Ratepayers and residents are angry with the City of Greater Bendigo Council and are writing to councillors to articulate frustration and annoyance with the poor job they are doing
Jenny Watt has shared with the Bendigo Alliance the letter she has sent her Ward councillors ahead of their vote on Wednesday whether to proceed with the dud GovHub.
She has told them:
I am a constituent in your ward and have grave concerns for the future of our community owned ratepayer assets, being the Lytlleton Terrace land and buildings, and what appears to be the underhanded way the said assets sale is being handled.
In this time of great economic uncertainty, I am appalled that Council plan to vote on the sale of our assets, aligning us to the state government thus losing our independence as a regional council. It is my belief a council should not be aligned to any political party and remain independent. How can we remain so when we will have a state government for a landlord for decades? It is not fiscally responsible to lock us into losing assets and paying rent for decades to come.
With the way the world is growing technologically, do we need a lot of extra space? There is talk of more on-line efficiencies to be made i.e., planning forms, payments, general enquiries amongst other things. Will we need much extra space when these plans come to fruition? Surely the amount projected in rent would be better served by spending it on extending our own building and retaining our assets?
I urge you all, as our elected representatives, to think to the future of all of the community, listen to your constituents and not vote at this time for such a poorly thought out plan. The community need consultation on this matter, something that has not happened.
In closing, I would also remind you of the role of a councillor as set out on the COGB webpage:
A Councillor’s responsibilities include:
· Strategic planning for the whole municipality and a sustainable future
· Determining the financial strategy and allocating resources via the council budget
· Representing ratepayers and residents
· Advocating on a broad range of issues
· Facilitating community participation
· Liaising and coordinating with other levels of government, non-government, community groups and the private sector
Faye & Tom have told of the loss of confidence in management of the council
My husband & I wish to register our opposition & concern about the proposed GovHub. We feel as most people this will be a burden on ratepayers now & for the next forty years.
No one has been able to show there will be any advantage to us at the present time & in the future. We have lost confidence in the satisfactory management of our City Council.
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