JSC Organisational Review & Efficiency & Effectiveness Study - Have a read of Spearitt's 124 page document on what Johnstone Shire Council needs to do. It is for Community
Consultation - so give your opinion!
Run-Down
Johnstone Shire Will Collapse
Third
World Status Imminent
"For decades Johnstone Shire Council has had a traditional service delivery
approach. To date Council
has been providing above average service levels, with rate levels which have been below average until recently.
In addition, the weather conditions make it a higher cost area than
for comparable Councils. This has been achieved by running down
the assets over a long period. This is not a new problem – it
is the result of decades of deferring
asset maintenance in order to provide above average services. In other words, too much money has been spent on operational costs and not enough on maintaining
assets and infrastructure
as it has worn out.
If this scenario continues, much of the Shire’s infrastructure
will collapse. As the Queensland Treasury Commission noted, Johnstone Shire Council will not survive unless fundamental changes are made.
This scenario is clearly not sustainable. The risks are enormous, and
could manifest in a number
of ways, for example (Ed: Scary!):
��
loan repayment defaults;
��
inability to pay wages;
��
roads and bridges collapsing;
��
emergencies not being
attended to because plant breaks down;
��
water system breakdowns
(eg loss of water supply, water contamination);
��
sewerage system collapses
(sewerage overflows into streets, rivers, etc); and
��
environmental damage.
In other words, the Shire’s infrastructure could degenerate to
third world standard unless these
assets are maintained and renewed. It is likely that the government would intervene and appoint an administrator before these problems go too far.
The history of administrators is that they are likely to apply cuts
to operational services and
costs, and large rate increases, but without necessarily having the sensitivity of elected Councillors."
Read the whole Report! It is a telling indictment of the way ratepayers
money has been handled for decades! It is easy to read between-the-lines to see where the problems have ingrained themselves.
How long would this have gone on if Queensland Treasury had not looked at the deplorable state of Johnstone Shire?
