{"id":354741,"date":"2024-11-08T16:44:30","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T06:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=354741"},"modified":"2024-11-08T16:44:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T06:44:30","slug":"council-letter-stuns-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/08\/council-letter-stuns-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"Council Letter Stuns Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 8, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt has assured residents they will not have to pay new plumbing charges this month.<\/p>\n

Mr Pitt issued an official statement (see below) after a storm erupted on social media when a letter was sent from Council to some South Burnett residents about new annual fees.<\/p>\n

Mr Pitt was on leave when the letter, detailing fees for premises with Household Sewerage Treatment Plants (HSTP)\u00a0 and \/ or\u00a0 Backflow Prevention Devices installed, was issued.<\/p>\n

The letter explained the annual fees – ranging from $30 to $60 – were to cover the cost of Council maintaining up-to-date registers of these installations, something required under State legislation.<\/p>\n

“In complying with this legislation, Council during its 2024-25 Budget meeting resolved to commence charging fees for the Backflow Prevention devices and introduce a new annual HTSP fee,” the letter stated.<\/p>\n

The reaction on a local community Facebook page was immediate:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are they going to service and pump it out for that charge. They bloody wanta. I\u2019ll be telling them where they can stick that bill, cheeky buggers aye.<\/em><\/p>\n

So you pay $100 maintenance every 3 months and now a $60 process fee and an extra $30 for blowback prevention. Think the council needs to maintain the system themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n

Apparently out here at Tarong neighbours on that system are being slugged $60 and aren’t even on town water … It’s bullshit<\/em><\/p>\n

$60\u00a0To treat our own water and waste.\u00a0This is not fair.\u00a0The cost will not doubt go higher each year.\u00a0Added on to the South Burnett already exorbitant rates !!\u00a0Talk about a money grab<\/em><\/p>\n

Funny how they get elected then throw you under bus. Don’t trust promises. Have a good memory<\/em><\/p>\n

Must have been on the books before the council election and no one said a word? Wonder why?<\/em><\/p>\n

Reacting to the uproar, Mayor Kathy Duff posted on Facebook on Wednesday night:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi Everyone.\u00a0Apparently Council has sent letters out about backflow devices. I have spoken to the CEO and this should not have happened. There will be no action taken until a full report has been brought back to Council. Please hold off until we can get further information which will be after the November Council Meeting. Thanks, Kathy<\/em><\/p>\n

On Friday, Mr Pitt issued the following statement:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, and during my absence while on leave, a letter was issued which had not undergone the required checks in Executive Services.<\/em><\/p>\n

As Chief Executive Officer, I take responsibility for the issuance of any official correspondence.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is important to note that no invoices will be issued or fees charged in November as was inferred in the correspondence.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are extensive conversations and community consultation to be undertaken before any such introduction of regulatory action.<\/em><\/p>\n

The intention is to bring South Burnett Regional Council in line with other Councils in regard to statutory requirements and legislation, and a recent audit of our internal registers has found a deficit in this area, which brought about these actions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Internally, steps are being taken to address process issues with bulk mail outs and we thank constituents for their forbearance, and sincerely regret any anxiety this may have caused.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On behalf of Council, I advise a report will be presented to the November Ordinary Meeting of Council.<\/em><\/p>\n

I must reiterate that no action will be taken in this calendar year and any further steps will be considered, and with full community consultation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt has assured residents they will not have to pay new plumbing charges this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":234303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,3],"tags":[1131],"yoast_head":"\nCouncil Letter Stuns Residents - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt has assured residents they will not have to pay new plumbing charges this month.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/08\/council-letter-stuns-residents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Council Letter Stuns Residents - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt has assured residents they will not have to pay new plumbing charges this month.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/08\/council-letter-stuns-residents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-08T06:44:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/mark-pitt-f.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/08\/council-letter-stuns-residents\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/08\/council-letter-stuns-residents\/\",\"name\":\"Council Letter Stuns Residents - 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