List of all parks and playgrounds that are open or closed

Many folks have been asking for a list of which parks have had their playgrounds closed and which are still open. The City has a web page with the info. 

Click here to visit.  

The following press release from the City provides an update on the situation

Play equipment safety audit completed

A report on the condition of play equipment located in parks across the City region conducted by industry specialists has been completed and submitted to the City for review.

The play equipment safety inspections took into consideration the condition and noncompliance of all 167 pieces of play equipment were part of an ongoing program of asset audits the City conducted over an 18 month period. 

City of Greater Geraldton CEO, Ken Diehm, said although the audit took longer than expected the comprehensive report it produced is an important document the City and Council needs to make decisions that put the safety of families and their children first.

“Although it took much longer than the City anticipated to inspect every piece of play equipment across the City the audit report, which is more than 700 pages long, has shown playground equipment is generally in poor condition with 31 pieces being of an unacceptable standard and that many of the soft fall areas need to be upgraded as well.

“Some of these things are safety issues that need to be addressed, that’s why 15 parks have been closed and equipment has been removed and until these issues are rectified playground areas cannot be opened for use by children and their families,” said Mr Diehm.

Although $349,000 has been allocated in this year’s budget to fund the renewal of playground equipment, according to the report it would cost an estimated $1.7M to replace all of the play equipment.

To assist in prioritising which parks will have their play equipment repaired or replaced the City is utilising the Public Open Space Strategy.

“Playground equipment in parks listed as high priority in the strategy will be replaced progressively in the next few months.  Until this work is completed, the fences will remain in place to ensure community safety.

“Where parks that have had their equipment removed or identified as non-compliant and are not listed as high priority in the strategy, these may not be replaced in the near future,” said Mr Diehm.

A report to Council is currently being prepared on this matter identifying those parks that will have their playground equipment replaced or removed.  The report will be available from the Council website as part of the Council meeting agenda.

“I can appreciate the community would like to see the repairs and replacement of play equipment completed as quickly as possible so they can enjoy these facilities with their children and I apologise for the delays however, it is my responsibility as the City CEO to ensure that all play equipment meets safety standards before they are opened again for community use.”

Below is a list of parks currently closed or have had some of their equipment removed and parks that are partially closed where only some of the equipment is available for use.

A list of parks which are open, current closed or partially closed to the public can be found at the link at the top of this article. 

As play equipment in parks are reopened to the public, these parks will be added to the website list.

The Public Open Space Strategy is available at the City Civic Centre, Mullewa District Office or on the City website by clicking here. 

Ron Ashplant running again for council

I am seeking your support to become your representative for the Northern Ward. I am married with three children and we live in Waggrakine. 

I offer you the experience of having been a Councillor for the City of Greater Geraldton, I will use this experience to support the ongoing development and provide good leadership for, the northern ward. My decisions are based on merit and common sense, I speak my mind and consult widely with my community.

When previously on council I was a driving force to strengthen the relationship between progress associations and the city council. If I am elected to the council this year I will continue to drive this initiative and lead by example. If elected I will commit a minimum of 10% of my council allowance to be directed towards the progress associations in my ward.

This is my commitment to our community

Thank you for your time
Kind regards
Ron Ashplant

Shane Van Styn announces he is running for Mayor

Another candidate has announce he is running for the office of Mayor. Current councillor Shane Van Styn has released a letter announcing his candidacy, and he states several reasons for running. 

The full release follows:

---

After talking with many people in the last few months I have been encouraged to run for Mayor.

People tell me they are tired of the City not listening to their demands, tired of buck passing and the never ending requests for more rates to cover increasing costs especially for services not seen as the core business of the City. People want someone who will not only listen and talk but also act.

Sure the City is not responsible for law and order but we can advocate harder for increased Police and tougher sentences, even curfews and not just stay out of the law and order debate claiming simply “it is not our responsibility”.

Sure the City is bearing large cost increases but we can work harder in lowering our overall costs and driving economic efficiencies to keep rate rises low. In my businesses I make these decisions every day as I cannot simply keep lifting my prices.

The current field of candidates, have over a long time, either led our City through heavily opposed amalgamation or the subsequent obscene large rates rises or both. The blow out in current City costs results from these decisions made over the years.

I have been working hard as a Councillor to resolve the difficulties we now face and have been a vocal campaigner against the rate rises and costs excesses of the City, but supported worthwhile projects as required.

We need to get back to basics and fix our roads and footpaths, improve street lighting, support our clubs, protect our environment and heritage, support new businesses and provide quality day to day services expected of a large regional City.

We must also not neglect Mullewa and Greenough; areas that are important parts of our City.

I will work tirelessly to restore confidence in the City by continuing the current drive to be a safer, more economically responsible and more commercially attractive City that listens to its residents. I will be a strong advocate for Geraldton even if in areas traditionally not our responsibility.

I ask voters to elect me as their Mayor to set a fresh direction for our City by restoring the community’s confidence in it.

Shane Van Styn

---

How do Geraldton's and Chapman Valley's rates compare

Once a narrative or story takes hold in a community, it's hard for facts to make much of a difference in people's minds. People don't really read charts, scientific studies, or do their own research when forming opinions. They read memes on Facebook, news articles that summarise things often in an over simplistic manner, and maybe discuss it with their friends at the pub/scrapbooking/footy training. 

