensure the sustainability of the South Burnett Regional Council.
We’ve invested in significant analysis of a number of areas of Council, all designed to safeguard future sustainability.
These evaluations were reported in the Mayor’s recent mid-term review.
In respect to the matter of Rate Remission Adjustments, Council will still be providing around $500,000 to our community in various forms of support.
Most community groups will still receive a 75 per cent reduction (12.5 per cent 2018-19 increasing to 25 per cent 2019-20) in their usage of water, sewerage and garbage collection fees.
That point seems to have been overlooked. No club, group or organisation will be paying for these charges in their entirety. Letters have now been sent to all groups.
As a Council we are under Legislative obligation following the Queensland Treasury Review to complete Asset Management Plans of all Council’s assets and infrastructure.
These plans when wholly completed will reveal the accurate detail of all assets, not just roads.
A statement from the Queensland Treasury Corporation’s review of our financial sustainability said: “It is important that Councillors are briefed in all areas of Council to enable informed decision making. Where Councillors are not fully briefed on all areas, there is a risk that they do not have complete information to make the best decisions for Council.”
They further recommend: “Prioritise finalising Asset Management Plans for each asset class that align with the Asset Management Strategy and ensure Asset Management Plans are reflected in long-term financial forecast and asset management systems.”
The Infrastructure Department’s preliminary assessment of the roads network is that more funds are needed.
The sum of $10 million is a conservative number and will not be “found” in the Budget by just working “more efficiently”.
There’s no easy solution to remedy the current position and I support all Engineering staff for their dedication and quality of work that they’ve done toward developing the Asset Management Plan for Roads.
The General Manager of Infrastructure and our financial analysis have informed Council that the figure of $10 million is conservative. The reality is that the actual number is likely to be more.
The $10 million is for dirt / gravel roads only and does not include Council’s own bitumen sealed roads.
The numbers are factual and have not been dreamed up and when all work currently being undertaken is finalised, it will be the dollar figure included in the Asset Management review.
Therefore, all of Council’s future decisions on maintenance and capital works will be driven by that set of numbers. None of us can ignore the facts.
I see our responsibility to inform the ratepayers and not cover it up by saying our staff need to work more “efficiently” to get us out of this dilemma.
Councillors are now in possession of the facts and to ignore them will lead Council on a perilous journey.
The matter is so acute that to not act on the facts could lead this Council to the point of having qualified Audits by the Queensland Audit Office.
The problem will not solve itself through efficiency.
All Councillors have been elected to make hard decisions when needed and execute strategy and policy resolutions that best serve the entire region.
We need to look after the interests of the South Burnett’s future even though some of these decisions will at times be challenging and confronting.
Editor’s footnote: We have published Mayor’s Campbell’s response in full.
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