Annual and quarterly reports presented by Council are glowing endorsements of how well this council’s operations function. We are proudly told that phone calls are not only answered in nanoseconds, but that they are ‘resolved’ at first point of call. Wonderful stuff! What we’re not told is exactly how many satisfied customers are out there; nor how many of their issues are resolved to their complete satisfaction. Put simply, we and probably the majority of councillors in the majority of cases, never actually get to find out what residents might be complaining, or congratulating Council about.

We intend to resolve this question. Over the past month we have received a number of comments (not published) that can only be called ‘complaints’. They range from complaints about service delivery, to graffiti, to perceived waste of ratepayers money. We believe that the community has a right to know exactly what residents like and dislike and how well their concerns are being attended to. Hence we’ve decided to set up what we’ve called ‘Residents’ Corner’. A link is provided on the left hand side of the webpage under the heading of ‘Why We’re Here’. All that needs to be done is to click the link (‘Residents’ Corner’) and you may enter your complaint, praise, commentary – either anonymously if you so desire, or you may leave your name. We will then ensure that these comments are passed onto councillors. It then becomes their duty to ensure that not only are your issues seen to and fixed, but that the systems within which they operate are improved and accountable.

We no longer want to be told time and time again that residents are enraptured with how their money is spent. We want cold, hard, evidence that things can, and should be improved. So, we ask readers to alert their friends, neighbours, relatives and let us really know what you think about Glen Eira and its mandate to serve the people. ‘Residents’ Corner’ will thus be a public and accessible archive of Glen Eira’s failings and successes.