Would you please convey our thanks to the Eurobodalla Shire Council for providing the steps from Hillcrest Avenue to the bridge.

They were sorely needed, as there was no other safe pedestrian access from North Narooma to the bridge pathway.

In appreciation of council’s efforts several of us who live locally, held an impromptu gathering last Wednesday to unofficially declare the project completed and open to the public.

In proper style, we cut a ribbon drawn across the stairs and cracked a “bottle of bubbly”.

Once again, thank you to the council for a job well done.

Peter Kelso

On behalf of North Narooma residents

So many questions on the rate rise

I have sent this letter to council as feedback on the "Funding our Future" proposal.

I refer to a pamphlet received recently titled 'Funding Our Future', in which council proposes a permanent increase in rates of more than 24 per cent over the next three years because "the costs of maintaining and renewing infrastructure and providing services are increasing".

Rather than provide specific opinion on a range of potentially contentious issues, I pose the following series of comments and questions which I hope would be in the minds of my fellow ratepayers.

First, if you asked your employer for a 24 per cent pay rise over the next three years because your costs were rising, what do you think the employer would say?

Secondly, council states that "Our rates make up 55 per cent of Council's annual revenue." What is council's intention with the other 45 per cent of the revenue? Are similar increases of over 24 per cent being imposed on those revenue streams too? Do ratepayers derive 55 per cent of the benefit from the infrastructure and services?

Council states that "Long term financial planning shows that we will not be able to meet the cost of maintaining and renewing infrastructure to meet our needs and expectations".

What other options have been considered, explored and exhausted? Has consideration been given to which projects should not proceed? Has the process to determine which projects receive funding been rigorously examined?

Can other ratepayers quote an example of a project which has provided questionable value to only very few residents?

This ratepayer certainly can! Council states that "projects have already been identified as priorities by our community".

Does that mean that they are justified? If a household can't afford a new project, they do without it; shouldn't that be an option for council too? One of the projects identified as a priority by our community is the upgrade of the Batemans Bay CBD.

Does this represent a benefit to the whole community or just the businesses concerned? If it is the businesses which benefit, shouldn't the businesses pay for it, not all ratepayers?

Council refers to 'making considerable savings' but provides no detail of those savings. Has there been a complete review of the current costs? If so, to what level of detail?

Have all contracts been reviewed and/or new contracts been negotiated to reduce the current costs?

What is the state wide benchmark of $ of revenue to $ costs per ratepayer, broken down by the different types of ratepayers?

How does Eurobodalla Shire compare with the benchmark? With an ever increasing tourist population, what measures is council adopting to ensure that domestic ratepayers do not pay for the ever increasing costs associated with the increase in visitors to the area?

Finally, is it reasonable to expect any ratepayer to support a permanent rate increase of over 24 per cent over the next 3 years, with so many unanswered questions?

Trevor Deadman

Engadine

Sea level discussion

At their council meeting on October 28, the Shoalhaven City Council considered the South Coast Regional Sea Level Rise Policy and Planning Framework Report prepared by consultants Whitehead and Associates and Coastal Environment  on behalf of the Shaolhaven and Eurobodalla Councils.

In response to the recommendation of Shoalhaven planning staff, that council adopt the recommendations in the Whitehead report, the Shoalhaven Council moved a motion to modify the recommendations of the report. The motion, carried by 9 votes to 2 is attached.

The main features of the motion are:

1. Shoalhaven Council has adopted the upper mid range projections of the IPCC being RCP (Representative CO2 Concentration Pathway) 6.0 instead of the maximum RCP 8.5 projections recommended in the report.

2. Shoalhaven Council has rejected a 100 year planning cycle in favour of a 50 year planning cycle. ( The report supported a 100 year cycle, but also stated that " the majority opinion is that sea levels will eventually reach the RCP 8.5 values, but the time frame over which this might occur is significantly uncertain").

3. Shoalhaven Council supported 7 year reviews based on hard evidence from NSW tide gauges. It rejected the use of modeled or or corrected altimeter data unless new satellites overcome the present measurement error.

Ian Hitchcock

Dalmeny

Live theatre at its best

On October 23-25, there was a collection of short plays performed at the Murrah Hall, south of Bermagui.

Thematically orientated towards animals the show was aptly named “Some Animal, A Bird, Mainly Human”.

The program was divided into two segments. The first half was performed by the talented actors from Theatre Onset: “Border Patrol” with Liz Brennan, “Snake Handler” acted by Mahamati, “Ten Minute Love Story” co-performed by Ann & Bob Buck and “Fifteen Minutes” performed by Jane Gordon.

After interval “Turning Circle Productions”, a loose collaboration of mainly Bermi area performers, staged two very entertaining comedies, directed by Howard Stanley.

In the first play, the audience was ushered outside to watch a short comedy called “Bird and Hunter”, performed by Mary McLean and Jimmy Zero.  Mary’s amazing rendition of the bird was set in the shrubby embankment of the Hall. The bush in the background and the rain falling felt like part of the act.

Then it was back inside to the dry and warm ambience of the old timber Hall and the hilarious performance of “Kitty the Waitress”, written by Christopher Durang.

The main characters of the play were superbly cast with Gary McKechnie, the troubled Mr O’Brien and Rosie Watt’s outstanding portrayal of Kitty, the preposterously seductive French waitress.

