OMG-if you did not believe it before, you can believe it now. York average
rates are $1,900 with other rural/regional shires averaging $1,386, a variance
of nearly 30%, way-over the state average and $400 per annum more than the City
of Perth. So it is time for strict governance from Minister Templeman and CO
and a new Local Government Act dealing specifically with Rural, Regional and Remote Shire
Council problems!
BUT THINGS GET WORSE- we now have a tinsel-town type scandal with a crewe-member being outed.
OPEN LETTER
BUT THINGS GET WORSE- we now have a tinsel-town type scandal with a crewe-member being outed.
OPEN LETTER
Date November 9, 2017
Mr. Duncan Ord
Director General
Department of Local Government
Dear Sir
YOUR REF: - Current WA Local Government
Law and Regulations and the quality of Public Servants as they effect Rural,
Regional and Remote WA.
For nearly a decade every politician and bureaucrat involved in local government have thrown their hands in the air regarding continuing public angst and unrest caused by shire council administrative mismanagement, the poor quality of councillors and local government employees and lack of any form of transparency. The favourite catchcry is- ‘it’s not my problem-you are autonomous’.
In the underpopulated rural Local Government Areas it has been like a high risk, almost terminally ill patient being denied access to the rudimentary health advice and support required to prevent the necessity of palliative care that, in the end, is way too expensive to provide. Despite this, a previous Local Government Official, Brad Jolly, had the gall to call us mendicant
So- exactly whose problem does this new government think it is?
Obviously the poor ratepayer who elects the councillors then suffers the consequences which are considered self-generated under the government’s interpretation of local government law and regulations- is the perception of the culprit.
The Shire of York has just terminated the contract of Mr. Paul Crewe, Executive Manager Infrastructure and Development Services who is responsible for all works and services, capital projects, asset planning, asset maintenance, planning for whatever, environmental health, building, roads, the wide-ranging dogcatcher who used to subcontract the local pound out as boarding kennels and council emergency services programs.
Why? Who knows and so what! You will say that this is a matter for the Chief-Executive-Officer and Council, in particular the President who probably does not share such information with colleagues as mandated to do.
WELL IT IS NOT!
It appears to be a matter for Worksafe Australia, the Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act, Fairwork Australia and the Racial Discrimination Act.
It is alleged that Paul Crewe has hit the jackpot, a trifecta of the worst acts of staff victimisation that cause trauma and stress in the workplace, Sexual Harassment, Bullying and Racial Discrimination.
Each one of these offenses should see the manager concerned removed from office and not be allowed to be in charge of staff again.
What happens in Local Government is there will be a collusive agreement between the Shire President and the CEO to prevent any details of what has occurred from surfacing in the public arena. The perpetrator will receive a payout with a confidentiality clause covering all parties to the agreement preventing them, by law, in making any further comment.
He will probably move to another council with the sanction and protection of the WA Local Government Association and Local Government Professionals WA.
What should happen, in the best interest of the future of local government, is that the Shire of York should come under intense scrutiny, by all authorities concerned, for failing to provide a safe working environment. (It has been sacked, suspended and now this!)
Any and all shire staff effected should demand compensation from the Shire through their union representatives or legal firms such as Slater & Gordon who may be more than happy to instigate a class action on behalf of a number of claimants on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis.
Compensation at the top end of the scale of severity in such cases can be up to $150,000 per individual.
It is what should happen, but it is the last thing that the Shire of York and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Clowns, Tumblers and Jugglers in Cultural Industries, with its shambolic, impolitic, archaic legislation, that sits on its hands suggesting it is an unaccountable eunuch of a governance body, would want.
That is with the exception of the Local Government Risk Profile expose where now the Minister for Local Government is claiming ‘the Department has an important role in building capacity and good governance in the local government sector and providing effective regulation through ensuring compliance with the Local Government Act 1995 and its regulations.
There are only two ways to look at this. It is either the biggest load of government bullshit ever written or it’s the greatest ‘lightbulb’ moment in recent local government history with this Minister admitting that Labors’ 1995 Act should actually be complied with.
Now that is a revelation 23-years in the making.
Any community can base its rationalised visualization on the fact that this Local Government Risk Profile has been operating for the past six years with the risks still rapidly multiplying.
Now back to the problem of the quality and accountability of Local Government Public Servants!
Mr. Crewe had a big job- yet was just a small fish in the local government pond, but an expensive fish none the less, in the nearly $4 million, per annum, Shire of York salary and wage cost fiscal swamp. Much more than the shire spends on facilitation for its huge, elderly population.
Maybe he was exhausted because he has not had the support of a Works and Services Manager and a plethora of other shire minions.
