Reply With Quoteand to celebrate the amalgamation in our area rates went up $500 a year ... for less services as they cancelled a heap of buses on the local time table...
its a wrought imho...
RoverLord
Looks like we are heading the way of you eastern taters.COMPULSORY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AMALGAMATION
Quite some time ago the local government minister over here,John Castrelli,put all WA local governments on notice.If you are financially unviable you will be forced to amalgamate with other nearby local governments.All were given till the end of august to show grounds why they shouldnt amalgamate and what plans they have for the future.
Last thursday Castrelli was on local radio saying nobody will be forced to amalgamate,those shires that wish to remain as is can do so aslong as thats what the populus wants.
Friday the government announces a list of local governments with 1000 or less ratepayers,saying ALL of these are not viable due to their low rate payer numbers and they will have to amalgamate.We got on the list in Williams at 930 or similar.
In a worst case senario,Narrogin,who cant sort their stuff out,have both town and outer shires and in the towns respect are hoplessly in debt,will become a regional council.
Our shire has in reserve funds about what narrogin has in debt.We are one of the few shires that pay cash for new machinery rather than having to borrow.We get little in federal grants compared to similar size shires,we dont have huge increases in local rates each year.
Worst case senario for us is it goes ahead,we will only be gauranteed employment for 2 years,after that we could come under a new employer and have to apply for our own jobs.Guessing we will say goodby to our pay arrangements.We get MUCH more than most,we have a generous over award % payment plus we get paid at the 2 top levels for local government outside workers,level 5 and 6,doing the same job at other shires most of our guys would be getting level 3,4 and possibly 4A.How many shire workers do you know that made $65000 last year???,I did and I and my crew worked hard for it.
I cant see benefits with amalgamation,rates going into one big pile and not coming back to the local community.
What have you guys experienced with your "SUPER SHIRES" over there????
PS this has developed into a rant,please shift to the Soapbox if you fellow mods see fit.
Thanks
Andrew
DISCOVERY IS TO BE DISOWNED
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and to celebrate the amalgamation in our area rates went up $500 a year ... for less services as they cancelled a heap of buses on the local time table...
its a wrought imho...
2007 Discovery 3 SE7 TDV6 2.7
2012 SZ Territory TX 2.7 TDCi
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." -- a warning from Adolf Hitler
"If you don't have a sense of humour, you probably don't have any sense at all!" -- a wise observation by someone else
'If everyone colludes in believing that war is the norm, nobody will recognize the imperative of peace." -- Anne Deveson
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” - Pericles
"We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” – Ayn Rand
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." Marcus Aurelius
Swaggie
Didn't know Moreton Regional Council ran the buses. I was sure all the buses up there are private sector. They did get over $2,000,000 for surplus plant sold following the amalgamation.Originally Posted by incisor
Amalgamation was a good thing for a lot of small shires as singly they did not have the financial capacity to operate to today's expectations. Amalgamation will also cure a lot of the abuses associated with small closed shops, graft, nepotism, private use of council's facilities and stocks, etc.
Landy Andy, there are a number of Western Qld. shires with small populations and possibly ten times or more the area to service as yours. One used to have only 94 ratepayers and one of the big three cattle companies paid 60% of the rates. One family in the only town in the shire provided the Shire Clerk, Works Overseer, Mechanical Overseer, Senior Rates and Accounts Clerk, and a number of labourers and plant operators. Winton Shire has a population of around 1600, Diamantina Shire only a few hundred, and again, only one "town" Bedourie.
URSUSMAJOR
RoverLord
Main effect of the change here was a 60% increase in rates. No change in services because I had zero services already. The shire office is about the same distance away, 100km, and is still in a (different) town that I never visit.
John
John
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SysAdmin (Owner)
they do to some degree i believe... now we only get 2 buses a day each way...
the property i just bought out proston way saw a rates rise of 60% or there abouts i am told by locals, but haven't had a chance to confirm for myself...
what gets up a lot of peoples noses is the way it was done, as landyandy alludes too, no notice was taken of who were good manages and who weren't...
2007 Discovery 3 SE7 TDV6 2.7
2012 SZ Territory TX 2.7 TDCi
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." -- a warning from Adolf Hitler
"If you don't have a sense of humour, you probably don't have any sense at all!" -- a wise observation by someone else
'If everyone colludes in believing that war is the norm, nobody will recognize the imperative of peace." -- Anne Deveson
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” - Pericles
"We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” – Ayn Rand
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." Marcus Aurelius
Master
There can be light at the end of the tunnel
Many years ago Mansfield & Benalla (North East Vic.) were amalgamated into Delatite Shire.
5 years ago we managed to split from Benalla Shire, and return to a manageable situation.
Wizard
hey landyandy,just be carefull what wages and conditions you will be working under.different shires have differing conditions,
Super Moderator
And you think WA doesn't have large shires and small populations Brian? The thriving metropolis of Marble Bar is in the largest local authority in the country, maybe the world, I can't recall.
If you don't like trucks, stop buying stuff.
YarnMaster
I couldn't care less what happens to the 2 major councils near me after having lived under both for over 35 years.
One council got too big so they split it in two, both have been under investigation for crooked dealings, a mayor and councillor before the split were jailed, many contracts handed out to mates and ratepayers locked out of meetings because of "commercial confidentiality"!
Far too many councils/councilors here have been shown to be on the take and WALGA (WA Local Government Association) have the audacity to advertise in the local rag as being "the most trusted form of government" in Australia!!!!
Hey, don't they read the newspapers?
Alan.
Swaggie
Sorry to hear that Andy.
I think that within Perth the amalgamation could be a good thing, and get rid of some layers of beauracracy... We will see...
You never know, you might end up in a job with better pay and conditions ?
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