Letter to the Editor
RATES NOT SOUR GRAPES
Re Councillor G Engeman, Sat GT 8/10/11.
Councillor Engeman, states, “Lets keep the debate factual”, “Fact: The Council staff….. has not doubled under amalgamation”. Then further down states, “There were 462 staff in March 2008 at amalgamation.” Making ‘political speak’. Making it seem that this was the figure before Amalgamation, where in fact , this figure was after the council had amalgamated. Then he states that, “There are now about 487 staff”. Before Cr Engeman criticizes facts he should recall the quote, ‘first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye’ as the Administration and Finance Committee Minutes June 2006 have the permanent staff at 269. This over 200 gain in staff cannot be justified by the amalgamation, as Cooloola Shire population was 36,067 and additional increase was only another 5351.

We will need a bigger Civic Centre to hold a morning tea for the staff.

An increase of a few hundred staff might not be a fact, as to trust a staff figure, without actually counting them yourself is still hearsay evidence, at best, but everyone in the Gympie Region knows that it’s a fact, that the Rates and Charges have doubled for no perceivable gain in the quality of our roads, and if there is such as thing as a fact, it might be that roads have got worse. Rates and Charges have risen so far that for many full time workers the Rates for a small flood prone house block equates to 10 % of a persons annual wage income, that is a fact. Leaving little for the other necessities of life.
So before Cr Engeman gives us more sanctimonious lessons on keeping things factual, he should address the real cause of councils expanding extortion, which is the increase in wages since, say when the staff was at 269 in June 2006, during the last term, and now when the staff is at 487. This is the relevant figure as this comparison will show why our Rates have been galloping. Many will wonder why he omitted this comparison in his letter of so called clarification This public information is easily available for Cr Engeman to include in a Letter to the Editor, it is the relevant cause of this debate, which is ‘Rates’. Skip the sour grapes, take the plank out of your own eye, no flowery wish wash, just publish these facts Cr Engeman.
Ron Owen
24 Mc Mahon Rd
Gympie, 4570
07 54 825070