For example, for several years people believed mobile phone towers caused cancer. Despite data showing it not to be the case, successful community campaigns were held that resulted in towers being removed from locations near schools and child care centres. 

So a question we wanted to find out the answer to was how high are Geraldton's rates compared to nearby locations? More specifically, since the very large 27% rate increase that occurred several years ago, have the rather modest increases since then done much to bring us back to par with our neighbours. 

We decided to compare the rate increases over the last four years in Geraldton with neighbouring Chapman Valley. At one point in time CV was to merge with Geraldton. That never happened. Since then, rates have increased in both locations with many Geraldton residents under the impression Geraldton's rates have skyrocketed while Chapman Valley's rates barely budged.

It's not a fair comparison to simply place two rates notices side by side and compare them. That would be an apples to oranges approach.  

So to keep things fair (and simple), we gave both Councils a starting number of 100 for 2011/12, then added to that the % increase each year. 

Here's how they compared:

Chapman Valley

Starting: 100
2012/13 - 7% increase: 107
2013/14 - 7% increase: 114.49
2014/15 - 6% increase: 121.36
2015/16 - 5.5% increase: 128.03

Greater Geraldton

Starting: 100
2012/13 - 27% increase: 127
2013/14 - 2.25% increase: 129.86
2014/15 - 4.7% increase: 135.96
2015/16 - 3.9% increase: 141.26

Using this index Greater Geraldton is higher by 13.23;

Which is 10.33% higher than Chapman Valley. 

So the question:

Over the past four years have Greater Geraldton rates increased by more than Chapman Valley? Yes they have. 

Is it a drastic difference? Debatable. Using this index Geraldton's rates have increased 10.33% more in four years than Chapman Valley's. 

That's not to say that's good news, or bad news. It's just nice to know what the facts are. With the lower increases over the past 3 years, it's not 20% higher, 

If CGG future rate increases are able to be kept below the 4% mark then it's possible Geraldton could come close to CV in the not-too-distant future, unless CV are also able to tighten their belts. 

---

Free Webinar for those running for Council

Are you interested in running for Council but have questions about Local Government, becoming an elected member, Councillor roles and responsibilities, Council meetings, personal responsibilities or the impacts it may have on your home life then you won’t want to miss the Free Webinar on becoming an elected member tomorrow (Wednesday 12 August) at5.30pm.

The 45 minute long webinar provides opportunity to listen to and ask questions of Local Government experts who will give clear guidance on what Elected Members can and cannot do

For more information on the Webinar contact James McGovern at WALGA on 9213 2093 or to register go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6537187432416282114

Budget at a glance: Rates to rise 3.9% and new tip charges

Breaking:
Rates will go up 3.9%
$10 per trailer to use the tip 
No verge side pick up any more

The CGG council tonight adopted the budget for the coming financial year. Here's some highlights. We'll publish more soon. 

Budget highlights at glance:
-Total increase in rates revenue limited to 3.9% plus growth.
-It will now cost $10 to use the Meru tip. 
-The verge side pickup is not going to happen any more. 
-Introduction of concessions to soften impact of significant valuation increases.
-Removal of City Centre Specified Area Rate.
-$275,000 for a flood plain management study (grant funded).
-$130,000 allocated to Chapman River Wildlife Corridor and Greenough River.
-$100,000 for Midwest Gascoyne Recovery Project to benefit 19 local
governments.
-Sale of former Greenough Shire office and former Geraldton Depot.
-$4,500,000 to decontaminate Olive Street and provide additional public open
space.
-$50,000 to investigate and establish a Volunteer program.
-$75,000 to fund the HMAS Sydney II 75th anniversary.
-$65,000 for public art.
-$60,000 for an Aboriginal employment and training scheme.
-$150,000 allocated for signature events.
-$94,000 increase in parks maintenance.
-$671,000 increase in road maintenance.
-$182,000 increase in asset management.
-$10,000 for a customer service review.
-$8,000,523 for a Multi User Facility and Youth Precinct on the Foreshore.
-$1,408,000 for 500lux lights at Wonthella Oval.
-$18,071,742 to finalise the Karloo Wandina (Verita Road) Project.
-$7,175,000 for Beresford Foreshore beach protection.
-$1,000,000 for new animal management facility.
-$4,054,700 upgrade to Queens Park Theatre.
-$100,000 Mullewa Transfer Station.
-$486,450 for Town Beach finger jetty upgrade.
-$1,000,000 for Geraldton Airport fire main upgrade.
-$240,000 to provide mobility impaired access to Town Beach.
-$150,000 to refurbish Mullewa Youth Centre.
-$14,458,668 to renew roads and drainage infrastructure.
-$1,693,475 to renew parks and gardens infrastructure.
-$1,701,803 for new roads and drainage infrastructure.
-$1,997,000 to replace ageing plant and equipment.

Opinion: Regarding the job losses at the City of Greater Geraldton

You may have come across some headlines about jobs being axed at the city. 

I think axing is a terrible metaphor to use in this case. It implies the use of a tool with little precision and a lot of brute force. 

At first glance you might think nearly 50 people will be sacked. 

But dig a little deeper and you’ll get a different picture.

