MEETING THE CANDIDATES

STOP PRESS

Fallen—or Pushed?

Paul Crewe, Executive Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services, has left the Shire’s employ after filling the position for not much more than a year. 

His departure seems to have been unusually abrupt.

31 October 2017

MORE BREAKING NEWS…

David Wallace has been re-elected to the position of Shire President.

The new Deputy Shire President is Kevin Trent.

Congratulations to both.

At their first meeting yesterday, councillors elected David Wallace unopposed.  The deputy's position was contested by Kevin and Denese Smythe, with Kevin winning by 4 votes to 3.  The vote was by secret ballot, i.e. according to the rules, which suggests that previous elections for the position that were decided by a show of hands were very likely invalid.  

(Regarding the conduct of such elections, see Schedule 2.3 of the Local Government Act 1995.)

So I've no idea who voted for whom. 

25 October 2017

An afterthought (30 October 2017):  As mentioned above, Kevin Trent won the deputy president's position by 4 votes to 3. The council consists of 4 women (Ferro, Heaton, Saint and Smythe) and 3 men. Assuming that the men all voted the same way (which might not be the case) it must follow that one of the women voted for Kevin.

It’s possible (though highly unlikely) that one of the men voted for Denese, in which case two of the women would have voted for Kevin.  Of course there are other conceivable permutations, but I think they lie beyond the bounds of probability and need not trouble us.

Because the election was by secret ballot, we'll almost certainly never know which woman (or women) voted for 'one of the boys'.  I have a hunch, based on information from a reputable source, but I don’t intend to share it.  I wouldn’t want to embarrass the lady in question.

 

BREAKING NEWS…

Results of the Shire election

Candidate                        Votes

David Wallace                 562  (Elected)

Kevin Trent                     375  (Elected)

Denis Warnick                349  (Elected)

Trevor Randell               247

Sharon MacDonald        203

David Taylor                 133

Tricia Walters               112

Congratulations to the successful candidates, commiserations to the others.

And thanks to all candidates for entering the fray and to all those who took the trouble to vote in this important election.             

22 October 2017

BREAKING NEWS…

Proposed Allawuna landfill

DWER received 150 submissions. 

Some were signed by more than one person.  One submission contained around 100 signatures. Each signature will count as a separate submission.

The final number of submissions, along with a summary of them, will be attached to the report of the Minister’s decision.

Well done, the people of York.

19 October 2017

 So, how did the meeting go?

Six of the seven candidates turned up to face an attentive audience of an estimated 45 to 50 electors.  The absent candidate was Cr Trevor Randell, who submitted an apology. 

I think most of us were sadly disappointed that Cr Randell had pressing commitments elsewhere.  I for one would like to have asked him if he has changed his mind about a rubbish-led recovery for York, now that his friends are no longer likely to be involved in it.

The audience included three sitting councillors, Heather Saint, Pam Heaton and Jane Ferro.

The meeting began with former shire president Pat Hooper, one of the principal architects of York’s current financial misfortunes, launching into an impassioned monologue in defence of his monumental legacy, the YRCC.

This had very little to do with the declared purpose of the meeting, but Keith Schekkerman as chairman generously allowed Pat to orate unchecked for what seemed like an eternity but was probably less than five minutes.

In passing, Pat made joking reference to somebody having christened the centre the Taj Mahal.  This was of course inaccurate.  The name actually given was Splurj Mahal, a play on the English word ‘splurge’, meaning to spend extravagantly, while mahal is a Persian word of Arabic origin that means ‘palace’ or ‘mansion’.

Tourists shopping in Bali will probably have encountered the related Malay/Indonesian word mahal (‘dear, costly’), perhaps in the phrase terlalu mahal, ‘too expensive’. 

Pat would have had no reason to know any of that, so I’m happy to pardon his mistake.

Presentations

Responding to an opening question from the chairman, every candidate affirmed opposition to the proposed siting of a landfill at Allawuna.  That was excellent news for all of us.

On the whole, candidates in their presentations added little to what they had told us in their published election material. 

Kevin Trent, who was first off the block, mentioned that he is a retired road planner with experience in town planning.  He alluded to the need for improved footpaths and drainage in York. 

Kevin expressed concern for the failing bladders of the elderly, repeating his thoughtful desire to see a public convenience installed in Avon Terrace, presumably so that that old fogies like me, when taken short while shopping, aren’t compelled to engage in an undignified sprint down to the toilets in Avon Park.

Next came David Taylor.  I was in the front row directly facing the candidates, so I was able to hear his every word, but others have told me they had difficulty in hearing him because he wasn’t speaking loudly enough.  

That’s a pity, because what he said, especially about shire finances and auditing, was well worth hearing.  Luckily, he has published the full text of his presentation on the other blog. 

I was particularly struck by David’s advocacy of a system of advisory committees rather than the current feebler system of ‘advisory groups’ to help Council in coming to important decisions, and by the scope and depth of his interest in the auditing of shire finances.

If elected, he will call on the Shire to explain why it won’t try to fix past financial mistakes other than by thrusting its hands ever more deeply into ratepayers’ pockets.

Cr Heaton asked David whether, if elected, he would continue writing for the other blog.  He replied that he wouldn’t, because if he were elected, there would be no need. 

I think he was being unduly optimistic about that, but if the need doesn’t go away, he will be welcome to contribute to this one—at any rate, for so long as this blog remains in operation, which it may not for very much longer.

Cr Tricia Walters was by any reckoning the star of the evening.  She spoke clearly, rationally and eloquently in favour of local government transparency, restraint in spending and more open communication between government and the governed.   

