Ratepayers' Choice advocates No for referendum
Ratepayers' Choice candidates will advocate for a no vote in the council referendum for a reduction in ward numbers.
Lead Candidate for Gosford West Mr Kevin Brooks said: "I have served on two UK Councils with 55 and 33 Councillors respectively, and I can see no logical reason why a reduction from 15 to 9 Councillors would lead to better governance.
"Even with the current 15 councillors, Central Coast is already the fourth most under-represented council in NSW.
"If we go down to nine, we will be by some distance the most under-represented council with one councillor per 38,700 residents.
"We would be almost 50 per cent more under-represented that Blacktown in second place with its one councillor per 26,600 residents.
"When I served as a councillor in the UK, I typically served wards of about 6000 residents.
"We held ward surgeries on Saturday mornings where residents could ask for help, and we had time to see everybody who came.
"We shouldn't forget that councils are monopoly suppliers of public services.
"Those who receive poor service, or feel they have been treated unjustly or that the system is letting them down, sometimes have nowhere else to turn but to an elected representative.
"There will be too few councillors to adequately meet this need if councillor numbers are reduced further.
"That may not suit some Council senior managers who may not like councillors raising such concerns, but it will be in the interest of the local community.
"Perhaps it is no surprise the only people that have been pushing this expensive referendum are senior bureaucrats within the council."
SOURCE:
Media release, 5 Aug 2024
Kevin Brooks, Ratepayers Choice