The process the City of Greater Geraldton undertook wasn’t simply that of slashing jobs until a magic dollar figure was reached. The process included a fair amount of restructuring, which resulted in the elimination of 73 positions and the creation of 27. 

Here’s a breakdown:

73 positions gone
27 new positions created

net loss of 46 positions

12 of these positions didn’t have anyone employed in them, due to the hiring freeze the city had already implemented
17 of these volunteered for redundancy already

This leaves 17 people who will have the choice of requesting a redundancy package, or asking to form part of a redeployment pool. If they're unable to be redeployed, they may be forced to take a redundancy. 

I had a chat with City of Greater Geraldton CEO Ken Diehm this afternoon about the situation, and his message to staff and the community at large. 

“The hardest challenge for me at the moment is to allow the people that have been impacted to feel that they’ve been treated with respect and dignity. 

"But if you’re one of those people that’s in one of the positions that’s being made redundant, it (does feel) personal, because the message that they feel is that we don’t value the work you do."

"But it’s not personal at all."

"This isn’t about people, it’s about positions."

"We’re hoping to re-employ as many people as possible.”

Mr Diehm shared his concerns regarding the perception behind the changes and the inevitable online discourse. 

“My concern about social media is that people need to realise that those people that are impacted from this are members of our community. They have mortgages, they have car repayments, they have credit cards, they have kids in school, and their future is suddenly very uncertain in their minds. And on top of that, they don’t feel valued. But the majority of them have been loyal, hard working, dedicated, faithful public servants to this community for quite a while.”

Mr Diehm went on to stress that any redundancy, whether by choice or, if it came to it, force, wasn’t due to performance. 

——

While no-one celebrates at the news of a fellow resident losing their job, the moves to reduce staffing levels is a clear sign that Ken Diehm and team have been listening to community feedback, and are doing what they can to see that future rate increases are lower than earlier estimates, and that services in Geraldton are not cut to the point of making the city unliveable. 

You can still expect future rate increases to be a little higher than the CPI due to state and federal government funding cuts to the tune of $3.7M, the multi generational problem of our accumulation of assets that now need repairing or replacing, and the ongoing rises in water and energy costs which form a large part of the CGG's expenses. 

But Mr Diehm says with savings they’ve already found, the restructuring in staffing, and the many “quick wins” found by staff at the city with things like vehicle reductions and car pooling, they’re on track to keep future rises below the 5.2% rate that had been projected. 

——

There are other changes worth mentioning in the restructure. They certainly don’t mitigate any discomfort felt by those who may be out of a job, but do seem to be positive moves by the city in the name of clarity. 

Three of the four departments have had name changes;

Creative Communities becomes Community Services
Sustainable Communities becomes Development and Regulatory Services
Community Infrastructure becomes Infrastructure Services
Corporate and Commercial Services remains the same

Mr Diehm said the name changes better reflected what the departments actually did, rather than use terminology that meant very little to the average resident. 

——

If you’re new to Geraldton, and want a bit of background… 

Over a long period of time, Geraldton, as well as many other councils around the state, had been accumulating new infrastructure without ensuring sufficient funds were available to renew those assets. 

Laws changed such that local governments had to adopt accounting practices that showed the true replacement costs of its infrastructure. For example, a swing at a park might have originally cost $100. Council estimated that it would need to be replaced in ten years. They do the sums and think "sweet, we can afford $100 in ten years." Except in reality a new swing doesn’t cost $100 any more. It’s $400. Oops. 
So we were budgeting for a $100 swing in ten years, but really should have been budgeting for a $400 swing. Once that changed a truer picture emerged of the state of Geraldton’s finances and pending financial problems, and there was a large rate increase of around 27% in 2012. 

That didn’t go over well with the community, and the following two years' rate rises under new CEO Ken Diehm were kept to the relatively low figures of 2.25% and 3.6%. 

At the time of the last budget it was planned that the next ten years would see rate increases of 5.2% each year. 

Recent audits found the problem of assets that needed fixing to be even greater than what was originally thought, revealing essentially a $25M backlog of urgent maintenance work that needed doing. 

However, the feedback Mr Diehm says he’s had from the community is that Geraldton wants future rates increases to be lower than 5.2% if at all possible, hence the staff reductions, restructuring and cost cutting. 

- Jason Smith is the Managing Editor for Everything Geraldton.

City cracks down on crime with increase in CCTV

Mayor, Ian Carpenter, and Federal Member for Durack, Melissa Price, welcome the new CCTV cameras to help prevent crime in Geraldton.

In a bid to crack down on crime the City of Greater Geraldton has welcomed 28 new CCTV cameras in three locations around the City.

Eleven new cameras are to be installed at the City’s Car Park No. 5 located on Sanford Street, nine new cameras at the Eastern Breakwater and eight new cameras at the HMAS Sydney II Memorial. This brings the City’s CCTV camera tally to over 100 cameras.

Mayor, Ian Carpenter, said whilst policing was a State Government responsibility, everyone needs to play a part in crime prevention. Whether its protecting your own home and property adequately, monitoring activity through CCTV or prevention prgrams, the application for CCTV funding from the Commonwealth was just one of the City’s commitments to help address crime and anti-social behaviour within the community.

“These new cameras, in addition with the existing cameras, prevent, deter and detect crime and increase perceptions of safety particularly around retail, entertainment and commercial areas that are susceptible to anti-social behaviour,” he said.

