What’s happened?

The two councillors sat at the council table in 2019 when a policy was adopted for setting new works priorities. In fact one was mayor. What has happened from then till now, when one of the two, spruiking something we already know, was mayor for the bulk of this time?

Is there a proposal before council where these two don’t agree and suddenly out of the drawer comes this three year old policy. To the new councillors beware. Of course, we who pay our rates only know part of what is in council thinking when much of the discussion and decision making is behind closed doors and brought to a council meeting for rubber stamping.

Each year a survey is conducted in Victoria to establish what peoples think of council performance across service areas. Baw Baw sits close to the bottom of the results year in, year out. That should be a clear indicator that dumb decisions are the order of the day.

Council likes to think it is the centre for big ideas and ignores the basics. Millions for new works might look good on paper but it is the basics that are the focus of ratepayers, a key reason for the dismal results each year.

People I speak to have a new hospital as the most important project for our area. Before the last state election a local campaign was well supported by residents and council jumped on the bandwagon. Nothing since, until recently council signed a joint statement with the hospital to work for a new hospital. Then it’s back in the drawer. A new hospital should be at the top of the list, and, instead of a $30M civic centre pipe dream, get serious and stump up a financial contribution for a new hospital, so important to our rapidly growing community. And don’t start me on the dumb decisions..

Peter Montgomery, Warragul