NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND

Meet the Candidates

You’ll be able to meet the candidates—and bombard them with penetrating questions—from 7.30 pm onwards at the Church of Christ Hall in Avon Terrace on Thursday, 12 October 2017.

AVRA’s Keith Schekkerman will chair the meeting.

Meanwhile, here are some questions every candidate should have to answer:

1.     Council has set a current rate of 11.849 cents of Gross Rental Value for residential properties in York. 

This compares unfavourably with rates set by some metropolitan councils offering greater public amenity, e.g. Joondalup at 5.3 cents and Mosman Park at less than 6 cents. 

This year, the average amount of rates levied on York’s 1416 residential properties is $1,823.

According to the 2016 Census, York’s weekly median household income is $1024.  That is roughly two-thirds of the figure for WA as a whole, which is $1,595.  Median gross weekly personal income in York is $540 for residents aged over 15, compared with $724 for WA.  More than a quarter of York’s population (26.5%) is aged 65 or over, in other words of pensionable age.

Bearing those figures in mind, do you agree that York’s rates impose an unconscionable burden on a relatively impoverished community, and if you do agree, what steps will you take if elected towards reducing them over time to a reasonable level—say 7.7%, where they stood exactly 40 years ago? 

2.     In its current budget, the Shire provides for employee costs of $3,842,000, an increase of $339,232 over last year’s figure.  Those costs amount to 39% of budget expenditure, and represent the highest single category of expenditure identified in the budget.

According to the 2016 Census, the population of York now stands at 3,606.  This means that the cost this year of employing Shire staff amounts to $1,065.45 for each man, woman and child residing in York.

Do you agree that those employment costs are a tad excessive, and if you do agree, will you take action if elected to put the brakes on further staff recruitment?

3.      The York Recreation and Convention Centre is widely regarded as a poorly conceived and hideously expensive failure that serves the interests of less than one-fifth of York’s population and will always be a huge financial burden on ratepayers, whatever management model is imposed on it.

In particular, people are concerned that the Forrest Bar and Café, a Shire owned, staffed and managed enterprise, operates in competition with local businesses and worse, does so with the advantage of being heavily subsidized from the rates.

Council seems content to continue with this morally and fiscally questionable situation, at least for the next couple of years.  More than that, it is in the process of recruiting a ‘Wait Services and Functions Officer’ and a ‘Kitchen Hand General Duties’ to assist in running the bar and café.

If elected, will you support Council’s current policy regarding the Forrest Bar and Café—or will you take proper account of the interests of ratepayers and local businesses and press for the enterprise to cease trading forthwith?

4.     What do you regard as the most important aspects of a councillor’s role as defined in the Local Government Act 1995?  Why?

Yes, the questions are a bit wordy, but designed to leave no wiggle room for even the craftiest of candidates.  To avoid disappointment (we’ve had that in spades), don’t vote for anyone who can’t or won’t give a straight and honest answer to questions like those—or for anyone who doesn’t understand them.

It (usually) pays to advertise

Only three of the seven candidates, Trent, Wallace and Walters, chose to spruik their electoral wares in the pages of the October issue of York and Districts Community Matters.

With great respect, I have to say that Cr Wallace wasted his money and his opportunity.   I would have expected him to indicate briefly what he intends to do in his next term of office, and why. 

Instead, he opted for cloudy generalities wrapped up in weasel words and phrases like ‘good governance’, ‘stability in council’ and ‘move York forward in a positive direction’.   

For heaven’s sake, Dave, what does all that actually mean? 

Never mind, I’m pretty certain he’ll breeze in on the sporting club vote.

Mr Trent, on the other hand, made good use of his opportunity by clarifying his position with regard to the disposal of Perth waste in rural landfill sites.  He’s against it, and has been for many years.  

He’s also in favour of preserving trees as habitats for birds.  That, too, is something I can warm to.

Cr Walters simply relied on her manifesto as it appeared in the library window.  If elected, she will fight to reduce rates by restraining Shire spending. 

Like Cr Wallace, she doesn’t mention the landfill issue, but she has privately assured me that she is strongly opposed to the siting of a landfill anywhere in York.

As, of course, is Cr Wallace.