DENESE DUMPED AS DEPUTY.

For those who really want to know, the last time the Shire of York was financially ‘in the black’ was 11 years ago with annual expenditure, debt and community angst, the only things that have been seen to blossom since then. (No current Councillor sat on that council!)

Reasonable debt is acceptable when used to provide for the genuine needs of the community, including the best quality sports and recreation facilities possible.

It is not acceptable when it goes way beyond reasonable expenditure and affordability- including boutique beers and subsidized meals at the Forrest Bar & Café for a coterie of supposed local luminaries.

You can also include shire staff wages which are rapidly advancing towards the $4 million per annum mark with the continual hiring of numerous outside consultants adding thousands to this cost.

Wage costs are close to $1 million more than what the Shire spends on Community Health, Education and Welfare to support its rapidly aging population.

On a positive note, Shire President Wallace, now has a team that has no links to the financial excesses and squandering of the past. (Wallace himself took office at the same time as Matthew Reid.)

That is with the exception of the now deposed Deputy Shire President, Denese Smythe, who is the only surviving member of the six member council which included Messrs Boyle, Scott, Lawrence, Hooper and Duperouzel with Ray Hooper and Ms.T Cochrane as CEO and Deputy CEO.

Her first term in office was between 2000 and 2004 when the entire Council was sacked, then from 2011 to 2015 when Council was suspended. She comes up for re-election in 2019.

Ms. Smythe was on Council when some very poor financial decisions were made between 2011 and 2013- for which it could be claimed she bears a degree of compliance and therefore responsibility along with the other councillors at that time.

This potential dereliction of a financial duty-of-care is regarding the York Recreation and Convention Centre that received council approval without proper business modelling being undertaken and without a whole-of-life debt to equity estimate.

Expenditure over budget estimates puts the result of these serious errors in council administrative oversight at between $17 million and $20 million.

Also, despite her 10 years as a councillor, Ms. Smythe, appears to have little understanding of what probity and the dignity of office actually means, including her allegedly joining the ‘York Bitching’ closed Facebook Page.

During the recent election campaign it has been alleged that Ms. Smythe, supposedly in front of a group of witnesses, made a comment that one council candidate was a drunk. The inference being that this person was at times cognitively incapacitated with a potential for anti-social behaviour and possible unfit to hold public office.

Unfortunately the person she appeared to choose to convict in absentia and without due cause had a career that led to a delayed form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder requiring medication that does not allow for the particularly large overindulgence in alcohol called drunkenness. This medication was first prescribed in 1999.

Therefore- this is the type of derogatory, defamatory statement that can be viewed under the Defamation Act 2005 and under Rules of Conduct Regulations by the Standards Panel of the Department of Local Government.

This Standards Panel, in the main, is a toothless tiger but not for much longer. Later this year the Minister for Local Government will be granted the power to sack individual councillors. Whether this will be retrospective is a distinct possibility.

The last positive minor-breach adjudication given by the Standards Panel involving York was against former Shire President, Tony Boyle, for a reason with a degree of similarity.

For this he was publicly censured by the Local Government Standards Panel bringing the Shire of York into disrepute in the local government community and the public in general.

How much punishment this actually is depends on the mindset of the individual concerned.

But it did give rise, in part, to an investigation that concluded with the Fitz-Gerald Report.

Ms. Smythe has been given ample opportunity to deny or confirm what she said. If it was the defamatory statement as claimed- she has been given the option of a public apology that would have seen an end to the matter.

She has chosen not to respond!

It could give rise to some very worrying times for Ms, Smythe including numerous problems, not the least of which will be the close scrutiny of all her actions as a councillor by a number of third parties from now on.

President Wallace was made aware of the complaint against Ms. Smythe on October 10, 2017, eleven days prior to the election.

Whether this led to her being voted out of her position as Deputy President, in the best interest of the reputation of the Shire of York Council, is unknown.

David Taylor.

 

DAVID TAYLOR’S- PRESENTATION TEXT

‘Thank you to AVRA for organizing this meeting. Thank you all for coming and I now pay my respects to the Balladong people.