“CCTV helps the police not only identify offenders, but it also serves as a deterrent to the small minority of individuals who engage in criminality.”

The Federal Government has delivered $440,000 in funding for the project through the Safer Streets Programme.  

Federal Member for Durack, Melissa Price, said that community members had lobbied her to assist with pressing crime issues in Geraldton.

“Securing the funding for CCTV was one way of assisting and I am pleased that Minister Keenan agreed with me and made the funds available,” Ms Price said.

“I also organised a crime forum in Geraldton, with the support to the City, and with around 50 community members discussed the issue, including perception and reality and the role that social media plays.

“We all need to take some responsibility and work as a community with the authorities, to address crime and anti-social behaviour.”

The City employs various methods to help reduce crime in our community. These include the application of crime prevention through environmental design techniques, CCTV and crime prevention programs including Midnight Basketball and the Youth ‘n‘ Motion bus.

New Local Planning Strategy and Scheme open for public comment

The City of Greater Geraldton has announced the release of the new Local Planning Strategy and Scheme.

City CEO Ken Diehm said the new Scheme and Strategy is one of the most significant planning exercises undertaken since the formation of the City of Greater Geraldton.

“One of the main functions of Town Planning is to ensure that development and land use proposals are appropriate for the area and maintain and improve our quality of life,” Mr Diehm explained.

“Currently the City operates under four local planning schemes, the town planning schemes of Geraldton, Greenough, Mullewa and part of Cape Burney.

“This process has seen these existing schemes comprehensively reviewed, updated and consolidated into a single new Scheme.”

The Local Planning Strategy guides long-term land use planning and provides the rationale for land use and development control.  It has directly responded to the outcomes of the 2029 and Beyond Designing our City Forum that was held in 2011.

Mr Diehm said the Local Planning Scheme adopted a planning approach in line with the City’s vision of a creative city region with the capacity to sustain a prosperous, diverse and sustainable community population of 80,000-100,000.

The draft Strategy and Scheme is now available for public comment and the documents can be downloaded from the City’s website.  Hard copies of documents are available for public inspection at the: 

• City’s Administration Centre, 63 Cathedral Avenue, Geraldton
• Geraldton Regional Library, 37 Marine Terrace, Geraldton
• City’s Mullewa Office, cnr Thomas and Padbury Streets, Mullewa

The City’s town planning officers are able to provide general information and advice however, anyone wanting to discuss a particular property or matter can contact the City on (08) 9956 6900 or alternatively email council@cgg.wa.gov.au to arrange an appointment.

Submissions should be made in writing and lodged with the City on or before May 4 2015.

Lifesaving machine in Queen Elizabeth II Seniors and Community Centre

Mayor, Ian Carpenter, and local resident, Irene Shepherd who regularly uses the QEII Centre, showcasing the new defibrillator.

With a heart attack every second counts, for every minute a person is in cardiac arrest their chance of survival is reduced by ten percent.

Determined to save lives the City of Greater Geraldton has installed an automatic external defibrillator (AED) machine at the Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEII).

An automatic external defibrillator is a life-saving machine that gives the heart an electric shock to restart during a sudden cardiac arrest, a condition that occurs when the heart unexpectedly stops.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor, Ian Carpenter, said the placement of the AED machine was in support of St John Ambulance WA Community First Responder program.

“According to St John Ambulance WA around 30,000 Australians suffer sudden cardiac arrest every year and fewer than five percent survive, often because help does not arrive in time,” Mayor Carpenter explained.

“Early intervention is crucial in saving the lives of patients suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, which is why we decided to place an AED machine at the QEII.

“These machines are not meant replace the need for an ambulance but when someone suffers a heart attack every second counts.”

According to the Mayor staff will be trained to use the automatic external defibrillator; however the beauty of the machine is that anyone can use it.

“People just have to follow the instructions given by the machine, they are safe to use because the AED automatically assesses the person’s heart and will not shock a normal heart beat,” he explained.

St John Ambulance WA’s  Community First Responder program is a community based initiative designed to create a direct link between St John Ambulance WA, the triple zero (000) call centre, local communities and organisations.

For more information on the Community First Responder program visit www.stjohnambulance.com.au/st-john/ambulance-and-health-services/first-responder

City of Greater Geraldton calling for tenders to construct final stage of the West End Revitalisation project

The City of Greater Geraldton Council endorses a plan to allow the West End Revitalisation project to proceed to the next stage.

At last night’s Council meeting the Councillors authorised a motion to call for tenders for the construction of the Multi-User Facility and Youth Precinct.

City of Great Geraldton Mayor Ian Carpenter said these two elements formed the final stage of the redevelopment of the Geraldton Foreshore.

“The revitalization of the Geraldton Foreshore commenced in the early 2000’s, with the vision of turning an industrial brownfield site into an integrated public space that the whole community could enjoy,” Mr Carpenter said.

“The final stage of the West End Revitalisation project will see the creation of a new Multi User Facility, which will house various community groups as well as having an open stage area and public open space for community events such as the Australia Day celebrations.”

The Multi-User Facility will be home to the Geraldton Volunteer Marine Rescue Group, TS Morrow and the Geraldton and Districts Offshore Fishing Club. There will also be a function room available to the community and three classrooms for hire.

