The above screen dump comes from council’s proposed actions to support the community during the current COVID pandemic. As with countless other municipalities, Glen Eira recognises that residents, businesses and sporting clubs need assistance. This is to be commended. What is not to be commended however is the lack of financial detail and communication that is clear and unambiguous.
For instance, we are told that there will be: ‘rent relief for Council Community and some Commercial tenants…….’. Exactly what does this mean? Will there be zero rent for 3 months, 6 months for community groups renting council facilities? Will they instead have a 50% reduction, a 25% reduction? And what does ‘some Commercial tenants’ really mean?– which ones and on what basis will they be eligible? Nor are we given any indication as to how much any of this will cost? The only clear statement from this paragraph relates to sporting groups and even here we don’t know the eventual cost to council.
Compare this shadowy report with what Kingston has provided. Admittedly these are only ‘guesstimates’ but at least Kingston’s ratepayers have some idea of how the sums have been calculated. Also worth noting is that they are willing to defer rents for all of their community rentals unlike Glen Eira. Here’s one page from their report and we’ve uploaded the full report HERE
Our objective is not to quibble or argue against what is proposed. Our concern rests entirely with the lack of substance and hence transparency that permeates this report. We are told that cost to council will ultimately be $7.4 million, but the only figure that is provided in both item 8.3 and item 8.4 states that council will lose $500,000 in late fee interest for payment of rates. How we get from $500,000 to $7.4 million is thus anyone’s guess! Compounding this even further we do not know how many staff, especially casuals, have been stood down and what ‘saving’ this represents to Council, nor how it will affect essential operations.
We appreciate that projections may be difficult. But the nature of these reports continues the tradition in Glen Eira of vague, unsubstantiated claims, lack of detail, and councillors voting something in without enough information to arrive at real informed decision making! This has happened far too often in Glen Eira for it to be anything but deliberate!
April 6, 2020 at 10:12 AM
Thanks for this post which I think is very fair and reasonable. I have sought a response to these questions but have yet to receive feedback. The amount is significant and hence requires more transparency. I am specifically interested in what the dollar value benefit to residents is as it is difficult to reconcile in the Council Agenda. This is relevant as it is one of the central objectives of the support. To ensure appropriate governance it is incumbent on the Councillors that they know what this indicative amount.
I also agree on the point regarding general lack of detail and justification in reports. The Open Space Strategy Refresh is another example of this. Out of date population data, limited measurable objectives, lack of clarity on quantifiable objectives. Given Glen Eira has the lowest level of open space in Victoria, it is reasonable to expect a lot more than this.
April 6, 2020 at 3:47 PM
Repercussions are massive. The budget will be greatly impacted. My guess is that all planning that has already been done will be out the window now. Residents must be told (a) which projects will be put on hold (b) what services will be cut and for how long (c) will the $30M loan go ahead and at what interest rate (d) what cuts are being made to consultants if any (e) what savings is council making in terms of staff wages. Many more questions will require answers. What’s we’ve got so far is not nearly enough.
April 6, 2020 at 10:31 AM
I like what Kingston is doing. Could not find one single word about footpath trading refunds or child care in the Glen Eira stuff. If traders have paid for this then they should get their money back for the duration of the pandemic as people can’t sit outside and have their coffee. I agree that stacks more detail is necessary. You can’t vote something in not knowing what it means and how it will impact everyone.
April 6, 2020 at 10:41 AM
“This has happened far too often in Glen Eira for it to be anything but deliberate!” Exactly. Glen Eira has been plagued with governance issues for eons. Nothing has changed with this new ceo and her senior staff. Time for a full clean out.
April 6, 2020 at 10:02 PM
There goes that 20 million bucks of decretory spending into ground floor rorts and scams, all to easy.