Once again our illustrious Central Coast Council gets it wrong and the ratepayers cop the bill (Council convicted over Narara Creek sewage leak, CCN 470).
Half a million bucks down the sewer because the Council fails to do its job with duty and care.
The question we should ask is who in Council failed to ensure preventative maintenance was carried out and what action was taken in respect to that person or persons?
My guess is nothing because it’s just money for which our Council has a history of no responsibility.
Admittedly this offence was in 2023 so the current Council may have a reasonable excuse.
But we had a highly paid Administrator at that time.
What happened to him?
If this was the private sector a head or two would roll.
Email, Jan 16
John George, Terrigal
John, You kid yourself if you think it would be different in the private sector. Rarely if ever do the actual catalysts of major problems suffer the consequences. There may be convenient scapegoat(s) who are dismissed, often with an outrageous golden hand shake. You make a good point regarding the “highly” paid administrator. Quite often it seemed he was acting for a third party and certainly not the LGA or the ratepayers. The onus is on the current council, who as you say bear no accountability for the issue, to step up and thoroughly investigate the issue and ensure similar “surprises” are not waiting in the wings.
Hi has anyone in council noticed how the entrance to Blue Haven from the Pacific Highway is a disgrace to a lovely suburb It has been this way for years
Corporate standards of accountability and oversight would be a significant improvement over current operational standards. Tee performance indicators should be established, and he should be based on the foundation of standard operating procedures, environmental guidelines, And most importantly, a proactive long-term plan (minimum 20 years), for the social and economic development of the region.
Predicting these unforeseen events is challenging without unlimited resources or the ability to see into the future. However, neglect is a different issue entirely. I don’t believe the council would intentionally neglect its responsibilities.
Therefore, it’s crucial to examine their response to the situation. If the council reacted appropriately, then I agree with the general sentiment. It’s unfortunate that some people believe individuals should be held accountable for issues that arise from unpredictable circumstances.
If you believe you can improve upon the council’s performance, I encourage you to consider running for a position on the council yourself.
It’s so unfortunate to live in such a beautiful part of Australia here on the Central Coast and have such ongoing apathy when it comes our local council.For years the mismanagement of hardworking ratepayers has repulsed us all.Like many other locals,I believe that the appointment of these individuals to council roles is way to discreet and anonymous.Major financial blunders seem to be an ongoing issue for us.There is no doubt that both the recruitment process of these councillors and the subsequent accountability for there costly mistakes need to be seriously overhauled.
Councils should not be allowed to be above the law.
Yes a private business would have received a massive fine or more. 🤔😡
Trains: Please Sir, can I have more?
Finally the Mariyung Fleet – the new D sets trains finally brought into service: are a shambles. This is not surprising given that the project was initiated by a Lib Coalition (Baird, Berejiklian and Perottet). After a litany of incompetence: e.g., having to widen the rail corridor to accommodate wider trains, I mean really how can that happen? How can a public entity be so incompetent? Then their insistence on no guard intentionally designed to antagonise the union and jeopardises public safety. That there was no serious attempt to even consider manufacturing them here in NSW was criminal. But it is very obvious that governments are averse to any kind of responsibility, qualities like vision and courage, public service and leadership used to mean something, not anymore.
Now that they are finally in “service” we are still subjected to delays and poor service. The mere sniff of rain and the networks are thrown into conniptions. In the 21’st Century we still have rolling stock crossing roads that regularly cause carnage, I suppose that’s quaint. How can they justify charging full fares on trains that have fewer seats and force hard working people to stand for long periods? I suppose we have to be grateful that we finally have some air con and those all-important charging points. The extra storage hardly ever gets used couldn’t they have designed something more flexible? But surely we should be ever so grateful that the WC’s don’t resemble a medieval cabinet. Politicians here are very lucky that the sheep won’t complain, not that we are allowed to protest anymore, anyway. When compared to rail travel in most civilised countries this service is appalling.
These kinds of projects are an opportunity to take steps to improving infrastructure. We don’t have to implement VFT’s tomorrow but we can stage this kind of development. Did anyone think that it would have been a good idea to straighten some of the corridors or make some effort to build step-wise towards a better system in the future? No; we had to settle for some corrupt exchange between politicians and their buddies to build a lucrative trough. While our kids don’t get a chance to learn a good trade and earn a secure income. We have all the resources why do we allow these fools to run us into the ground like this? They dare to constantly browbeat us with the criticism of not being productive enough; well I’d be a hell of a lot more productive if I didn’t have to stand most of the way home and it didn’t take me so long to get to work or home. If I could travel comfortably, reliably and safely I’m sure I’d have the energy to be a more productive little cog.