Hart takes aim at government and agencies
Central Coast Council can’t attract staff, can’t keep staff and can’t get meetings with the State Government. “It’s like nobody wants to know us.” Local politicians, the media and the…
financial crisis
Staff unable to watch Council Inquiry
Staff at Central Coast Council have been unable to watch the “not-so” Public Inquiry into the circumstances of its financial crisis. An email from CEO, David Farmer, suggested they were…
No timeframe for report to Minister
Central Coast Council still does not report the number of employees in every budget, so the community still doesn’t know where the big spending cuts are being made, according to…
More hard decisions to come – CEO
Councillors are a “gift from the community”, Central Coast Council CEO, David Farmer, said when speaking at the Public Inquiry into the Council’s financial crisis. Commissioner, Roslyn McCulloch, asked Farmer…
Government should pay for council failure
Forum – In his haste to get the government’s mandate (for a rate rise), the Administrator is now telling us a different story. The 13 per cent increase is now…
Hart must clarify ‘unlawful’ matters
Forum – I received my rate notice and with anticipation I opened it and saw that the proposed increase had started, however it was the glossy brochure enclosed that caught…
Audits highlight high-risk management issues
A Central Coast Council staff member manually adjusted a rate payment by $22,000 without appropriate authority, which was identified by the NSW Audit Office in the final audit for the…
Legal advice recommended informing the Office of Local Government immediately
Legal advice to Central Coast Council at the beginning of October 2020 was to immediately notify the Office of Local Government (OLG) of its missing funds even though there was…
No excusing fiscal incompetence
Forum – Chris Holstein’s contention about our present catastrophic situation, that “a public inquiry would accomplish little … (because) it has the potential to embarrass the State Government, the Department…
Inquiry’s terms of reference fall far short of what is required
Forum – The public inquiry announced by the Minister (“Public inquiry under section 438u of the Local Government Act 1993 into Central Coast Council”, CCC 236) falls far short of…
Scrutiny needed
Forum – Former Councillor Hogan’s recall of how basic accounting information had been withheld or controlled by Council staff (Chronicle pg1 Apr 14) should instigate questions on the role of…
Council should remain in administration – Persson
The Minister for Local Government should take whatever action is necessary to prevent the return of the suspended councillors, says Central Coast Administrator, Dick Persson. He also wants the new…
Council and the case of the missing line item
Suspended Central Coast councillor, Jillian Hogan, has revealed a line item was missing in the Council’s financial reports for a year. Hogan says a briefing from acting CEO Rik Hart…
Unrestricted funds figure omitted from financial reports
A suspended councillor has revealed that a line item was missing in Central Coast Council’s financial reports for a year. Suspended Councillor, Jillian Hogan, says a briefing from Acting CEO,…
I want a public inquiry – Crouch
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal, Adam Couch, will directly petition Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock for a public inquiry into the financial woes of Central…
$20M identified as no longer necessary to support community needs
Central Coast Council has agreed to a $20M write-off of internally restricted reserves that are “in excess of requirements” to meet community infrastructure needs. The money will come out of…
Council gets set to cut services
You can expect it to take 60 days to fix a pothole rather than the current 30 days under cuts to Central Coast Council services. And Council is expecting more…
Rik Hart reveals the gritty detail of Council’s financial crisis
The story behind Central Coast Council’s financial crisis is “quite simple”, according to Acting CEO, Rik Hart. In his second exclusive video interview with Coast Community News, Hart outlined the…
Council had no vision for the future
Forum – Further to the recent articles posted in CCN283, by Council Administrator, Dick Persson and (sacked CEO) Gary Murphy, it would appear to me that Mr. Persson acted in…
Administrator lets fly
State Member for Terrigal, Adam Crouch, has come under fire from Central Coast Administrator, Dick Persson, during a speech that also targeted former Mayor Jane Smith and sacked CEO Gary…