Residents on warpath

Alex de Vos
Surf Coast Shire’s approval of an unpopular plan to sting ratepayers for new footpaths has sparked formation of a new lobby group.
Jan Juc resident Steve Burton, who led opposition to the footpaths special charge, accused council of being “completely out of touch with what residents want”.
He said the new group would ensure ratepayers had their say on future council plans affecting them.
“I’ve had a lot of contact from people who live in other parts of the shire who are unhappy with council on issues like Spring Creek, pokies and the special charge scheme in Lorne,” Mr Burton said.
“There doesn’t seem to be any real commitment to community consultation.
“It may well be time to start something like a resident’s action group – there has to be some accountability.”
Mr Burton also vowed appeal council’s special charge scheme at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
“The fight will go on,” he warned.
“Everyone objected to the scheme and we believe we’ve got a pretty strong case.”
Last Wednesday councillors accepted a recommendation from officers to bill Jan Juc households for new footpaths despite widespread opposition.
Council had planned to slug residents hundreds of dollars more for footpaths around Jan Juc but slashed the plan by 40 per cent amid fierce objections.
Residents fought the footpaths charge for around six months.
Council would have had to drop the scheme if more than half of affected residents objected in writing during the submissions period. Objectors fell short of their 934-submission target when the shire closed the period saying it had received 881 submissions.
Jan Juc’s Phillip West said he was furious with last week’s decision.
He feared the vote would set a precedent for funding future council projects.
“If this gets through then from now on that will be their solution to just bung on a special charge scheme,” Mr West said.
“They’ll use it as a way to fund infrastructure and it won’t just be a Jan Juc issue but it’s going to be a whole shire issue.”
The Surf Coast Shire did not respond to the Independent’s call for comment before the paper went to press.