The Beagle Editor,
Last year in September Council elections were conducted. Nine people were duly elected by the shire’s eligible voters to represent the shires residents for four years or until the next planned Council election in 2020. The nine elected by the shire’s residents included the Popularly Elected Mayor or chairperson of council meetings. The Mayor is a councillor as well who is also expected to represent the Shires Residents and Ratepayers at Council meetings including “Workshops” and functions that are held outside the shire that are usually ratepayer and residents funded Conferences. Those who are presently the community’s elected representatives of Council made a range of public statements supporting, for example, communication and social inclusion and recognising the community as the owners of public assets. The purchase of the bowling club site for around $2.7 million (and its increasing costs) was recognised by the present mayor as a community funded purchase and as community owned, as did the previous mayor when ideas for it’s use were asked for .
So the 2016 Council election was all about the community being asked to support individuals to be the community’s council representatives or voice at council. What happened with those promises? Councillors now support community gags, not replying to phone calls and emails and some admitting its all too much for them ? There is a very serious problem with the attitude of the councillors and Council towards the shire’s residents that needs resolving. There needs to be show of the commitment they pledged to accommodating all the promises, and statements they made. Nine elected councillors stood to represent and assist residents with productive delivered out comes they so openly promised they would do if elected just over a year ago. If they are unable to do so then the shire's residents need to be provided with explanations as to why they, the councillors, are unable to fulfill the promises each made to the shire's residents that got them elected. The voting public clearly put an amount of trust in those they voted for. Unfortunately though the nine are not representing the shires residents at all. They’ve become part of the empire building at the residents expense.
Allan Brown
Catalina
