{"id":41607,"date":"2013-08-15T11:00:37","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T01:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=41607"},"modified":"2025-09-24T13:00:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T03:00:21","slug":"mayors-gather-in-townsville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/08\/15\/mayors-gather-in-townsville\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayors Gather In Townsville"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 15, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann and CEO Ken McLoughlin are in Townsville today to attend the first ever Regional Round Table called by the State Government.<\/p>\n

They will be joining mayors and Council CEOs from across Queensland to discuss the financial challenges facing local governments.<\/p>\n

Local Government Minister David Crisafulli said today\u2019s Local Government Financial Sustainability Round Table would harness knowledge and talent from councils, as well as the State Government.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils are experiencing the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 as declining revenues, rising expenses and growing expectations place mounting pressure on their bottom line,” Mr Crisafulli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll councils, both large and small, are expected to do more with less and still provide the services and infrastructure ratepayers rightly deserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to look at ways councils can remain viable and keep costs down for ratepayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event brings together some of the best local government minds in Australia to help us find real solutions to the financial challenges facing our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The round table will include discussions with the CEO of Queensland Treasury Corporation Phillip Noble and the Queensland Auditor General Andrew Greaves.<\/p>\n

The Local Government Association of Queensland as well as the departments of Premier and Cabinet and Local Government, Community Recovery and Resilience will also be on hand to provide expert advice.<\/p>\n

Mr Crisafulli said the main aim would be to develop a sustainability reform agenda for councils which will cover suggestions about how the State can reduce regulation, shared services between councils, public\/private partnerships, depreciation costs and funding allocations.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils need to balance the traditional expectations of the community with modern economic reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State doesn\u2019t have a big bucket of money to throw around but we can guide councils to do things more efficiently so the financial burden isn\u2019t always passed on to ratepayers through rate rises.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may mean selling surplus council land, or partnering with the private sector to build new infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils are important to local communities and this is our chance to ensure they continue to serve locals well into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Great 48hrs representing the #southburnett<\/a> in T'ville about LocalGov Financial Sustainability with @DavidCrisafulli<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/7XKgcfTRDh<\/a><\/p>\n

— Wayne Kratzmann (@MayorKratzmann) August 15, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n