I spent my formative, acne years, in Toodyay, living there from 10 to 19.

I went to Northam High School, playing for the First 18, and First 11, becoming a Prefect and graduating with a distinction average.

My career choices were going to University to study Economics, or to Mount Lawley Teachers College.

I made a totally different choice- a long career in the print media with
WA Newspapers Holdings Pty Ltd.

In 2005 my wife Lorraine was chosen as the new branch manager of Westpac and she and I moved to York.

 We have always thought it was a great choice.

As a private citizen I have fought for local government open and transparent democratic processes over the past nine years, writing to numerous politicians and dozens upon dozens of articles.

I first became aware there were underlying problems, in the Shire of York, when I was asked to be the Parliamentary Research Officer for the Avon.

This was in 2005

I will not bore you with the extent of these accusations.

In July, 2014, I received a brown paper parcel placed on the door step at my Perth address.

This was the controversial Fitz-Gerald Report - suggesting that there was an unacceptably toxic atmosphere in York- between members of the Shire and
the public.

There was sufficient evidence of truth in the accusations.

I read it- and met a newspaper colleague at a coffee shop

On July 24, 2014, the West Australian published the article ‘York Council could probe former Chief’- naming the former CEO and others.

The rest is history.

Most things, at the Shire, have improved over the past year.

That is why I am here as a candidate for a seat on the Shire of York Council.

Should I be elected, I will be cooperative, collaborative and use my best endeavours to be an effective member of Council on behalf of the York community and its ratepayers.

I acknowledge that Local Government Councillors and councils do have a varied and difficult community improvement assignment to deal with that is becoming more important as the 21^st Century progresses.

As a support mechanism I believe, in certain circumstances, the use of properly constituted local advisory committees to assist Council in being a socio-economic driver. In particular, when there are members of the community who have the obvious skills required to make well informed recommendations

Recently I revealed a significant- extremely negative- financial difference in Local Government Area domestic property rating between York and others.

This will be scrutinized in the 2018, Local Government Act 1995, Review.

It should result in the Local Government Act 2019- to more adequately reflect
what is required of a modern, local government administration after 24 years of change.

Already- how the Shire copes with its finances and its internal and public audits will be now viewed and reviewed by the Auditor General’s Department.

But foremost, it is in the hands of Local Councillors who are mandated to make decisions on behalf of their electors.

If I am elected, and this does not happen, I will not be a shrinking violet in asking why not.

This will include demanding that the administration explains directly to us all, why they are unable to fix the past financial mistakes, other than by robbing Peter the ratepayer to pay Paul and numerous contractors with dubious qualifications.

This should not have been part of the deal when the CEO’s KPI’s were set.

Some will ask- seeing you do not currently live in York why should I vote for you?

In 2012 my wife Lorraine’s mother, who lived in Perth, was diagnosed with deadly Asbestosis.

Lorraine wanted us to care for her mother during this traumatic time.

Since she passed we have taken care of Lorraine’s elderly father, who has medical conditions that would not allow him to safely stay in York.

But our family home is here.
The skills I could bring to the Council table are positive, transparent community communications, in the ratepayer’s interest, so questions can be asked with a guaranteed answer.

I have political, constitutional, and local government governance research knowledge, so I can ask pertinent questions to be answered by the administration.

I also have major corporate business acumen and administration skills which are significantly higher than any local Shire.

Some say the two, local government and private business, cannot be equated.

When it comes to financial risk they certainly can. An example is the YRCC Bar & Café which could best be described as a local government/ ratepayer owned private enterprise that is a commercial failure.

Lorraine and I owned, and I ran, a successful 4.5 star rated Bed & Breakfast at Northam for four years. This gives me some insight into the problems facing the tourism industry in York.

It is something I like to call locality tourism, meaning the best use of what could be defined as natural assets within the shire precinct.

