Hervey Bay Gossip

Jim Mackellar takes a look at the Fraser Coast Regional Council and suggests that they’re doing the best they can … but is their best really good enough?

Despite the rising tide of criticism concerning the performance of our Fraser Coast Regional Council, we should not consider this as a failure of effort by our incumbent Councillors.

Don’t be too harsh on the Councillors. They are doing the best that they can. It is just that the job at hand is beyond the knowledge and skills of most of them. But despite this most are still putting in their best efforts to achieve good outcomes for the region. But they are not attaining these outcomes.

Evidence of their endeavour can been seen in many fields of Council activity, but so also may evidence of their limitations be seen in the outcomes being achieved. Lets look at some examples.

Capital Works.
In the face of the Global Financial Crises the Council, last financial year, put in place a capital works program of over $70million to provide a much needed stimulus to the local economy. However at the end of the financial year they had managed to complete only about 66% of their planned projects. Over $20million worth of projects had to be carried forward. In many areas less capital works was achieved than by the previous administrations.

This failure was blamed on the inability of Council staff to get projects out to tender and to obtain suitable tenders when they were called for. So, to remedy the situation, the created a new executive position (with new executive salary costs) of Director Capital Delivery, whose role is to expedite the process of completing capitol projects.

Result? So far this year Council is already over $6million  behind in its capital project deliveries. And most of these projects are much needed by the community and every delay means that we fall that much further behind in providing the infrastructure needed by the people of the region. No change in approach, just more of the same.

Economic Development.
In times of economic hardship across the region this is a very important sphere of Council activity. And we have seen much of this activity. We have had studies done, working groups formed to study the issue and finally a standing committee of the Council and community stakeholders formed. And what has been achieved?

The backbone of the economy of any region is small and micro business. The mum and dad local business people who provide the basic services to the community. And how do they find dealing with the Council when they wish to expand to create more employment and economic activity? Very, very difficult because the Council is geared for dealing with the big applicants and applies the same process to the small as to the large.

Thus we still have a stagnant economy with falling employment while we continue to look for the single ‘silver bullet’ large investor while neglecting those who are the very foundation of our economic wellbeing. Once again still trying the same means to achieve a different outcome.

Marketing and Tourism.
Well that sign says it all. Great idea, shocking execution. Only three small problems. It does not welcome our visitors, it merely informs them that they have reached the vicinity of Hervey Bay. It cost an absolute fortune and then our Council, in their great wisdom, locate it in a position where it is invisible until one is almost on top of it. One would think that they were actually ashamed of the sign and tried to hide it behind the trees in the hope we would not notice it.

And so the list goes on. They are trying, there is much activity, much money being spent, but are we going forward or backwards?

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 5:44 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.