Mr Crewe was not much more than 12 months into his contract. So there, arguably, goes another $500,000, plus any compensation claims raised through his dismissal, and including the additional salary paid to whoever replaces him.
The news of his rapid departure, which coincided with the council elections, appears to have been kept secret so that it could not have any effect on the recent council polls.
The only candidate for whom this potential scandal may have been of some detriment was the Shire of York President, David Wallace.
Your government says that all the above is still the total responsibility of the individual Shire Council.
Unfortunate rural ratepayers get their throats cut three times, once by local, then state and federal governments. In many cases mainly for the privilege of having their rubbish collected and their wallets emptied by those whom your government calls the male, pale and stale local government member coterie who, in York, decided to have their own, publically funded, Tavern licenced Bar and Cafe.
So, based on gender, how is Ms. Lisa Scaffidi, referred to- female, failed and anything that rhymes with jail?
Probably the real catalyst for the Local Government Risk Profile was the opening of the Royalty for Regions billionaire cookie-jar.
Since then a number of councils have provided palatial, often unused, community facilities using this funding without the least idea of how much the annual running costs would be and the overall community debt accrual over its usable lifetime. Sending their ratepayers down a faecal creek so to speak!
York is one of these with the inclusion of its York Recreation & Convention Centre, based on its shire’s Actual Revenue Figures and Budget Actual Expenditure, ensuring an over budget expenditure of $13, 760,000 for the 2016-2017 Financial Year.
If you add on the actual cost of the planning, development and construction of the YRCC then you could project an over budget expenditure of $20,000,000 in nice round figures.
The future investigation into how Royalties for Regions funds were misspent to create local government financial mayhem should include the YRCC and its Tavern Licenced Forrest Bar and Café which makes a mockery of the government’s Competitive Neutrality requirements.
This is that there is no net competitive advantage through public sector ownership because the necessities of social welfare and equity, regional development demands and the interests of the consumers are all being met. This is one with single answer- bullshit!
And a $20 million fiasco for a shire with the 3,600 inhabitants- is bordering on gross negligence and should have past Shire of York Councillors breaking out in a cold sweat!
It would be nice if the YRCC matter is raised between the DLGC at the next meeting with the WA Corruption and Crime Commission to see if the negligent loss of $20 million of ratepayers, and taxpayer’s money is considered some sort of offence.
Otherwise is placed on the list of the inept blunders made by the previous government to be investigated by the proposed government committee on Royalties for Regions project expenditure.
There have been a number of salient points raised in this letter. I do not require or expect a response, it is if anything mentioned here becomes a serious issue to the public and the community you cannot claim to know nothing about it.
Yours sincerely
David Taylor.
Shire of York Ratepayer.
For nearly a decade every politician and bureaucrat involved in local government have thrown their hands in the air regarding continuing public angst and unrest caused by shire council administrative mismanagement, the poor quality of councillors and local government employees and lack of any form of transparency. The favourite catchcry is- ‘it’s not my problem-you are autonomous’.
In the underpopulated rural Local Government Areas it has been like a high risk, almost terminally ill patient being denied access to the rudimentary health advice and support required to prevent the necessity of palliative care that, in the end, is way too expensive to provide. Despite this, a previous Local Government Official, Brad Jolly, had the gall to call us mendicant
So- exactly whose problem does this new government think it is?
Obviously the poor ratepayer who elects the councillors then suffers the consequences which are considered self-generated under the government’s interpretation of local government law and regulations- is the perception of the culprit.
The Shire of York has just terminated the contract of Mr. Paul Crewe, Executive Manager Infrastructure and Development Services who is responsible for all works and services, capital projects, asset planning, asset maintenance, planning for whatever, environmental health, building, roads, the wide-ranging dogcatcher who used to subcontract the local pound out as boarding kennels and council emergency services programs.
Why? Who knows and so what! You will say that this is a matter for the Chief-Executive-Officer and Council, in particular the President who probably does not share such information with colleagues as mandated to do.
WELL IT IS NOT!
It appears to be a matter for Worksafe Australia, the Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act, Fairwork Australia and the Racial Discrimination Act.
It is alleged that Paul Crewe has hit the jackpot, a trifecta of the worst acts of staff victimisation that cause trauma and stress in the workplace, Sexual Harassment, Bullying and Racial Discrimination.
Each one of these offenses should see the manager concerned removed from office and not be allowed to be in charge of staff again.
What happens in Local Government is there will be a collusive agreement between the Shire President and the CEO to prevent any details of what has occurred from surfacing in the public arena. The perpetrator will receive a payout with a confidentiality clause covering all parties to the agreement preventing them, by law, in making any further comment.