These are the water aspect provided by the Avon, the potential for expanding an ‘Extreme Sports’ arena such as Mount Brown and the vast potential of the York Race Track, the oldest inland track, and its surrounds- that is one of the most attractive in Australia

During my career I have sat on the ‘The West Australian’ newspapers Editorial Board of Management, the Northam Tourist Bureau, Essential Personnel (assisting people with disabilities to obtain mainstream employment) and
the York 175^th Anniversary Committee.


Though apolitical I took on the role of interim President of the Northam Branch of the WA Liberals to ensure the survival of the branch.

Briefly here is how I stand with the current controversies in this Shire.

No- I do not want a tip near York.

On Tuesday Questions on Notice were read out in the Legislative Council by Robin Chapple MLC, compiled by me, in an attempt to kill off the project.

Other than threatening to chain myself to the Allawuna Farm gate there is little more that I can do without being on council.

Regarding the sale and massive costs of repair of the Convent School, the matter has been placed in the hands of the appropriate regulatory authority.

It is now wait and see!

My position on the YRCC is that a special liquor licence be granted to a
syndicate of Sporting Clubs as required in the best interest of all sports.

The café should be closed and used as a kitchen by the sporting clubs should they see fit.

I am advised that the decision to hire two staff by the Shire of York to assist two managers at the Bar & Café was undertaken without the knowledge of some Shire Councillors.

There should be a public demand to know who made the decision given there is a suggested take-over time frame of July 1, 2019.

Overall I intend to ensure the Shire of York--- never again has a list of finance and administration- ‘Extreme Risks’- against its name’.

Thank you.

BEYOND WASTING WORDS-BEYOND BELIEF-NOT BEYOND ANSWERS

To all those who wish to refuse Perth’s refuse here is the response from Robin Chapple MLC who will table the QUESTIONS-on-NOTICE before the Legislative Council on October 10, 2017, to be answered by the Minister for the Environment, Stephen Dawson.

Please note that it will take Dawson to November 29, 2017, to find suitable responses that may not be the correct answers.

Also please note that the ‘Department’ (the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation) did not provide important documents. These documents are listed below and show how conniving, or just plain incompetent the DWER is.

From: Jurak, Nina
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 1:17 PM
To: davidgrant@westnet.com.au
Subject: RE: ALLAWUNA LANDFILL

Hi David,

I note that the public comment period was extended by another 10 days as the Department did not provide important documents.

I have also submitted your questions to be asked on the 10 October and answers expected by 29 November.

Kind regards,

Nina Jurak

Research Officer

Office of the Hon Robin Chapple MLC

Phone (08) 9486 8255 | Freecall 1800 138 610 http://www.robinchapple.com/

Everyone should be demanding answers from Dawson and his department how this happened.
Inadvertently is not the word I would use! the

To: davidgrant@westnet.com.au
Subject: RE: ALLAWUNA LANDFILL

Please note that the following documents were inadvertently not uploaded to DWER's website at the start of the consultation period:

·         Works Approval Application - Supporting Geotechnical information;

·         Works Approval Application - Great Southern Landfill - Review of Noise, Odour and Dust assessments and Management Plans for approved Allawuna Landfill;

·         Great Southern Landfill - Hydrological Site Characterisation;

·         Great Southern Landfill Facility, Lot 4869 Great Southern Highway, Shire of York - Great Southern Landfill Management Plan; and

·         Fee Calculation.

https://www.der.wa.gov.au/our-work/community-updates/451-great-southern-landfill

From: davidgrant@westnet.com.au [mailto:davidgrant@westnet.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 4 October 2017 3:50 PM
To: Jurak, Nina <Nina.Jurak@mp.wa.gov.au>
Subject: RE: ALLAWUNA LANDFILL

Thank you for all your kind assistance Nina,

Just a thought- but have you any idea what important documents the Department forgot to disclose?

Kind regards

David Taylor.

THE LITTLE BAR ON THE PRIARIE

As a breeze blows across a couple of hectares of bare paddock, dust settles on large windows with an outlook to very little, unless you like tennis and faux lawn?

