Two basic issues need to be addressed.

The first is whether the services provided by council are of relevance to the majority of ratepayers.

Second, are those services being provided efficiently and economically?

Council says it needs to provide a greater range of services to meet community needs and expectations than was historically the case.

This may be true to a degree but given the bureaucratic monopoly we are dealing with, would it be too outlandish to suggest that some of these services are the result of covert empire building?

The focus, first and foremost, should be on the provision of essential services.

I cannot see a benefit in upgrading Moruya Airport.

Should council continue to conjure up projects to keep staff employed, such as the mammoth, doomed to failure Hanging Rock redevelopment?

Such questions, obviously reflecting a personal point of view, would simply be a starting point in deciding which services are of relevance and the manner in which they should be provided.

Bert Hardy

Long Beach