FOR more than 30 years many people from all corners of the shire have lobbied council for change on a variety of issues.
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Many have influenced operational outcomes of council processes over a long period.
Council has conducted several community meetings and workshops to improve community links and communications with the help of paid consultants - “experts” - over, probably, the past 20 years.
Council’s records would contain consultants’ reports on all the community engagement meetings where consultants and legal advisors have been involved at ratepayers’ expense.
Agendas for those meetings were prepared by council and consultancy staff, and because agendas control the process of a meeting, they can also influence decisions or recommendations for council’s consideration.
What I think needs to occur at the public meetings, to be chaired by the mayor, is that the community should be heard first with all concerns recorded and answered as they are able to be as the first agenda item.
Once that part is out of the way, then the main part of a public meeting may well be able to be concluded, as the chairman decides.
Spending additional ratepayers’ money on advice from consultants about community engagement or consulting with the community is completely wasteful.
All that’s needed is a bit of commonsense.
Allan Brown
Batemans Bay