Out of control

TWO letters in the Gazette (8 October) highlight much of what is wrong with our council, and councils in general.
Local government is out of control.
Daryl Rogers is leaving Pakenham because of mismanagement, though he will probably find much the same wherever he goes.
Brian Hannan highlights why and how councils do what they like and why councillors have no power to curtail the excesses.
A council employee has dreamed up that for most property owners, burning sticks and leaves is no longer allowed. The options are green bins or nice tidy bundles collected once every six months.
On my property we generate as much as 15 cubic metres in a year from windfalls and prunings. In June I burnt a heap of maybe three cubic metres and was reported to council by some ‘kind’ person who saw the fire.
This resulted in an ‘official warning’ from “Prosecution and Infringement Review’ Cardinia Council.
I am now a “two time loser” and will need to find another solution for my large amount of previously burnable rubbish.
One option is to take to a neighbour with a property larger than one hectare who is allowed to burn. And parents beware, council will be busy harassing those who have a bonfire for Guy Fawkes Day.
The sad part about this is that councillors approved the dream of a bureaucrat in council who put up this ridiculous ‘Burning Policy’.
What they did not realise is that the person in charge of ‘Local Laws’ will now be asking for more staff to police this nonsense. It is also certain that the cost of collection of so-called green waste will increase.
Extra staff will also be needed to catch those ‘criminals’ who might still let their dogs run ‘off-leash’ in what used to be ‘off-leash areas’. We also have “No Smoking” signs at the white elephant Bunyip BMX Track (it is outdoors!)
Historically, councils developed out of roads boards, bodies which were formed to construct and maintain roads back in the 19th century.
Sadly, this is now a very minor function of council and one that is often not carried out properly.
In Wattletree Road some drainage works were done over a year ago which required several trenches across the road. The road was constructed as a ‘special charge scheme’, largely financed by residents. There have been at least four attempts to reinstate the road, each making the situation worse. The patches are now about five times as large as the original trenches and are quite rough. White lines have been applied so the work must be considered finished. For us residents, every time we drive over these repairs we will be reminded of council’s incompetence.
One rarely gets a sensible answer from councillors. For example, when I inquired as to what the council’s “Strengthening Officer” does, I was told that it was nothing to do with weight-lifting. And that is just one of many obscure titles, each of which has an officer, and usually a car, attached.
Local government is truly out of control and in our council there is only one lone voice opposing rate rises. It is bungles like those above that increase cost pressures and lead to rate rises always about double the inflation rate.
Fare thee well Mr Rogers. Try French Island, the only place where there are no rates! Most of us will have to stay in Cardinia, the council which has the largest debt in the whole state, some $67 million, and an ever-increasing staff of harassment officers which we must pay for via our rates.
Don McLean,
Bunyip.