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.
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.
Oh Denese such a shame eh? Pretty sure you were in your car stalking the park area a couple of years ago and talking photos ,naughty,naughty, of a delightful little food van which was selling the most incredible Indian food. That was you wasn't it? That brown Bob is kinda distinctive. That poor couple all they wanted to do was bring a bit of something new to the town. You know a change from sweaty MO and his cafe or the over priced York, and the vile offers from settlers and the castle, (couldn't boil an egg!)
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