SHIRE OF YORK - BUDGET FINANCIAL YEAR 2017-2018 - QUESTIONNAIRE + Answers

To David Wallace and Paul Martin- May 5, 2017

Question 1: The York community is waiting excitedly for this budget, feeling that its focus, visioning, ideation and action will spell out a new era for the town, providing major incentives for substantial population and business growth, positive financial multiplication and ever expanding debt reduction. All this without the hardship created for ratepayers through another rate increase well above the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation. Would this be a fair assessment?

Shires answer: - Yes, definitely. Despite the fact that recent ‘Events’ held in Perth have failed miserably, creating a $3 million loss, with venture partners having to sell their own homes, we believe events are York’s future, because there is absolutely nothing else to do. To this end we have dug-up, sorry resurrected, the York Jazz Festival as part of the Perth International Jazz Festival using the same events modelling that failed so miserably last time. Our investment of $23,500 will largely promote two selected commercial venues with the community enjoying the music and atmosphere on a local community pays-for-everything basis, other than 4, one hour freebies. The number of jazz enthusiasts that will venture forth to York on any given day is debatable as they can see it all at home. Whether the Headliners from the Perth Festival will venture to York is another matter. However we believe it is worth a punt with your money. Of course tourists will have to pay too, and maybe it would be advisable for them to bring their own picnic baskets, and sleeping bags. Regarding population and business growth, bigger financial returns and less losses, that is something we can all look forward to in five-to-ten years time if we are lucky. It is also about time you stopped whinging and whining about whopping rate increases. Get used to it.

Question 2: Would it be fair to say that since July 1, 2013, local domestic (GRV) and commercial rate levies have gone up by as much as 20% As an example turning $1,000 owed, not into $1,200, but  $1,250 through the compounding effect of several excessive rate rises in this time?


Shires answer: - No- that is totally unfair. Most of your rates are used to retain specialist, professional staff at a salary level that we are accustomed to while you are not. These salaries and salary packages will ensure that York may be a better place to live at some stage. Remember there is always a ‘Silver Lining’- in our case a gold one. Compared with former DLGC ‘Head Honcho’, Jennifer Mathews’ annual salary of $289,000, your CEO is a relative pauper, being paid at least $40,000 less. Semi-derelict buildings layered with Pidgeon poo and filled with mouse and rat scat adds to the historic ambience of the town. Empty shops makes the main street look a lot like a scruffy, but lovely, little old lady with missing teeth. We even miss the old car bodies and rotting tyres at that quaint asbestos garage which provided that exciting risk element when you walked past. It is lucky your Shire knows how attractive the simple nuances of dilapidation are.

Question 3: Over the same time frame what has been the annual percentage increase for local Undeveloped Land (UV)?


Shires answer: - No comment. You are inferring our farming community may not be pulling its weight- which unfair as they are the only reason York exists, sort-of!

Question 4: Is the opening of the York Recreation and Convention Centre, in particular the Forrest (Tavern) Bar& Café and its attendant convention centre, its initial building and development costs, maintenance and all other associated expenditure including wages and the use of grant funding from other projects- for this project- the main reason for the recent out-of-control rates spiral?

Shires answer: - How would we know! All the documented information has disappeared, been shredded or was never done in the first place. You will have to ask Ray Hooper, Tyhscha Cochrane, Jacky (Jacqui) Jurmann and Gordon Tester if you can find them, two at a shire near you. You may have more luck with Pat Hooper, Tony Boyle and, Mark Duperouzel. Also we are way too busy trying to finance farm roads to sweat about the ‘small stuff’.

Question 5: The Forrest Bar & Café is owned and licensed as a ‘Tavern’ under the terms and conditions of the Liquor Control Act, 1988 by the Shire of York meaning that ratepayers are both customers, consumers and financers of a commercial business that has not met the mandatory opening hours and substantial food services required by this licence, and has knowingly and deliberately traded as being technically insolvent for a period of four years. Thereby placing its local competitors and ratepayers at financial risk. Is this a fact?