Mr Carpenter said the design of the Youth Precinct resulted from extensive consultation with the City’s young people. 

“We held several workshops to find out exactly what should be included in the Youth Precinct. The area will consist of a high level climbing structure and a ‘rage cage’ that can be used for various sporting events and functions, as well as a DJ booth and outside table tennis and foosball tables,” he said.

“This project will see the completion of the redevelopment of the Geraldton Foreshore, activate the West End and help cement Geraldton as a must see tourist destination.”

Mr Carpenter said as part of the tenders the City is now implementing separable portions to the tender process.

“This means that the tender will be broken into sub sections. The benefit of this is that more local contractors can be involved in the work.  When the City has received all tenders, the item will then go back to Council to get approval on the final spend and whether the works should be staged,” he said.

Opinion: Regarding the current financial situation at the City of Greater Geraldton, and a brief overview of the last 8 years

For those of you late to the scene, you might wonder why the Geraldton public are so distrustful of the local council. 

---

Flash back to 2006

A recommendation was made to the Minister for Local Government by the Local Government Advisory Board in August 2006 to amalgamate the Shire of Greenough with the City of Geraldton.

At that time the Shire of Greenough had a pretty good reputation in the community. They were fair to deal with and were very prompt when it came to building approvals and the like. 

The City of Geraldton did NOT have a good reputation, and many community members feared the mess that was the CoG would become the burden of the residents from the Shire of Greenough. 

But the policitians and bureaucrats felt they knew what was best for the simple citizens of the Midwest, and the Shire of Greenough residents had to petition for a referendum to be held. 

The Greenough electors managed to successfully petitioned for a referendum to determine whether the amalgamation should proceed. 

This was held on 2 December 2006, and of those who voted a majority of around 80% voted against the proposal.

However, the politicians and bureaucrats had a loophole. The Local Government Act 1995 (clause 10 of Schedule 2.1) stated as the vote did not attract 50% of registered voters, it did not meet the requirements for a valid poll.

The referendum only had a participation rate of 28.74% (much like councillor elections which still get counted).

So despite having an extremely clear picture of what a majority of people felt, those in charge at the time found a way to do what they wanted rather than what the residents wanted.

Trust was lost. 

Millions of ratepayers dollars was spent on the rebranding. Fancy new number plates were seen around town. 

But things weren't smooth in the newly created city. Building approvals banked up. Builders complained. Developers complained. 

City staff complained. Some of the good ones left. 

The mood in the town was "they don't listen to us any way", and animosity toward the council grew. 

---

GFC

Then after all that money was spent on rebranding and "gaining efficiencies" the global financial crisis hit and it emerged that the city of Geraldton Greenough had invested substantial amounts in sub-prime derivatives through Lehman Brothers Australia. 

Why on earth was our rate payer's money being invested in high risk complex securities? Geraldton residents were again furious, and no investigation was launched by the WA Department of Local Government. 

Council had invested $2.45 million.

Yes. Million.

---

Chapman Valley

After this there were discussions between the Shire of Chapman Valley and the City of Geraldton Greenough about merging. But this was under the looming threat of forced mergers from the state government. 

As soon it became clear there would be no forced mergers by the state government, the Shire of Chapman Valley said "Thanks, but no thanks". 

So like any respectful neighbour, the City of Geraldton Greenough tried to enact an aggressive boundary readjustment on the Shire of Greenough to get a chunk of rate paying land from them and of course the coveted area allocated for the Oakajee Port and Industrial Estate. 

The president of the Shire of Chapman Valley, John Collingwood, said the aggressive boundary readjustment would have destroyed the Shire of Chapman Valley, taking around 37% of the rateable income. He also told the ABC that the City of Geraldton Greenough was "trying to destroy us". 

Those were his actual words. 

So the City of Geraldton Greenough wasn't making any friends. 

The community was again in shock. Who ARE these people!?

More trust was lost. More people up in arms. People in Chapman Valley were vehemently against merging with Geraldton Greenough, and they made it clearly known to their council and the State Government. 

The border readjustment did not succeed by the City of Geraldton Greenough. 

---

Mullewa

Throughout 2010 and 2011 more negotiations were held. This time between the City of Geraldton-Greenough and the Shire of Mullewa, as to whether the two entities should merge.

After a long period of negotiations they decided to merge. 

A poll was requested by both communities and was held on 16 April 2011. 

Again, an overwhelming majority of voters said NO to the merger. 

In fact, in Mullewa it was 83.24% NO.

And in Geraldton-Greenough it was 72.39% NO.

It did not take a university education to realise once again the people who had actually chosen to make the Midwest home did NOT want this merger. 

However, as with EVERY local government election or poll, there was a lower than 50% turnout. 

So Mayor Carpenter, CEO Tony Brun and the rest of the team pushed forward with the unwanted merger. Because of that loophole mentioned earlier. 

The new weirdly shaped mega region was called Greater Geraldton. 

Most people were perplexed by the odd name. Greenough residents felt ripped off that their brand had now been permanently relegated to the annals of history and would no longer be a noun in daily use by the council and its staff. And many residents asked what we were "greater" than?

Surely folk who live in Mullewa don't tell their friends they live in the "Greater Geraldton" region.