No chance to scream  for your footy and cricket teams from the bar as it was located and planned by architects who would have designed a giraffe with feathers and a 10 metre wingspan.

So who was the building actually created for?

The sports fan who loves a Carlton Mid, Draught and Dry, Cascade Light, Great Northern Super Crisp Lager and Matilda Bay Dogbolter on tap while enjoying the view of a bar instead of their team sprinting out onto Forrest Oval?

Or the sedentary, adipose-enhanced patrician who enjoy a Groisch, Rogers, Nail Stout, Pistonhead Lager and Squires in their own purpose built, semi-private, quaffing palace without being disturbed by the awfully loud and annoying sound of barracking?

There is always access to at least $22,000 worth of beverages in stock in any given month, even when the stocktake has to be asked for a week to four-weeks after the report was due. All purchases, over the past 4-years, courtesy of local ratepayers.

Then there is the food stock holding, called ‘food calc’s, which comes in between $5,000 to $8,000 per month.

That means a lot of meals, from a lot of perishables, or maybe even a separate catering business?

These late reports are requested, in writing, with such professional accounting protocol terminology as ‘Thanks a bunch’ attached.

It is unsure when the Auditor General’s department takes over auditing local shire council books it will consider this internal audit linguistics as entirely appropriate.

These stocktake value reports are not from 2013-2014 Financial Year, they are from this year-2017.

Are some of the boutique beer beneficiaries those who authorized the building of this bar in the first place?

Was the entire premises developed more as a failed Convention Centre for the South East Avon Region of Council’s starlets who wished to tread the boards on an amalgamated council stage, rather than to satisfy the needs of the local sports clubs?

That is for local ratepayers, and the community, to decide!

Until July 1 , 2019, the entire population of the Shire of York will be paying at least $62 per head, annually, to keep the bar and eatery alive. It means everyone including those way-to-young to vote, or drink alcohol.

Furthermore- the domestic ratepayers of York will also be funding everything associated with it to the tune of around $676 per annum, each, which is the difference between their property’s Gross Rental Value and the cost of past shire financial mistakes- by comparison to other councils.

These include the syphoning-off of funds intended for road maintenance that has caused a multi-million dollar problem with local roads.

Although by no means a recommendation but more a discussion point, the closure of the café section would see a minimum of between $60,000 and $96,000 saved per annum. A reduction in monthly beverage stock holdings and opening hours reduced to Friday’s through Sunday’s would also see a massive reduction in costs.

It would mean that the Shire is not just paying lip-service to ‘Competitive Neutrality’ regarding other similar, privately owned businesses whether established or proposed- such as the Imperial Hotel reincarnation.

It could provide the opportunity for no rate increases over the next few years, maybe even a rebate.

Unfortunately this will not happen. The Shire of York administration has acted swiftly in shoring-up its position of control over both Council and a financially limiting asset by advertising two new permanent positions.

One is a Wait Services and Functions Officer (commonly known as a waiter or waitress) answerable to the Prairie Bar & Grill Manager and to the Catering Manager when appropriate.

The other is a Kitchen Hand, there to slice and dice $8,000 worth of perishables per month to serve a Sunday crowd of 14 gourmands.

No privately owned café, restaurant, sandwich deli, pie, kebab and fish-and-chip shop can survive on selling just 14 meals on a given day without the financial backing of a multi-millionaire doing some money laundering.

Any additional cost to ratepayers for these Shire of York employees, (not YRCC employees), is currently unknown. What it means is the Prairie Bar & Grill cannot survive without massive financial support from ratepayers.

The applicants will not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, age, marital status, pregnancy, race, disability, religious or political convictions.


It would appear that members of the LGBT community need not apply

None of the Senior Management of the Shire of York administration had any involvement in the development of the bar and café.

However they now seem to be exacerbating the financial problems facing all current stakeholders and any future Licencee-lessee.

The administration has been tasked to provide a final solution in the best interest of ratepayers and the community in the manner and time frame agreed to by Council. This should be after the 2017 election.

It is COUNCIL who RULES and is responsible for making the final decision.

David Taylor.