Trish argued for closer scrutiny by councillors of the Shire’s budget proposals, an exercise, she said, in which she had received no support or cooperation from her colleagues on Council.

Many in the audience might have been disturbed to learn from her of the restrictions currently imposed on debate at council meetings and when councillors meet among themselves to discuss agenda items.  No less disturbing are those imposed on councillors’ communication as individuals with the public.

By the way, someone has told me that it was the public-spirited Cr Walters, not AVRA, who paid for the hire of the hall and the tea, coffee and biscuits on offer.  If so, it would appear that AVRA has run out of money to fund such events.

Sharon MacDonald followed Trish.  She is well known in York as our local postmistress.  She referred to her considerable management experience, describing herself as a ‘quiet achiever’. 

Sharon made no election promises other than to say that if elected, she would listen to the community and be ‘open and accountable’ in performing her duties as a councillor.

Denis Warnick, a dark horse in this race, revealed that he has an honours degree in environmental science from UWA.  He spoke well and presented his views cogently and concisely.

As a local livestock agent, Denis presumably has close ties with the farming community.   I had the impression that Cr Wallace may have encouraged him to throw his hat in the ring.

Denis spoke of promoting population growth by developing tourism and agriculture and attracting young families to the town.

He suggested that the Shire should take greater advantage of the power of social media,  ‘reduce red tape’ and ‘speed up processes’ to encourage such development. 

He said he would make no promise to support a reduction in rates, which I took, perhaps wrongly, as an indication that he would be unlikely to join Cr Walters in seeking out possible cuts in expenditure when reviewing the annual budget.

Finally, Cr David Wallace took the floor.  He told us he was born in York in 1968 into a long-established York family and runs the family farm.  He has served on Council for the last four years, for two of those years as shire president.  

David said that a vote for him would be a vote for good governance and stability on Council.  He stressed that he is always available to meet with members of the public to discuss Shire issues and affairs.

Questions

Before the meeting, I handed Keith Schekkerman a printed copy of the questions I hoped to raise with the candidates.  They were virtually identical with those displayed in my previous post. 

I also placed a copy for each candidate on the table at which they would sit.

Someone has written in a comment under my previous post that Keith stopped me from speaking.  That isn’t quite true. 

What is true is that he manifested from time to time a considerable reluctance to let me speak.  That isn’t my opinion only.   Other members of the audience noticed it too, contrasting it with the indulgence he had displayed earlier towards the redoubtable Pat Hooper, author of the notorious ‘minority report’.

Leaving aside that my questions were carefully framed and based on statistical research, I had no special reason to be thus indulged.  So I’m not complaining, merely reporting an observation.

However, I did get to ask my first question in full, the one asking why York’s rates are so high compared with those of some metropolitan councils offering superior amenity, and what steps candidates would take, if elected, to lessen the financial burden imposed on what the 2016 Census shows is a relatively impoverished community. 

Some of the answers surprised me.  Kevin, speaking from a wealth of local government experience, claimed that one can’t compare different local government areas. 

In many respects, that may well be true, but it seems reasonable to make such comparisons when rating disparities are outrageously high compared with the levels of amenity and service provided.  

David Taylor remarked that York councils have made ‘massive financial mistakes’ for which ratepayers are picking up the tab.  I suspect he had in the forefront of his mind costs associated with the YRCC, which for most of the evening remained the white elephant in the room.

Trish reminded us that Landgate doesn’t set the rates, as is often supposed.  It’s the Council that sets them in response to the exigencies of the Shire’s budget. 

Landgate only determines the Gross Rental Value (GRV) of residential properties and the Unimproved Value (UV) of rural land.  What you pay as rates is a percentage, determined by Council, of GRV or UV expressed as cents in the dollar.

It was Trish’s view that Council could reduce rates by adopting a more critical approach to asset planning and cutting back spending on services that lose money.  Again, I suspect she may have had the YRCC principally in mind.

David Wallace, who apparently had paid little or no attention to anything Trish had said, did his best to throw the blame back on Landgate, while Denis, having expressed agreement with the premise of my question, remarked that the Shire provides ‘a good level of service’—which wasn’t in dispute.

I didn’t get to ask my second question, about employee costs, but was able to introduce its main elements as a point of information. 

Somebody else—I think it was Pat Hooper—asked a question about the YRCC, which in Keith’s opinion (but not mine) rendered my third question superfluous.  Pat said, without addressing the issue of competitive neutrality, that the bar and kitchen should be run by the sporting clubs.  (I agree, so long as the Shire ceases paying for operating costs and subsidizing the cost of food and drink.)

Pat also suggested—either at this point or during his earlier effusion—that the YRCC should function as a community centre.  Kevin agreed with him, on condition that it must be managed correctly, adding that the Shire should hang on to the bar and café.

I did manage to squeeze in two further questions.  The first was ‘What do you regard as the most important aspects of a councillor’s role as defined in the Local Government Act 1995, and why?’ 

Kevin replied that the most important aspect was communicating with the public.  As I recall—I wasn’t taking notes at this point—other candidates agreed with him, as do I. 

Cr Wallace grumbled about the question, saying that it would need to be googled.  I responded, somewhat severely, to the effect that candidates for elected office ought to know what it is they are supposed, if elected, to do.

My final question was about the desirability of a ward system in York, where councillors would each represent electors in a particular district.  I don’t think there was much enthusiasm for the idea, but I still think it’s a good one that would make councillors more accessible to the public and more likely to communicate with the people they represent.

I’ll finish by congratulating Jenny McColl of Oringa Park on her eloquent reminder of the threat posed to local farms by the renewed prospect of a landfill at Allawuna.  I hope she has shared her fears and opinions with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.