HEAVY LIFTING

Council budget funds Games and beyond while keeping rates increase below CPI

MAYOR Tom Tate has handed down a council budget that looks to the Commonwealth Games and beyond while limiting the rates increase to 1.8 per cent. The big ticket items include $96 million for next year’s Games and $108 million to improve roads ahead of the event. Cultural spending will hit $38 million, mainly for the new Evandale arts precinct. The construction boom is helping to ease the burden on ratepayers, with developer contributions expected to rise from $52.4 million to about $80 million.

THE boss of the Gold Coast City Council’s finance committee voted against Mayor Tom Tate’s Budget, citing differences over the axing of community officers.

The opposition of Governance and Administration chair William Owen-Jones and division nine councillor Glenn Tozer is the first time councillors have voted against the Budget since Cr Tate came to power to 2012.

The council last week decided to sack eight community development officers and four personal assistants in an effort to save money.

“I could not bring myself to support something to scale back the community development program,” Cr Owen-Jones said.

Neither Cr Owen-Jones nor Cr Tozer spoke about why they voted against the Budget during debate with councillors.

Aside from the development officer row, Cr Owen-Jones said the rest of the Budget was a “good” document.

Cr Owen-Jones shares a community development officer with Deputy Mayor Donna Gates.

The community development officers liaised with community groups and helped them apply for government grants.

The officers worked across the city, many split between different councillors. They will be replaced by entry-level project officers who will be paid significantly less. The savings could be up to $1 million.

Cr Tozer said he would ensure community groups continued to receive the help they needed.

“I will come up with a solution in accordance with the resolution.”

He said he did not think the decision reflected a “strong community spirit”.

In his elecorate, Cr Tozer has the equivalent of a fulltime community development officer. The role is shared between two part-time staff.

Mayor Tom Tate said it was felt the community development program could be done better. “I looked at new incoming Councillor (Hermann) Vorster, he basically used a project officer,” Cr Tate said.

“In that outline that person is able to do community development officer work as well.”

Cr Tate said councillors should also be doing the work.

“Get down there roll up your sleeve and be the community development officer like all other councillors,” he said.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates said a review of community services had been conducted and one of the recommendations was to overhaul of the community development program.