He will probably move to another council with the sanction and protection of the WA Local Government Association and Local Government Professionals WA.
What should happen, in the best interest of the future of local government, is that the Shire of York should come under intense scrutiny, by all authorities concerned, for failing to provide a safe working environment. (It has been sacked, suspended and now this!)
Any and all shire staff effected should demand compensation from the Shire through their union representatives or legal firms such as Slater & Gordon who may be more than happy to instigate a class action on behalf of a number of claimants on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis.
Compensation at the top end of the scale of severity in such cases can be up to $150,000 per individual.
It is what should happen, but it is the last thing that the Shire of York and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Clowns, Tumblers and Jugglers in Cultural Industries, with its shambolic, impolitic, archaic legislation, that sits on its hands suggesting it is an unaccountable eunuch of a governance body, would want.
That is with the exception of the Local Government Risk Profile expose where now the Minister for Local Government is claiming ‘the Department has an important role in building capacity and good governance in the local government sector and providing effective regulation through ensuring compliance with the Local Government Act 1995 and its regulations.
There are only two ways to look at this. It is either the biggest load of government bullshit ever written or it’s the greatest ‘lightbulb’ moment in recent local government history with this Minister admitting that Labors’ 1995 Act should actually be complied with.
Now that is a revelation 23-years in the making.
Any community can base its rationalised visualization on the fact that this Local Government Risk Profile has been operating for the past six years with the risks still rapidly multiplying.
Now back to the problem of the quality and accountability of Local Government Public Servants!
Mr. Crewe had a big job- yet was just a small fish in the local government pond, but an expensive fish none the less, in the nearly $4 million, per annum, Shire of York salary and wage cost fiscal swamp. Much more than the shire spends on facilitation for its huge, elderly population.
Maybe he was exhausted because he has not had the support of a Works and Services Manager and a plethora of other shire minions.
Mr Crewe was not much more than 12 months into his contract. So there, arguably, goes another $500,000, plus any compensation claims raised through his dismissal, and including the additional salary paid to whoever replaces him.
The news of his rapid departure, which coincided with the council elections, appears to have been kept secret so that it could not have any effect on the recent council polls.
The only candidate for whom this potential scandal may have been of some detriment was the Shire of York President, David Wallace.
Your government says that all the above is still the total responsibility of the individual Shire Council.
Unfortunate rural ratepayers get their throats cut three times, once by local, then state and federal governments. In many cases mainly for the privilege of having their rubbish collected and their wallets emptied by those whom your government calls the male, pale and stale local government member coterie who, in York, decided to have their own, publically funded, Tavern licenced Bar and Cafe.
So, based on gender, how is Ms. Lisa Scaffidi, referred to- female, failed and anything that rhymes with jail?
Probably the real catalyst for the Local Government Risk Profile was the opening of the Royalty for Regions billionaire cookie-jar.
Since then a number of councils have provided palatial, often unused, community facilities using this funding without the least idea of how much the annual running costs would be and the overall community debt accrual over its usable lifetime. Sending their ratepayers down a faecal creek so to speak!
York is one of these with the inclusion of its York Recreation & Convention Centre, based on its shire’s Actual Revenue Figures and Budget Actual Expenditure, ensuring an over budget expenditure of $13, 760,000 for the 2016-2017 Financial Year.
If you add on the actual cost of the planning, development and construction of the YRCC then you could project an over budget expenditure of $20,000,000 in nice round figures.
The future investigation into how Royalties for Regions funds were misspent to create local government financial mayhem should include the YRCC and its Tavern Licenced Forrest Bar and Café which makes a mockery of the government’s Competitive Neutrality requirements.
This is that there is no net competitive advantage through public sector ownership because the necessities of social welfare and equity, regional development demands and the interests of the consumers are all being met. This is one with single answer- bullshit!
And a $20 million fiasco for a shire with the 3,600 inhabitants- is bordering on gross negligence and should have past Shire of York Councillors breaking out in a cold sweat!
It would be nice if the YRCC matter is raised between the DLGC at the next meeting with the WA Corruption and Crime Commission to see if the negligent loss of $20 million of ratepayers, and taxpayer’s money is considered some sort of offence.
Otherwise is placed on the list of the inept blunders made by the previous government to be investigated by the proposed government committee on Royalties for Regions project expenditure.
There have been a number of salient points raised in this letter. I do not require or expect a response, it is if anything mentioned here becomes a serious issue to the public and the community you cannot claim to know nothing about it.
Yours sincerely
David Taylor.
Shire of York Ratepayer.
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