OUR FAVOURITE MARTIN:

What a wonderful word York’s CEO, Paul Martin, appears to have come up with- it is ‘MULTIYEAR’. Good one champ!

It covers a MULTITUDE of sins dating back to the year 2006 and probably well into the next decade, even century.

MULTIYEAR actually means as long as it takes, totally time non-specific, totally time generous, totally no foreseeable end-result focussing. To put it even more succinctly in means more than one year- right up to Armageddon.

It covers anything and everything.

This includes the 3 years it has taken the Shire to find out that it will not be recompensed for the highly controversial purchase of St Patrick’s Convent. This being money that was inappropriately lent by State Treasury for the purchase of this property at twice its market value.

And of course any idea of taking Commissioner James Best to court (on what charge?) will probably end up in crocodile tears because he may say he burrowed the money from the state with the required authority to do so, all done in good faith, and if you want it, don’t even bother because,’ good luck- he cannot afford to pay it back’.

The best court case scenario is that it buys a bevy of lawyers that new Porsche 911 and a new set of golf clubs to throw in the boot, courtesy of York ratepayers, with the decision possibly taking MULTIYEAR’S with a dead end result.Regarding the collapsing convent it must be said that an incredible Shire of York Agenda statement has been made about this almighty imbroglio which goes to the very crux of the problem that ratepayers have with the Shire of York.

It is an absolute beauty regarding all the costs and potential stuff-ups involved. ‘Officers have proposed to be entirely transparent on this matter’.

Firstly this infers that Officers may not have not been entirely transparent in the past on any other matter, including this one!

Also PROPOSED means a SUGGESTION- not that anyone is actually going to be transparent.Does this mean a new enlightened era where truth and honesty prevail?

Not with the current Local Government Act 1995 and the Department of Local Government and the West Australian Local Government Association’s interpretation of it.

WALGA’s, own role, responsibilities and abilities, including its training methods, some could argue may have inadvertently allowed, even enticed a CEO, Dacre Alcock, to steal $600,000 from the Shire of Dowerin. 

A great assistant of the Shire of York and its past problematic auditing procedures, Dominic Carbone, is listed as a financial trainer with WALGA.

MULTIYEARS also does not sound so bad as the number of years the YRCC has, and will continue to, destroy the Shire of York’s finances, ensuring that the ratepayers are charged more for their rates than many City Councils and most Shire Councils- until hell freezes over.

Some silver tongued soothsayers will claim that this is not true.

The alleged exploding debt of up to $13 million is just a drop in the ocean in comparison to over (an initial) $100 million spent by a few other regional councils, through Royalties for Regions, on massive, not needed, local entertainment facilities, without due diligence, creating a never ending, massive debt problem.

Compared to these York’s Beer (Pork) Barrel Polka Forrest Tavern/Bar/Café repayments could be chicken feed- other than the fact that the Shire of York cannot afford it- and neither can the ratepayers.

Fixing future problems is just all too easy. The Minister for Local Government, David Templeman, could prevent further Local Government Council financial missmagement in an instant by changing the Local Government Act (Regulations) 1996. He has the personal power as me, myself, I.

Despite the current financial largesse furore, massive Local Government Council financial problems are not entirely the responsibility of Royalties for Regions and Brendan Grylls.

It was  just a cookie jar offered to incompetent CEO’s and councils who had no expensive community project management accounting skills whatsoever. They had no projections on annual running costs or whole of life maintenance costs. It was pure greed, pure self-aggrandisement within the local community- assured through pure stupidity!

Many Local  Government Council’s’ do not have an accredited finance officer. Some that do-have an incumbent that did not pass Grade 3 Math and graduated as a shoe salesman, or a barperson.

To the best of anybody’s knowledge, the Shire of York’s current Finance Officer has no degree, no qualifications, no accreditation and no certification at all pertaining to controlling finances. Neither does any other Officer within its offices.

Now here is a list of unanswered questions put to David Templeman by someone who has the University Degree qualifications to do so.

Why has not the Minister invoked the following or at least signalled that these changes will be occurring forthwith?

All that is needed is a change to the LG(Financial Management ) Regulations 1996 which is in his power to action as opposed to changing the LGA 1995 which requires action by Parliament. Why has this not happened?

Local Government is required to comply with AAS (Australian Accountancy Standards) and all financial responsibility is vested in the office of CEO when there should be a separation of responsibilities between the CEO and a Chief Finance Officer . Why has this not happened?

Internal Audit function is none existent in many LGs and not well understood. The DLG should be able to issue Instructions which have the same statuary authority as the Act and Regulations. Why has this not happened?

Finance training is carried out by WALGA and the above should have been picked up.

The membership of WALGA is conflict of interest and the role of the Association, which is funded by the public purse, should be investigated and rationalized.

Why has not this happened?.

Then comes WALGA.

Why does WALGA not insist that each Local Government Council has a Chief Finance Officer to meet Department of Treasury instructions and Australian Accounting Standards?

That to be fully financially accountable, there should be clear mandatory delineation between the responsibilities of any department CEO, finance staff and purchasing staff?

In Local Government all financial responsibilities are placed with the Chief Executive Officer. In York’s case Paul Martin, who is not known to be a certified practicing accountant or have any similar qualifications.

No other staff have any accounting qualifications, so it may be the case of a partially blind guide dog leading the blind?

