Of the three tiers of government, shire council is the level closest to the rate and tax paying public.
As such it delivers the works and amenities that add to the comfort of the community.
Sadly, that appears to have disappeared, and the results become more obvious as time passes.
I am a member of the OBE group and can remember when council actually did work in the community.
These old councils, designed and develop subdivisions, build roads, footpaths, control the cemetery, operate a local caravan park, ran the community retirement homes, kept the streets clean and many other works.
The shire town clerk, who had his finger on the pulse of the region, knew many of the residents.
This was so integral in the operation of council to ensure, any works they engaged in had the highest positive impact on the shire and the residents.
The council also had work gangs that built these pieces of infrastructure.
This was important for many of the locals, as it assisted in promoting pride in the community.
This human element added to the harmony and possession of the shire, which spread into other regions of the community adding to the effectiveness of the council.
Not that long ago, the Labor Government informed us that the amalgamation of councils would give us an economy of scale, and reduce costs to council which would be reflected in lower rates.
That would be one of the biggest lies told by the Queensland Labor Government amongst the many they told during their term(s) in office.
One of the many things this amalgamation did achieve was a cost to ratepayers, through the loss of the human element within council.
Because we lost out town clerk, the new council CEO probably knows only a handful of ratepayers and it would be doubtful he/she even resides in the shire.
This upheaval has successfully allowed the State Government to dump much of the work that was originally their responsibility on to the shire councils.
Things like water, sewerage major road works and other infrastructure.
Because these councils were now larger, so the increase in the number of staff then warranted that wages, which are tied to the Government pay scale, resulted in higher wages for the CEO of each council.
Plus the trickle down through all staff then we witnessed more pay.
Not much saving there?
Where have the old work gangs gone, who builds the new roads and other infrastructure?
Contractors.
Do they have a familial connection to the shire, do they really care if the contract is finished properly, or the new road is smooth, or will last more than a couple of years before breaking up, highly unlikely.
It is time that council had a rethink about their core business and begin to take up some of the work that made them such an important part of the lives of all residents.
Leon Pethick,
Gympie
