Rates cut unlikely as new Logan council grapples with coronavirus, business downturn

As if weathering the dismissal of the entire council wasn’t enough, Logan’s whistleblower-turned-mayor now faces one of the biggest challenges of his political career. WATCH THE VIDEO

WHO will be Logan City Council’s next chief executive, how will rates change, and will councillors get a 2 per cent pay rise?

These are some of the questions the incoming council, under the leadership of whistleblower and former councillor Darren Power, will discuss when the council holds its first meeting in two weeks.

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But ratepayers will have to wait until the budget is finalised to find out if they will get a rates cut.

Logan mayor Darren Power wearing the city robes after being sworn in with his 12 councillors at a subdued ceremony at the Logan Entertainment Centre on Tuesday. PHOTO: JUDITH KERR

The prospect seemed unlikely after Cr Power said the coronavirus had killed development and cooled business while the council was still paying staff wages.

Speaking at a subdued swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday at the Logan Entertainment Centre, Logan’s 10th mayor said staff were being paid as the coronavirus statistics kept improving.

Logan’s new mayor Cr Darren Power remained tight lipped on rates and pay rises but said getting a budget drawn up in 10 weeks under coronavirus conditions would be difficult. PHOTO: JUDITH KERR

He said he hoped the city would be able to reopen many of the sporting venues and clubs “within months”.

“We’ve got a lot in front of us and the nine new councillors are my priority,” he said.

“We have to get them up to date with all policies and settle them in to their new offices as their induction will start on Wednesday.”

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Cr Power said the upcoming budget was the first major issue the new council would address.

He said it would be a difficult task to draft the document but was aiming for delivery by July 1.

“There are many groups asking for financial assistance because of COVID-19 but we also don’t know the state of our books,” he said.

“I have some recollection of what happened in the last budget but this budget is of concern because none of us have been sitting in chambers for the past 12 months.

“Obviously development has been down and businesses are down and we need to question those issues.”

The new mayor ruled out any international travel saying it was impossible under the coronavirus but added that he planned to entice businesses such as Snap Fresh and Tip Top to Logan.

Cr Power also said he would not alter the council’s car policy introduced under administrator Tamara O’Shea.

The new council would consider overhauling the Logan Planning Scheme to crackdown on small-lot developments while also kickstarting the local economy with new development projects.

Revenue streams from developers and infrastructure payments would also be analysed before any move was made on adjusting rates.

Logan mayor Darren Power, right, with his new team, Laurie Koranski, Jon Raven, Tim Frazer, Scott Bannan, Natalie Willcocks, Teresa Lane, Mindy Russell, Miriam Stemp, Lisa Bradley, Tony Hall, Jacob Heremaia and Karen Murphy. PHOTO: JUDITH KERR

THE NEW COUNCIL

Division1: Lisa Bradley

Division 2: Teresa Lane

Division 3: Mindy Russell

Division 4: Laurie Koranski

Division 5: Jon Raven

Division 6: Tony Hall

Division 7: Tim Frazer

Division 8: Jacob Heremaia

Division 9: Scott Bannan

Division 10: Miriam Stemp

Division 11: Natalie Willcocks

Division 12: Karen Murphy