Price of Ku-ring-gai Council’s legal battle revealed

A confidential report claiming to show Ku-ring-gai Council’s budget for taking the State Government to court has been released.

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Cheryl Szatow at an amalgamation protest.

THE battle between Ku-ring-gai and the State Government has got personal with one local MP labelling them “Sydney’s most out-of-control council’’ following the release of their legal costs, but the council described the attack as intimidation.

The forced amalgamation between Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai has been put on hold until at least August due to legal action. Ku-ring-gai is taking the State Government to the Land and Environment Court over the hostile merger and senior figures in the Liberal Party are not happy that one of their own, Mayor Cheryl Szatow, is leading the action.

This week confidential council briefings between Ku-ring-gai councillors were released to the media. They have revealed the legal costs behind current court proceedings and state that “the estimated total cost of the merger legal proceeding to completion is $128,110 to April 22, 2016’’ It further states that the “budget remaining for 2015/16 for Land and Environment Court matters is $303,416”.

Matt Kean with Premier Mike Baird earlier this year.

At the same time Hornsby state Liberal MP Matt Kean has launched a campaign against the council saying it was “under attack from residents and the State Government for lavish expenditure, chaos and dysfunction” and highlighted Cr Szatow’s call to abolish rate capping “so she can slug residents even more”.

He has also given examples of how Cr Szatow asked for the mayoral robes to be redesigned by Carla Zampatti in 2012 ordered an Audi and had floral arrangements in the mayoral office - which were all approved by council.

“I think residents have every right to know how their rates are being spent,” Mr Kean said.

“This is a council completely out of control spending hundreds of thousands of ratepayer dollars. Residents are rightly outraged that Ku-ring-gai Council keeps jacking up rates and then wastes them on legal action.

“It’s time to shut down the gravy train. Perhaps the mayor and the senior staff at Ku-ring-gai should spend more time fixing roads, building infrastructure and providing services than wasting time and money looking after themselves.”

“This coming a year after IPART granted a rate rise of 7% which was meant to be spent on road repair and public amenity,” Mr Kean said.

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Cheryl Szatow at an anti-merger rally.

Cr Szatow responded to the claims.

“I am mystified that the Member for Hornsby chooses to use his and his staff’s time to publicly attack and intimidate a council that is not even in his electorate,” Cr Szatow said. “I would think that his constituents are equally mystified. The Baird Government has reportedly spent millions of dollars in promoting forced mergers and the court action is additional to this.”

A Ku-ring-gai Council spokeswoman said the information regarding legal fees was ‘legally privileged’.

“Ku-ring-gai Council’s challenge to the forced merger with Hornsby Council is the result of a council resolution and has the support of ratepayers, over 80% of whom have indicated they do not wish Ku-ring-gai Council to be forcibly merged with another council.”

Ku-ring-gai Council would not confirm the current cost of legal proceedings.