Commonly Asked Questions from the week-
Every week I talk with many residents, visitors and community members about most things that are going on in Council and our region. I have found that the majority of the time there is a recurring thread and I find myself repeating the same answer to the same questions from many different people, so I am going to start a Weekly Facebook Post to ensure that those that I don’t get to speak with will also be in the know. I will endeavour to highlight 1 or 2 or the most frequently asked questions of the week. This week, being the first edition will be a little longer and I will start with 3 questions, but will try to keep my answers short, so I don’t bore you too much.
Q1- “What is this new Community Wellbeing & Environment Charge on my Rates”
First of all, it is not a new charge, Bundaberg Regional Council introduced the Community Wellbeing & Environment Charge (CWEC) in the 2017-2018 Budget.
The CWEC was $50 per assessment/year when it commenced.
The CWEC increased to $100 per assessment/year in the 2021-2022 budget, the reason for the increase was that the charge wasn’t funding all the activities that it was put in place to fund.
Councils General Fund has been running at a deficit for many years and the deficit continues to grow year on year. Services and facilities that are funded from the General Fund are currently heavily subsidised from the business units of Council ie Water, Wastewater and Waste. This practice cannot continue as these business units of Council require upgrades and new infrastructure and will need their funds to ensure that their operations are maintained and operational.
Communities never want to see a reduction in services or council provided facilities, in fact they always want more services and better upgraded facilities.
The introduction of the CWEC was a measure put in place to ensure that Council could continue to deliver these services and maintain the standard of the facilities that the region requires.
I have attached a list of services, facilities and community groups that support our region that are funded from the CWEC. This is from the 2021-2022 budget as the list of projects, facilities and services was not complete by the time the 2022-2023 budget was released, but as you will see most services are reoccurring year after year ie Surf lifesaving, Life flight, RFD Service, SES etc etc… and will be funded in the current budget.
As a Council we are always looking at ways to make our organisation as efficient and effective as possible in order to keep rates and charges as low as possible. It is getting harder and harder to do this with State and Federal Government continuing to cut our funding every year.
I am confident and hopeful that measures Council are currently working on will allow us to minimise future Rates and Charges increases.
Q2- “How is the Water Lettuce treatment in the Lagoons at MPB going?”
BRC staff are constantly monitoring and working on ways to eradicate the restricted invasive plant and new methods will be implemented to remove the water lettuce from the Lagoon at Moore Park Beach. Cool temperatures over winter have limited the uptake of herbicides which were applied earlier to the infestation, as the weather warms up during September, further treatment will be implemented around mid-September which will reduce most of the infestation after which time Council is hoping to have access to a biological agent a weevil (Neohydromonus affinis).
It is hoped the weevil will provide long term control of the infestation in the future. The weevil however is also more active during the warmer months, and Biosecurity Queensland also need to grant approval for the use of the weevil, which has been applied for.
Q3- “Is the cost of the new Bundaberg Aquatic Centre value for Money?”
This much needed and wanted piece of community infrastructure has been in the planning for many years and as with projects this size, they take a very long time to get to the point of delivery.
We are now at that point and due to many reasons all things have increased in cost including what we (Council) would have liked to have spent providing this facility, however it will be a State of the Art Aquatic Centre and will conform with all of todays requirements,(see link below for more information and plans of the centre) and if we don’t build it now, it will never be any cheaper and may never be built.
Qld Treasury, The BRC Tender Evaluation Team and the Audit & Risk Committee have all ticked off on the project and funds have been allocated in the next 2 budgets to ensure that this intergeneration infrastructure project is delivered and becomes a reality for our region and its residents.
This Council, over the last 6 years has delivered in excess of $625 million dollars’ worth of capital projects across our region and has an average spend of $120 million dollars budgeted for capital projects every year. We delivered the “Ruby Anna Wastewater Treatment Plant last term at a cost of around $71 million and no one questioned that spend, because like the new Aquatic Centre it was infrastructure that was needed to replace non-conforming old facilities that are at the end of their useful and usable lives.
We (Council) have over the last 6 years kept rate increases minimal, have lower borrowings than that of what Qld treasury projects for a Council our size, and we have money in the bank to be able to continue to provide services and infrastructure for our communities, so YES we can afford the New Bundaberg Aquatic Centre and I was happy to raise my hand and vote for the resolution to award the tender for its construction to begin asap, at the meeting on Tuesday.
Be sure to keep an eye out for next weeks, “The Weekly Q.”
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