It seemed the only thing the unwanted name had going for it was the ability to keep the same initials.

Most of that earlier rebranding was now money down the toilet. More was needed to be spent on the new rebranding.

The citizens of Geraldton, Greenough and Mullewa were told to drink their medicine because the educated bureaucrats knew what was good for us. There would be "efficiencies" and ultimately everyone would get more stuff for less money.

So to restate the obvious, Geraldton residents didn't want to merge. Greenough residents didn't want to merge. Mullewa residents didn't want to merge. Yet it was forced upon everyone anyway. 

---

The final straw

Trust toward the council and the city was at an all time low. No one believed the people at the city really had the interests and wishes of the residents at heart. It seemed like Geraldton was a grand experiment for them all to practice what they'd learned at "City Planning School". 

Then the icing on the cake. 

The 2012 rate increase. 

People were in shock. Their annual rates bill came in at a 27% increase. Some people and businesses saw increases up to 30%. 

The line from the city was that this increase was needed to cover the shortfall of rates that had been charged for years. Essentially council wasn't leaving enough money in the kitty to fix stuff, and now they needed to. And the best way to do that was put the rates up 27% in one year. 

Businesses were flabbergasted. Home owners were in shock. The Member for Geraldton Ian Blayney said he was speechless (an oxymoron to be sure, but you get the point).  

Yours truly at that point had two houses in Rangeway and a block in Wandina. In part because of that alarming rate bills along with the promise that rates would continue to increase by 7.2% for the foreseeable future, my wife and I realised we couldn't afford to keep those properties, and sold them all.

Many residents shared similar stories.

If people distrusted the council before this, they hated them with a passion afterwards.

Community groups formed. The Chamber lobbied. Meetings were held.

And the CEO Tony Brun, who was perceived as the main energy behind it all resigned and went to Perth. 

At the next council elections only 6 of the 12 councillors were up for a vote. All 6 were replaced except for Shane van Styn who was endorsed by the community group "CGG Ratepayers Demand Change" as he promised to fight for lower rates and reduced council spending. 

The position of Mayor was not up for reelection. 

---

That's a broad overview, but it brings us up to today. 

The $25million backlog

Now we're being told that decisions made by past councils and CEOs have left us with bills we cannot afford to pay. 

Never mind that the people of Geraldton complained loudly every time money was being wasted and were shut down with intelligent arguments about how necessary that particular piece of artwork or infrastructure was. 

The unwanted mergers that were rammed down our throats came with the promise of efficiency gains that never manifested. 

Instead the city is going to have to take drastic measures to curb spending. Redundancies will have to be made within the City staff. Every area of expenditure will have to be looked at to remove waste and the reduce rate payer burden.

But this is NOT drastic. It should be standard operating procedure. 

Ratepayers money should always be treated with the respect it deserves. It should have ALWAYS been the goal of the council and City staff to find ways to reduce the amount of money they need to take off us each year. 

Do we want sealed roads? Sure. 

Do we need yet another fireworks display funded by ratepayers? Not so much. 

Do we want our rubbish collected each week? Absolutely. 

Do ratepayers want to pay for free wifi for backpackers at the library when there's a perfectly good Internet cafe two doors down? Maybe not. 

---

The current financial situation

CGG CEO Ken Diehm (if you're not paying attention the CEO is the person who the councillors and mayor employ to run the city) understands this thoroughly. 

His media briefing regarding the CGG's current state of affairs was frank, thorough and humble. He should also be commended on the obvious care he has for the wellbeing of the employees of the City. 

It was clear that he understood that the proposed rate increases for the coming years of 5.2% are too high. He, the city staff and the council say they're going to do everything in their power to get them below that number. 

But he didn't over promise either. He was frank about the fact that there was no way future rate rises would be kept as low as the CPI (consumer price index), as the major costs incurred by the council, like power, were generally rising much more than the CPI. 

Moreover, Ken and his team had commissioned auditors to physically go out to the roads and parks, the highways and byways, to inspect all of the assets of the City.

What they came back with wasn't pretty. 

There's essentially a $25 million backlog of urgent maintenance work that needs doing. That's not the kind of news a CEO who's inherited a position following a 27% rate increase wants to hear. 

Worse than that is the projection for the future. In 2027 and 2028 there will be a spike in road infrastructure expenses that the current CGG budget simply doesn't accommodate for. It might seem like someone else's problem because it's so far away, but kicking the can down the road is what has led to the problem we have now. 

So they're facing the music. Which is something. It could all be buried in an obscure public notice  full of technical terms that would cause anyone other than an accountant to glaze over. 

But to Mr Diehm's credit they've chosen to let everyone know the actual state of the union. 

He also explicitly pointed out that every time we build something new, we inherit the costs of maintaining that item and that is hurting us. Even if the funding to build the new hotness comes from another agency, Geraldton ratepayers still bear the burden of maintaining the infrastructure. For every $10 million in new infrastructure, operating costs increase by around $300,000 a year. 

(Yes, this is logical and many of you have been pointing this out for some time.)

---

Crisis

I don't think this demonstrates a "crisis" like other media headlines have read. 

I think this actually represents a positive turning point in Geraldton's timeline. 

A "crisis" is having leaders who don't or won't listen to the public they're supposed to serve. 

