Footpath foes get numbers

Alex de Vos
Jan Juc residents are confident they have the numbers to scuttle Surf Coast Shire’s plan to sting them for new footpaths.
Resident Steve Burton, who is leading a push against plans to impose a special charge for new footpaths, said the proposal had attracted “tremendous” opposition.
“I’ve been knocking on doors from the golf club to Duffields Road and every door where there’s a ratepayer we’ve got an objection letter,” he said.
Mr Burton believed the results of the door-knock survey had also revealed “a general level of dissatisfaction” with the shire.
“There’s a broader issue here than just the footpaths,” he said.
“The shire keeps increasing rates year after year with very little in return, so this campaign may go on longer after the footpath plan is knocked off the table.”
Earlier this month the Independent revealed that Mr Burton had received “at least” 100 complaints after urging unhappy residents to join his fight against council’s footpath plan.
Mr Burton needs 934 ratepayers out of Jan Juc’s population of 1866 to oppose the proposal to force council into tearing up its plan.
“We’re pretty confident we’re going to get the numbers,” he said.
In a letter to the Independent Mr Burton slammed the shire’s new $40 million civic precinct and council’s “inability to rein in spending”.
Council will borrow millions of dollars to build new offices in the precinct.
“Perhaps if the shire was to shed some of the highly paid minions occupying the existing offices we might then see the provision of useless services diminish and with it the need to build Surf Coast’s equivalent to the Taj Mahal,” he said.