THE devil, according to Venus Bay resident and keen council watcher, Gus Blaauw, is in the detail of the South Gippsland Shire Council’s 2021-22 annual report, which was adopted unanimously by the council last Wednesday.
While the Mayor Cr Mohya Davies and several other councillors were effusive in their praise of what the council team was able to achieve in the 21-22 year, against a backdrop of challenges including staff absences for COVID protocols and supply chain issues, Mr Blaauw was digging deeper into the books.
“My rates went up by 25 per cent this year,” Mr Blaauw alleged. “And there are a lot of people down here at Venus Bay on fixed incomes who aren’t very happy about how much their rates have gone up,” he said.
“I appreciate that property values down here have jumped in the past couple of years, but that doesn’t help anyone who has no intention of selling up, and that’s most of us.
“I understand that the increases are based on the relative increases in value here, but the rates are simply too high overall.
“I’d like to know why the rates have to stay as high as they are when the shire is showing ‘total cash and cash equivalents’ of $7.8 million and term deposits of $37.27 million.
“That’s more than $45 million in cash.
“If they have that much in cash reserves, why do they need to be collecting $46.7 million in rates and charges?”
Mr Blaauw claimed that employee costs of $28.66 million didn’t include the wages component paid to staff involved in capital works projects.
“It should be in there,” he said.
But, the councillors themselves, couldn’t be happier.
Mayor Cr Davies said the shire had made great strides forward from the dismissal period saying community satisfaction results were on the improve and staff turnover had gone from 24.6% annually to 11.1% in the past financial year.
A stable workforce, she said, was a far more effective setting for any organisation.
It was also noted that the Performance and Financial Statements were all externally audited by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) and had received a clean bill of health.
In a statement this week, the council notes that the annual report and financial papers make informative reading.
“The report opens with a snapshot of our shire and the engagement activities undertaken this financial year, including the largest engagement South Gippsland Shire Council has ever undertaken, the Shaping South Gippsland project.”
The report also highlights the $27 million Capital Works Program that was delivered over the past year, which included 70 projects and 1055 kilometres of sealed roads maintained.
Some of the key projects completed in the last financial year included:
- The Bair Street Revitalisation Project,
- Foster Indoor Stadium,
- Mirboo North Pool Redevelopment, and
- The extension of the Great Southern Rail Trail between Korumburra and Leongatha.
There was also $289,069 given direct to the community through Community Grant funding. A total of 45 projects were funded under the Community Grants Program, 36 through the Small Grants Program and 7 through the Emergency Grants Program.
“I am proud to present the 2021/22 Annual Report to our community. It has been a busy year, with a return to local democracy being a particular highlight. Since then, we have seen unprecedented engagement with our community and some exceptional results considering the lingering effects of COVID-19 and some supply chain disruptions,” said Mayor Davies.
“I would like to commend the Council staff who have worked tirelessly to deliver the projects and support us as new Councillors. Without them, this work would not be possible.”
She said the shire’s Economic Development Team continued to support businesses and local industry in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as implementing the Visitor Economy and Economic Development Strategies.
To view the entire report, you can visit http://www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au/annualreport