What Ken is doing is showing he has been listening, and is prepared to make the changes needed to help relieve the burden on the ratepayers even if it makes his job a lot harder and a lot more stressful.

The "crisis" is what would happen in 10 years if we don't make some changes now. What the City is doing by offering its staff voluntary redundancies, going over expenditure with a fine tooth comb and aiming to keep rate increases as low as possible is not a crisis. 

It's good news. 

For the first time in a while it feels like Geraldton is in good hands. 

---

So what's going to happen? 

There will be cut backs at the city. Staff are going to be offered voluntary redundancies. Ken says these will only be granted where the job can be done by someone else, and won't be granted to poor performers. They're looking for at least 20, and will assess the situation in the new year. (To their credit, the city acknowledges this could be an anxious process for some staff members, and has a free employee assistance program in place. Also credit for announcing now and not a post Christmas shock.)

Then the city directors and managers are basically going to look at all the services that ratepayers currently fund. From the Aquarena, to the Queens Park Theatre, to your rubbish being collected, roads built and maintained etc etc. Everything. 

These services will be categorised into "mandatory" and "non-mandatory" services. Expect things like your bins being collected to be mandatory. But things like free wifi at the foreshore isn't exactly a mandatory service. 

Once it's clear what is mandatory, a budget will be done based on these services.

Then non-mandatory services will be rated in order of priority. The city says it will look for input from the community and city staff to do this. 

Any available funds, less around $7.5million needed to fill the gap immediately, will be applied to the non mandatory services in order of their priority. 

This is where it could get messy. One man's mandatory service is another man's waste of money. You might want more shows at the QPT. Another person might prefer more books at the library. Getting a cohesive list of priorities for non-mandatory services might be a challenge, but at least it's being addressed. 

Any services that are unfunded basically don't make the cut, and will be recommended to council for discontinuation. 

The city is also going to look at the "level" of services it offers. For example (and this is our own example, not a prediction) the city might deem the tip is important to keep running, but might reduce the number of hours it is open. 

In addition to this, the city will be assessing what it does with its current assets. In early January it will be reviewing all its assets to determine if they need to be replaced or can be sold or disposed of. 

New capital works (that's code for "building new stuff") will also be reduced, unless a prior community commitment has already been given. 

Revenue

Other non-rates revenue streams will be looked at. 

There are lots of services that rate payers are essentially subsidising at the moment which might be able to be charged for, and these potential streams of income will be looked at. 

---

So what does this all mean? 

For most of us, we won't notice a thing. The services we know and use will carry on, and hopefully any future rate increases will be reasonable and bearable. 

For some of us there's a chance a beloved ratepayer funded service may reduce or disappear. That seems to be the reality of the financial situation we currently have. 

But long term what would be most exciting is if a culture of genuinely listening to community feedback and acting on it becomes the pillar of how the City of Greater Geraldton operates. 

City recognised for “no smoking” message

City Environmental Health Officer, Hayley Williamson, accepts the award from WALGA President Mayor, Troy Pickard, and Healthway Executive Director, David Malone.

The City of Greater Geraldton has been awarded a certificate of commendation from the Public Health Advocacy Institute of Western Australia for their engagement in the 2014 Children’s Environment & Health Report Card project. 

The project aims to encourage and inspire local governments to enhance their public health plans, policies and initiatives in the area of children's health and wellbeing.

As part of the project, the City was successful in implementing “no smoking” awareness signs throughout Geraldton including playgrounds, the Foreshore and sporting venues under the project category, “prevention of disease”.

This is just one of the 100 “no smoking” signs around Geraldton.

The signage project engaged local high school students to design the artwork which has seen around 100 signs promoting safe air for the community to prevent exposure to the health dangers from breathing in tobacco smoke.

Mullewa were also successful in implementing the educational signage at playgrounds, the Mullewa Swimming Pool, Youth Centre, Recreation Centre and the Mullewa Football Club.

City Acting Mayor, Neil McIlwaine, said the primary message for this project was to promote a strong and healthy community.

“The City is proud to showcase these signs which promote a very important message to our community,” he said.

“We engaged with local students who received awareness education on the dangers of smoking.

“It’s great to see that our youth understand this message and now they can be advocates for the whole community.”

Using funding from the Department of Health through the Public Health Advocacy Institute of Western Australia and Curtin University, the City implemented the signage under the Tobacco Control Grants Scheme.

Enrolment quota determined for the redistribution of federal electoral boundaries in Western Australia

Acting Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers today announced the enrolment quota for the redistribution of federal electoral boundaries in Western Australia is 94 026.

“The enrolment quota is the first step in the redistribution process and is important as it sets numerical parameters that redrawn boundaries have to meet,” Mr Rogers said.

“When the boundaries are redrawn during the redistribution process, each electoral division must have between 84 623 and 103 428 electors – that is, a margin of up to 10 per cent variation from the quota.”

The enrolment quota was determined by dividing the number of electors enrolled in Western Australia as at 1 December 2014, the date the redistribution formally commenced, by the number of House of Representatives seats to which the state is entitled at the next federal election (16).

Members of the public will be invited to submit their suggestions about the redistribution in March 2015 with guidelines available to assist interested people or organisations. 

Proposed boundaries will be released later in 2015 with the final determination expected to be made on 19 January 2016.

