Legal costs mount in Land and Environment Court dispute
A Warnervale landowner and Central Coast Council are facing their third round in the Land and Environment Court over a development application to clear land at 130-134 Sparks Rd. Landowner,…
Central Coast Council
Desalination plant back on the drawing board
A desalination plant could be back on the agenda for the region, but the former preferred site of beneath the Budgewoi dunes is off the table. Central Coast Council is…
$70M shortfall for essential services
Four Director positions and their departments have been cut from Central Coast Council as part of cost-cutting, but Administrator, Dick Persson, says an extra $70M a year is needed to…
What guarantee do ratepayers have?
Forum – So, we are bailing the Council out and providing the nominated 10 or 15 percent rate increase. Did we have a choice? It defies common sense that poor…
Regional Library to go ahead
Despite its financial woes, Central Coast Council is forging ahead with plans for the Gosford Regional Library and is set to lodge a development application to the NSW Department of…
Chemical Clean Out event at Long Jetty
Central Coast Council is once again calling on residents to clear out unwanted hazardous chemicals from around the house and correctly dispose of them for free at the next bi-annual…
Letter should have been headed: “Increased rates due to Council incompetence”
Forum – It was extremely disappointing to read the letter dated January 13 to ratepayers from Acting CEO of Central Coast Council, Rik Hart. The heading “Securing Your Future” has…
Persson applauded for retaining nuclear free policy
The Central Coast will continue to have the Nuclear Free Policy that the former Gosford City Council had in place. Administrator, Dick Persson, rejected a Council staff report which wanted…
Give residents back some power
Forum – So we are to have a referendum on only two issues at the next Council elections in September. One to ask us if we (should) reduce councillors who…
Labor MPs call for public inquiry into Council
Labor MPs on the Central Coast have called on the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, to establish a public inquiry into the collapse of Central Coast Council and the…
Council’s Nuclear Free Policy lives on
Central Coast Council will maintain the Nuclear Free Policy put into place by the former Gosford Council. Administrator Dick Persson rejected a Central Coast Council staff report which wanted to…
Keep the Coast nuclear free
Forum – I am passionately in favour of retaining Gosford’s nuclear free zone status. No one who I have engaged with, in person or on social media, is in favour…
Petition calling for a Judicial Inquiry into Central Coast Council launched
An e-petition calling for a Judicial Inquiry into Central Coast Council has three weeks to get 20,000 signatures to make sure the topic is debated in parliament. Without 20,000 signatures,…
I will not pay a rate rise and I encourage other ratepayers to do likewise
Forum – I have received the letter from Central Coast Council, signed by Acting CEO Rik Hart, proffering excuses as to why ratepayers are responsible for bailing out Council’s current…
Council to press ahead with rate rise
Despite a flood of community opposition, Central Coast Council will formally apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a 15 per cent rate rise next year. The…
Floodplain study for Peninsula
For years flooding on the Peninsula has been a major issue, with heavy rain often seeing homes and businesses threatened as many streets go underwater. Central Coast Council is preparing…
Can rates burden be shared by renters and non-residents?
Forum – I have written to Central Coast Council about its intention to increase the rates as a result of their mismanagement of budgets and associated cover-ups until recently. An…
Seawall upgrade continues
Upgrade works on the Ettalong seawall are proceeding following safety concerns about rocks dislodged during recent weather events. Initial works, which began on February 3, involved replacing the larger loose…
We might be more accepting of rates rise … if we got the truth
Forum – An open letter to Central Coast Council Acting CEO Rik Hart. I refer to your letter of January 13 concerning a possible increase in Council rates. It appears…
Termination payment ridiculously high
Forum – I read in disbelief the explanation by the Central Coast Council Administrator given for the $380,000 termination payment to the former Chief Executive Officer, Gary Murphy. (Chronicle p4…