Newsletter for the Rotary Club of Greater Geraldton - Issue No.: 782 Issue Date: 29 Apr, 2024

Introduced by Phil Martin, Mayor Shane Van Styn gave us an outline of where he thought the Council should be heading.

Shane grew up in Perth, became a CPA and moved to Geraldton to set up his accounting firm and also manages a security company. He is heavily involved in the community, especially the Basket Ball Association, and is passionate about Geraldton, the community and its prosperity.

Shane strongly feels the City Council must return the focus of the City to essential services whist solving legacy issues. Harking back to the old Road Board Days, local government is primarily concerned in providing the “Four R’s”, “ROADS, RESERVES, RUBBISH AND REGULATION”

Roads are obvious, in their provision and maintenance. Providing and maintaining parks and recreation areas, rubbish disposal and enforcing regulations, from parking fines to pool and construction regulations are all essential local government services. These are the basics in contrast to other areas the Council has dabbled in including Economic Development, Tourism, Childcare and recreation and education, which Shane feels are not the Council’s core business and are best managed by organisations and departments that can look after those areas better.

The legacies the present council have to manage include a large operational deficit, perceived excess staffing, insufficient asset maintenance and land subdivisions. These legacies can be seen today in the poor maintenance and loss of children’s playground equipment, and the poor state of many of our roads.

See table 1, Key Operational Numbers: The present operational deficit is around $7.5m! Most income comes from Rates and most of it goes to roads, about 40%. The CGG has one of the largest road networks in Australia per capita! We have more park area than any other local government area! See table 2, How the money is spent.

So what’s new for 2016 for capital works? The Abraham St Bridge, a Youth facility on the foreshore, development of the Beresford Foreshore and the Olive St precinct are earmarked to be mostly complete in 2016.

Shane feels that some hard decisions will need to be made about non-essential services, including the Aquarena, QPT, Community Grants and Sporting Groups. Workshops for a midyear budget review are planned for the next two Saturdays, there will be no last minute decisions! Decisions have to be made on the expected rate rises for the next 10 years, expected levels of service, efficiency dividends and advocating for increased revenue. The debate commences!!

After a thought provoking question time, Shane was thanked by PP Rob Houwen!