An indicative timetable for the federal redistribution process in Western Australia is available at www.aec.gov.au/WA-timetable.

Regarding the Cemetery vandalism: An ongoing concern

The following has been supplied by the Geraldton Cemetery Board in response to a recent incident reported by some Everything Geraldton readers. (Click here to read original post.)

---

With reference to the post about trashed graves at Geraldton Cemetery, (Everything Geraldton, Nov 25) the desecration of graves and wanton vandalism is an ongoing issue for the Geraldton Cemetery Board and staff.

Geraldton Cemetery Board Chairman, Max Correy, said the vandalism is not confined to gravesites.

“Apart from the damage and destruction to people’s loved ones’ graves and monuments, the perpetrators also damage and pull out recently planted trees, shrubs and gardens and rip out reticulation systems,” he said.

“Our ground staff – of which there are only two to care for the grounds, operate the cremator and prepare graves – are tired and despairing of arriving at work to discover the vandalism and find reticulation ripped out.

“All of this destruction creates an extra workload for them to replant and re-establish reticulation directing financial resources and their time away from important projects,” said Mr Correy.

The use of the cemetery grounds as a thoroughfare between Eastward Road, Alexander Street and Abraham Street is causing the Cemetery Board great concern and anguish. The Board empathises with the families whose grave sites are being vandalised.

“In spite of the police and Yamatji Patrol’s efforts to eliminate the damage, the vandalism continues unabated,” Mr Correy said.

“The only real solution is to erect a security fence but as the cemetery is a self-funded public utility, not a City of Greater Geraldton asset as is commonly believed, the ability to fund such a solution is beyond the Board’s capacity.

“The Board would be interested in any alternative solutions, perhaps we could hold a public appeal to help fund a security fence, as the cemetery’s only form of income is through cremations and burials, and other funding that the Board is able to secure from time to time,” he said.

Road Ribbon safety message for WA roads

Police District Traffic Coordinator, Sergeant Peter Janczyk, with City of Greater Geraldton Deputy Mayor, Neil McIlwaine.

With the holiday season approaching, the City of Greater Geraldton is joining forces with the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA)’s RoadWise Program to take part in the Road Ribbon for Road Safety campaign.

From November 16th 2014, to January 5th 2015, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of road safety over the Christmas/New Year holiday period, in Western Australia (WA).

To spread the word, the City is urging people to help raise awareness of road safety in WA to help eliminate accidents on the road during the festive season.

City of Greater Geraldton Deputy Mayor, Neil McIlwaine, said the Road Ribbon Road Safety message is an extremely important one that everyone should take on board.

“It goes without saying that accidents on the road, especially over the holiday period, can hit the community hard and we want to eliminate this happening,” he said.

“We don’t want to see any deaths on Mid West roads this holiday season.”

Local police are also reminding people of several important factors to take into account when they hit the roads this holiday period.

These things include a reminder to use seat belts, installing proper car restraints for children and infants, don’t speed, don’t drive while tired, don’t use mobile phones, don’t drink and drive, don’t drug drive and keep your vehicle maintenance up to date.

Police District Traffic Coordinator, Sergeant Peter Janczyk, said the Christmas and New Year period was one of the busiest times on the road and people need to be extremely cautious.

“As everyone prepares for the upcoming festivities of 2014 and 2015 we want you to always remember to slow down, avoid driving tired and don’t drink and drive,” he said.

“One death on the road is one too many and as a community we can put things in place to ensure that we keep road accidents to a minimum.”

The community is encouraged to take part in spreading the message by wearing a road ribbon which you can get for free from locations including the Geraldton Visitor’s Centre, the Civic Centre and Bright Stars Family Day Care in Tarcoola.

For more information about the RoadWise Program, visit http://www.roadwise.asn.au/road-ribbon-for-road-safety.aspx.

Don't sell your cars on the side of the road

A reminder it's illegal to advertise your vehicles for sale on council property especially along the Brand Hwy where a ranger is handing out tickets as we speak. 

Development Industry to be hit by a new Tax

The State Government Cabinet is holding a meeting this week to consider a new tax on developers and Councils that donate or contribute electricity infrastructure to Western Power.

City of Greater Geraldton CEO, Ken Diehm, said only just learning about this plan was disappointing as it has been done without seeking additional public comment.

“It was originally proposed in April this year but a decision was deferred due to the public outcry,” said Mr Diehm.

“It was my understanding the State would seek public comment before considering this matter, clearly this is not going to happen now and it has been quietly snuck back into the Cabinet door”.

Under the plan, a tax of 13.9 per cent will apply to any work completed by a third party and then gifted to Western Power, or for any modifications to the existing network and network connections, including subdivisions, street lighting, pole to pillar, built strata, network extensions, substations and transmission lines.

Mr Diehm said the tax will hit the development Industry and Councils across WA and is likely to reap the State around $24M annually.

Mr. Diehm said that the new tax will:

• Push Local government’s rates up as Councils will need to recover the tax from the community through their rates and charges. 
• Increase the cost of development, which will result in some developments being shelved or deferred.
• Push land prices up because of higher development costs.

“This is a really disappointing outcome and a body blow to the development industry during a time when everyone is doing it tough,” said Mr Diehm.

“I would urge the government to reconsider this matter.”