Ipswich Mayor admits poor financial management
Check out this snippet from Mayor Paul Pisasale this week on the upcoming Ipswich Council budget;
…but we are fortunate that Ipswich is experiencing significant residential growth which will help keep rises in general rates at or near to inflation
So let me get this straight; The council gets windfall gains presumably from selling off land and a variety of taxes and fees associated with new developments, however it is going to spend so much more delivering the same services that all that surplus money is going to be gobbled up?
Is this for real? It’s time the Mayor came clean and explained exactly why rates need to go up so much. Unless the council is rolling out NEW services, then the existing rates should be enough to cover the bills this year, just as they did last year.
I think most councils are guilty of wasting our money; Gold Coast Council recently crowed that they had got their rate rise this year down to 4.2% from a projected 10%. That’s not to be applauded, it is to be expected, and honestly, they should have got it lower.
The problem in Ipswich is that the council is elected virtually unopposed. Until the rate payers of Ipswich wake up to themselves and stop voting for these high taxing councils, these rises will continue to be rolled out.