Possibly in celebration of the ‘Horse’s Birthday’, or the upcoming Council circus to be held next week in Albert Hall, Launceston’s Mayor, Ald. Albert van Zetten wondered out loud on the airwaves if he would/should/could/might stand for Mayor again – for a third time. Remember, he did that last time around and with all the advantages of an ‘incumbent’ he squeaked in again. Anyway, he is wondering again and it looks a lot like a cry for help. That is, a call out to anyone out there important enough who might back him up if he decides it’d be OK for him to take yet another turn at the trough.
Or is it a cynical attempt to flush out the as yet unknown candidates and maybe even scare them off. You see a Mayoral candidate no longer needs prior council experience as once was the case.
\Let’s take a look so far, and in the vernacular, and without any gloss being sprayed about. In the time he’s been at the trough he’s banked about ‘half a million bucks’ while the council operation has conscripted about $500million from ratepayers and residents. Likewise, his Deputy skimmed about a ‘quarter of a million bucks’ and all the others at the trough banked something like $140K each over the time. So, that’s the money bit in a nutshell.
Another four years would set the Mayor up for yet another ‘half a million’ and at a time when limited tenure for elected representation in local government is being seriously discussed – and it needs to be. Likewise, what’s true and relevant for mayors trickles all the way down the line so far as the tenure issue is concerned.
It's little wonder that there’re serious and pertinent questions to do with performance on the lips of those who’re picking up the tab – the ratepayers.
Before going to some of these pertinent questions that ratepayers and residents might well be asking, the context against which they could be considered needs to be put.
As a ‘civic operation’ that is designed as a ‘cost centre’, without the slightest hint of an imperative ‘to turn a buck’, it is nonetheless expected to deliver a suite of services and there are a range of considerations that need to be articulated .
So, in the context of all this, some of the question’s that ratepayers might be asking need articulating. Likewise, the Mayor, his Deputy and all the incumbent alderpeople should be asking them as well. Some of the questions they might well be asking themselves in front of their household mirrors might be
No comments:
Post a Comment