Paul Weston: How councillors did not get to hear ratepayer views on the Gold Coast’s billion dollar budget

Gold Coast residents are being encouraged to provide input to the drafting of the city’s $1.5 billion budget. But there’s an obstacle councillors need to get over before they can take your comments on board.

YOUR feedback is being sought on the Gold Coast City Council’s $1.5 billion budget. The online survey will take a few minutes. But will your voice as a ratepayer be heard?

On council’s website, ratepayers are told: “Our annual city budget consultation is your chance to have a say in how, and where, this money is spent.”

Deadline is next Friday.

The budget talks — Bob La Castra, Kristyn Boulton and Donna Gates. Photo: David Clark.

So what happened with the ratepayer feedback in the last budget? Why is it that councillors like Glenn Tozer and William Owen-Jones are ramping up the budget debate on their Facebook pages?

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Cr Tozer wants a boost in roads spending, having identified a $36.2 million shortfall in the Gold Coast City Transport Strategy 2031. Cr Owen-Jones is asking his residents if they agree to a special transport levy being increased, given last year it failed to be above CPI.

Palm Beach’s Daphne McDonald made a request last year for the raw data — the online comments by residents — but by the time she received it and in the spreadsheet format, it was difficult to interpret.

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Councillors at the budget talks. Photo: David Clark.

A council insider says: “The other councillors didn’t know the raw data existed. It was in the office of the Mayor. They interpreted it. Councillors are asking why the raw data was not provided to them.”

So councillors went into the budget session without knowledge of what ratepayers really wanted. They were given some graphics, which could show how roads rated to other services.

Currently under changes made by the former Newman government, the mayor prepares and presents the budget for consideration by council.

From May, councillors and the mayor meet mostly behind closed doors for special budget meetings.

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Hinterland councillor Glenn Tozer along with colleague William Owen-Jones have been asking ratepayers to provide budget feedback on their Facebook pages. Photo: Jerad Williams.

Just before Christmas council directors had drafted up a budget for their directorates based on an action plan, working off a four-year capital works program.

Your councillor, if they want to see your direct remarks about the budget, will need to make a request to the administration.

In the background, the Palaszczuk Government is undertaking some major council reforms. One of those is that a councillor seeking information that assists them in their duties must get a response within five days of a request.

Other reforms will see the mayor no longer preparing and presenting the budget. All councillors will be responsible for this from 2020.

The Gold Coast City Council Photo: Jerad Williams

But for the moment, we are left with what seems to be a Claytons consultation.

So what were the remarks from the raw data last year? Some were very blunt.

“Get rid of the absurd idea of a cruise ship terminal and the current proposed development of the Spit,” a resident wrote. To be fair, another said: “Tell the leftard greenies to get out of the way.”

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But overwhelmingly the debate was about reducing road congestion, improving the quality of suburban roads, providing better public transport, upgrading footpaths and parking around schools.

A ratepayer told of being “pissed off” with councillors who approved the Yatala art-light installation.

Another remarked: “The money that was spent on those silly lights should come out of the wages of the idiots that approve it.”

The saddest part was ratepayers thought their councillor could see their remarks.

“Please listen to us ratepayers,’’ a resident wrote. “We love our city and we pay a lot of money to live here so it’s only fair that we are heard.”

Hopefully, councillors will request the raw data and get to read it before the special budget meetings so a real debate can be had about spending our ratepayer money.