‘Lone wolf’: Joe Remenyi addresses Tuesday night’s forum.
By Cherie Donnellan
SURF Coast Shire spends equivalent to 85 per cent of its rates revenue on wages, a shocked community forum heard in Torquay on Tuesday night.
Incumbent councillor and Torquay ward candidate Joe Remenyi revealed the figure before questioning what was “left for services”.
“It means that we’re highly dependent upon loans, upon grants and upon other sources of revenue,” Cr Remenyi told the crowd of about 70.
“It’s a big issue and I have fought for four years to keep the rates rises down.”
An Independent calculation found that City of Greater Geelong’s wages bill is equivalent to 70 per cent of its rates income – 15 per cent less for a permanent population about six times the size of Surf Coast.
Cr Remenyi, an economist who called himself a “lone wolf” on council, said Surf Coast also spent “three times as much on planning” as Geelong per capita.
Having to do the calculations himself was a “tragedy”, Cr Remenyi said.
“Even as a councillor I can’t get the information.”
Other candidates at the forum backed Cr Remenyi’s calls for greater transparency and accountability from the next council.
Merrin Wake said transparency and accountability must be “a priority” for council to operate effectively.
The day after the forum Australian Services Union attacked Greens candidate Eve Fisher for refusing “to rule out job or wage cuts” when asked at the event about council’s budget.
Union secretary Brian Parkinson said he was “appalled” Ms Fisher wanted “a dirty great audit of council employees”.
Ms Fisher said at the forum she hoped any investigation of council finances would avoid cuts to jobs or wages.
“I just think we need an audit. I think that $20 million a year’s a lot of money and, as a fresh council, they need to look at everything and every dollar and how it’s spent.
Ms Fisher said Surf Coast had “the highest rates in the state”.
“We need to show we really count our pennies while we’re charging those rates to the people who have already paid enough for land and for houses here.”
Cr Rose Hodge, the only other incumbent to attend the forum, defended council’s move to new “five-star” offices from “rooms that were falling down”.
“People call it the Taj Mahal but, I tell you what, we could not have had the staff doing the work they needed to do in those old rooms.”
A spokesperson for a proposed residents and ratepayers group said up to 40 people signed on at the forum to join.
Sid Pope said he was pleased with the support for 3228 Residents Association.
The president of Surf Coast’s former ratepayer’s association congratulated Mr Pope on the new group, he said.
“Spencer Leighton said he would join. He said he was glad to see fresh energy and new faces involved in the community.”
