Unclear all right

CONGRATULATIONS Tilly Vervoort (Unclear council, 1 October) for highlighting the classic council tactic at the pantomime of council meetings. Our elected councillors are keen but hardly qualified in local government to comprehend the in-depth details of council regulations and directions. The Cardinia Planning Scheme alone is more than 1000 pages long.
Councillors are there to represent the interests of residents and ratepayers but many people are unaware councillors have no control of council officers, except the appointment of the CEO. So the well-entrenched and well-paid council officers (Cardinia has 15 senior staff paid $130,000 plus) deluge the councillors with documentation to bog them down, in between councillors’ happy snaps for the media – but often forget to provide the one per cent information needed by councillors to fully comprehend. Classic “Yes Minister” tactics. The example Tilly cited from the council meeting would have got past had not the hard questions been asked.
Cardinia’s debt is a consequence of trying to be grandiose, when it suits, but on a small ratepayer base that cannot afford such largesse. As a result our rates continue to rise at a frightening speed but since council is a monopoly what recourse do we have and the rort continues unabated. As example we find $40k spent on an arts and cultural study reporting in December 2014 yet $3.25 million already allocated for a new arts facility despite a recent council survey showing existing community facilities are underutilised.
At the same time council is winding back off-leash dog facilities when all that is needed is a small funding to fence those existing as do other councils. Council continues to establish housing estates on blocks where you cannot swing a cat to establish the “growth corridor” yet reduces areas where the growing number of residents can let their pets run off steam. Strange logic; perhaps we should rename our pets “Arts” or “Culture” to unleash councillors to get the bone between their teeth and do the right thing.
Brian Hannan,
Emerald.