At the end, Kitty turned out to be a cat who was euthanased! Supporting actors Albert McKnight, Katarena Fittock, Howard Stanley (the Vet) and Gandharvo helped set the scene for a very quirky comedy. 

The humour and strong emotions were surprisingly captured in a simple setting of alternating bright light and total darkness.

The dramatic lighting, co designed by Howard Stanley and Garry McKechnie, consisted of a slide projector hanging from the roof beams shining light onto a clear white background.

It was seriously good value!

Marianne Hunter

Bermagui

Roads, rates and rubbish

They say you are never too old to learn, but even little old me was surprised last week to read the Eurobodalla Shire Council's flyer about its upcoming ratepayer survey. What surprised me?

Was it that the ESC was conducting a survey (even about constituents' happiness to pay higher rates); or that I seem not to have been one of the 600 selected to be interviewed?

No, it was that apparently council's role is no longer "rates, roads and rubbish".

Colour me stupid, but that is exactly what I thought councils existed for!

But no, as governments at higher levels have stopped providing services, it seems their functions must be subsumed by local government.

In taking up the burdens of environmental protection, nuclear non-proliferation, beautifying the cityscape, providing ancillary health services, gay marriage for adult wombats (not that there is anything wrong with cohabitation by consenting wombat adults), etc.

Council finds it can no longer afford to provide such mundane services as roads and rubbish management.

At least, judging by the perfection of local roads, one can only assume that they no longer need maintenance.

So, after due consultation, we, the ESC residents, will no doubt be told in 2015 that we may have to up the ante via higher rates.

Which personally I can live with - providing I see an improvement in basic services.

At the moment I must confess that my heart bursts with civic pride when surveying the beautified main street of my local city, Narooma.

Millions well spent, obviously!

Far better value than fixing the leaking roof of the Sports and Leisure Centre.

Much sexier use of public funds than grading, (or, heaven forbid! sealing) local goat tracks.

And I also noted that the Shire contains some 54 public toilets - fine facilities all, especially for the older amongst us, who can't necessarily tie and untie knots as we could when younger.  Just a shame that Council can't find the money to pay cleaners to occasionally maintain them: the gents' behind the Batemans Bay Information Centre has apparently never met a brush, or bottle of disinfectant...

So, fellow citizens, when casting your vote at the next local government election, remember the ERA councillors, who fight for sanity, reality and boring, basic services.

And remember also the others, who want the Shire to be a Green oasis where feral animals holiday, roads are designed for sulky drivers (I can feel myself going a little hoarse, even sulky, at the thought!) and progress takes us back to the halcyon days of the 90s - the 1890s!

S. Kennedy

Corunna

Mayor’s say… Explaining how a rate variation works

I write this on Monday evening after our first community information session about the proposal to fund a package of community and transport infrastructure projects and works through a special rate variation.

This first session was held in Narooma and we will hold more in Moruya and Batemans Bay in the next few weeks, and a morning drop in session in Tuross and two markets stall days.

Details are below and everyone is invited to come along, ask questions and have their say. 

This period of community engagement is important and I wish to make to very clear that no decision has been made about if we should apply for a rate variation.  In December Council will vote on this issue.

If the vote is in favour of letting the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal know that we intend to apply for a rate variation,  we will again seek feedback from the community through December and January before making the final decision to apply in February next year.

So please let us know your views by attending a session or sending us an email or letter.

A few people asked for further explanation about how a three-year rate variation would affect their rates.

If a rate variation of 5 per cent a year was introduced for three years, it would be on top of the annual rate peg that is set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal which is estimated at 3 per cent a year.

So the total annual increase is 8 per cent a year. The rate variation is only applied to residential, business or farmland rates and these are your general rates.

A rate variation is not applied to other charges on your rates and charges notice such as the environmental levy water, sewerage, waste, stormwater, and garbage collection.  

The annual rate increase of 8 per cent would be applied every year for 3 years, so it is a cumulative increase.

On the current average annual resident rate of $818.30, an 8 per cent increase in 2015-2016 would be $65.46 which would make the average residential rate $883.76.

The next year, 2016-2017, another 8 per cent or $70.71 would be added to this so you would be paying $954.47. In the final year three, which would be 2017-2018, another 8 per cent or $76.35 would be added so you would be paying $1030.82.

After this your rates stay at the new higher level and increase every year by the annual rate peg set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.

If a special rate variation of 5 per cent is added to the 3 per cent rate peg and 8 per cent is applied for 3 years, by 2017-2018 the average residential rate would have increased by $212.52 a year which is $4.09 a week.

If there is no special rate variation and rates increase by the rate peg estimate of 3 per cent only, in 2017-2018 the average residential rate would have increased by $75.88 a year which is $1.46 a week.

Over 3 years, the extra total cost of a 5 per cent special rate variation on average residential rates would be $136.64.

You are invited to attend information sessions at 5pm at the Moruya Library on Monday, November 10 and Batemans Bay Library on Monday, November 17.

We will be at the Moruya markets on Saturday, November 8, the Batemans Bay High School markets on Sunday, November 16 and the Tuross Shopping Centre on November 22.  

Please let me know if there is any issue you feel Eurobodalla Shire Council may be able to help you with. You can email me at mayor@eurocoast.nsw.gov.au or phone me on 0418 279 215.

Clr Lindsay Brown

Mayor of Eurobodalla Shire