(This could be very interesting if a demand is made of the Auditor General to ensure that no extraneous payments have been made by the Shire of York to possibly three, maybe more staff members in the 2017-18 Financial Year. This will happen.)

In fact what is WALGA?.

How many people at WALGA are needed to change a lightbulb? What are their salary packages, motor vehicles supplied, allowances and credit cards? What is its annual running costs, does it own its offices and other properties? Does it have an extensive investment portfolio? To whom or under what Act is it accountable, the Associations Incorporations Act?How much revenue does it receive per annum from ratepayers and what services does it provide that is of any benefit to ratepayers, other than to those who leach off them? It could be claimed it perpetuates a failed system for its own benefit.

And the biggest question of all -what good is it?
Last but not least this is a question for Wallace & Martin (it sounds like a bit like funeral director partnership.)How many MULTIYEARS is it going to take to turn  the monstrous black lagoon back into the Avon River?

And

How many MULTIYEARS will it take to re-erect the tumbling tombstones to honour York’s ancestors.

The answer may well be ‘we have proposed to be entirely transparent on this matter- it will be MULTIYEARS’.

David Taylor.

STILL LIFE:

THE RIVER AVON - YORK, 2018

                                        

This magnificently poignant photograph has taken the international art world by storm.

The New York Bulletins Art Critic says, “This image is superb. A picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words but this one says everything in just six.

The juxtaposition of a decaying man-made object amid ugly slimy green ooze makes this a modern environmentally inspired masterpiece.

The pallid colours suggest a primeval, dystopian world of the future, almost an ‘image noir’.

This glorious art work could just have easily been called ‘No Life”.

The London Gazette says ‘it is a harrowing, yet soulful example of the neo-apocalyptic earth phase.

It suggests the destruction of one of the planets greatest assets, its waterways, by mankind, complete with the reminder of our throw-away society rearing its ugly, singular assemblage from the cloying algal scum.

You can talk about modernism, cubism and all the other ‘isms, this is a paragon, a tour de force encapsulating man’s inhumanity to his world.

It is pure creative genius”.

President Donald Trump’s Spokesperson says

“Forget the fake news, arty-farty crap and build a wall that critics can’t jump over.

The President feels that this is pure creative genius in the development of a new money-making venture ‘Grunge Tourism’.

You can allow the environment and history to decay around you, at no cost, and then rake in the dollars as busloads of tourists pore in to view the stinking mess.

He would love who thought of this one to be on his team.

He’s met your Prime Minister, Mal Turnbill, and he says that this is Aussie local government entrepreneurship at its very best.

David Taylor.

OF GRAVE CONCERN: -

Ah yes- the wondrous pontifications called bullshit that inveigles its way into Local Shire Council’s mantras.

These are unaccountable, impossible to substantiate hymns of collective personal praise in honour of what is actually a lack of local council ability and endeavour.

It is what is also called chutzpah, a Yiddish term for gall, brazen nerve and unfettered arrogance.

York’s little gem is “To build on our past to create our future”.

In this Shire of York’s case it means absolutely nothing. It is not building or creating anything, and appears to be in total denial and/or total ignorance of the fact.

It would come far closer to the truth if the motto was ‘to maybe try and rebuild our past- just in case   we have some sort of a future’.

Certainly the neglected, desecrated St. Patrick’s Convent could do with some obscenely expensive tender loving repair and the historic York graveyard is a disgusting ‘falling, forlorn tombstone territory’.

View the images and you will understand why!      

You could easily make the assumption that the Shire of York is actually destroying its past through a deliberate regime of pure neglect and abandonment.

Perth City Council’s, many who charge far lower annual domestic property rates than York, have $1 billion squirrelled away for the rainy day that requires improved public facilities for their communities.

Try and ask one of York’s Councillors what funds York has in a safe haven? It is arguably very little, to nothing, and they would not have a clue how much it is anyway.

To call York’s shire and community assets, few of which are saleable, a nest-egg for the town’s future would be farcical.

The current shire is not just moribund, it is going backwards.

It is well below Local Government Industry standards as a place to live, exacerbated by the fact that this council is considered even worse as a governing organization.

It has even plunged backwards in most standards since the reign of King Ray of Kalgoorlie, Chittering and York.

To cap this off, in the knowledge that King Ray and his cohorts totally ignored York’s history and the meaning of historic, the councils 2016-17 Annual Report mentioned the word history only twice in a 98 page, nondescript document.

One of the Shire’s few relative strengths is claimed to be ‘how (its) history is preserved and promoted’.

This is obviously some sort of rather humourless joke and begs the question does this council know what the word history means and the concept of community value in the word historic?

That--- is highly unlikely!

Strangely enough the Shire of York does have a local in charge of so-called ‘Arts and Cultural Heritage” the meaning of which should include the preservation of one of the state’s oldest and most historic graveyards.

Unfortunately it looks like a rubbish tip for headstones. So what does this woman do for a living and what history is being preserved? Can she learn to be a monumental mason?
Also the Shire has a Community and Economic Development Officer presumably to develop the economy by promoting the town through its rich history.

So what bit of richness has been promoted in the town, successfully, in the past 4 years?   

Then there is the other awkward conundrum.

The Shire President is a multi-generational member of the York community.

The dead relatives of his peers must be turning in their graves as their monuments collapse above them through neglect.

As York staggers from one impending disaster to another, it should be remembered that “Our Beloved Leader” may remain in office for another long 44 months and the CEO even longer.

David Taylor.