Shires answer: There is absolutely nothing wrong with everybody owing $5,000 on a local government business property and still having to pay for a beer and a limp lettuce sandwich, in Glad Wrap, or a semi-gourmet meal that you subsidize whether you are eating it or not. Just because its yours, and sending York bankrupt, does not mean you can climb over the counter and help yourselves. Taverns are a risky business- and so are convention centres. Hindsight is a wonderful thing with 20/20 visioning.

Question 6: Representatives of the Shire of York have visited other sport and recreation centres throughout the Wheatbelt to provide it positive guidance for the future of the York Recreation and Convention Centre. The financial failure of this project relates only to the Tavern Licensed bar, restaurant and convention centre that the other sports facilities visited arguably do not have. Given this, what was the purpose of these visits?


Shires answer: - A free trip, lots of fresh country air, coffees, teas and cakes- and a chat.



Question 7: The Government of Western Australia Corruption and Crime Commission’s report of April 2017, titled ‘Overview of Serious Misconduct’ concludes that the primary source of allegations of this misconduct includes an increased social media presence. This suggests that this agency uses social media sites such as ‘The Shire of York’s Unofficial- Official site and the ‘Real Voice of York’ site as a misconduct information resource. Is the Shire of York fully aware of this?


Shires answer: - What scurrilous, lying, malevolent social media sites full of fake news, and what sort of serious misconduct?


Question 8: The Department of Local Government now has sixteen (16) rural and regional shire councils listed as being in a ‘High-Risk’ category. What do you think this means and have you been directly informed, or made aware of the  Shire of York being on this list?  


Shires answer: - If we are ‘you voted for us and we gave you the new hired help’!



Question 9: The Department of Local Government now has a further sixteen (16) rural and regional shire councils listed as being in a ‘Median to High Risk’ category. What do you think this means and have you been directly informed, or made aware of the Shire of York being on this list?


Shires answer:- Ditto.


Question 10: Is the Shire of York now aware that the days of municipal and grant funding expenditure largess is over? The Office of the Auditor General, the Department of Local Government and the Government of Western Australia Corruption and Crime Commission will be targeting  inadequate governance and ignorance of local government procedures, rules and regulations, lack of adherence to local government policy, unqualified, inexperienced and unmonitored administration staff failing in their duties and councillors ill-equipped to oversee its administration staff and its activities?


Shires answer: - What goes on, behind closed doors, at your Shire of York Council Offices, 1 Joaquina Street, York WA 6302 is really none of your business.



Question 11: The former Chief-Executive-Officer, Bill Price, of the Shire of Exmouth may be charged with a criminal offence for spending a substantial amount of municipal funds without due authority and proper authorization. The former Commissioner of the Shire of York, James Best, allegedly spent a substantial amount of municipal funds on an additional employment salary and on the purchase of a private property by allegedly claiming he had due authority and proper authorization, being himself. Has the Shire of York sought legal advice regarding the validity of Mr. Best’s claim?


Shires answer: - This all happened so long ago and we are sick and tired of being reminded of teensy mistakes. If we did we would have all our former senior staff in court along with most councillors. Lawyers cost around $500 per hour, and any part thereof and we have enough legal issues, thank-you-very-much.
What your Shire is doing for you is providing you with a glass half-full, not half-empty. You should all be less pessimistic and very, very grateful.

There is a good chance that no-one from the Shire of York will make any comment on or provide an appropriate answer to these questions, meaning that it has no intent to meet its obligation of public transparency.

This will allow the community and its ratepayers the chance to assess the questions, make their own judgments and deduce what the answers should be. Then contact the Shire and an appropriate authority if the questions raised could be considered to be serious misconduct.

Also demand to know from the Shire whether the Shire of York is listed as one of the 32 high to median risk shires and- if so-why?

David Taylor.