In a moment of exuberance after the Mariners won the 2023 championship, the Administrator of Central Coast Council announced that he had authorised the expenditure of $2M to kick-start the Gosford waterfront development.
He also stated that the $2M, which he had taken from the Reserve, would be repaid when the State Government gave Council the $8.5M which it had promised.
We now see the result of that hasty promise in the Minutes of the latest Council meeting.
There was no agreement that the State would give Council the money – it has gone to the Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation.
And now Council has had to go begging to be repaid the amount it has spent out of the $2.
Rik Hart has serious questions to answer here and so far he has tried to deflect these by putting the responsibility onto (Director of Environment and Planning) Alice Howe.
The previous Council was dismissed for taking money from the Reserve and bad financial management.
Is Mr Hart guilty of the same?
Email, Jun 24
Geoff Mitchell, Kariong
oh dear. this is very sad. rate payers continue to pay for councils mistakes. I’d love to see the business qualifications, of all the Council Board members. why didn’t we learn from the last debacle!! or debacles, if you wish. can we please get one persons on the board, with half a brain, so they don’t send hard working rates payers broke !!!
the Administrator has been taking us for a ride since his appointment…a big salary for raising rates – wow – any joe blow could have done this.
no efficiencies no improvements – just hiding behind the title Administrator & earning a bucket load of our money
#@$* me , can’t Councilers follow the rules, this mistakehave already been made which cost ratepayer’s,is another rate hike coming???
Name and same all Concilers that have dine the wrong thing past and present.
Our Concilers can’t see to be able to repair our roads.
James, good point, though of course we have not had any councillors for years. The council has been under State Government admistration for 5 of the past 8 years. Elections for councillors are coming in September.