‘Champagne’ council under fire over park sign that cost $237,000
A suburban council has come under fire from ratepayers for splurging cash on an expensive park sign and a glossy annual report that cost more than $200 per copy.
VIC News
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A Melbourne suburban council has been accused of having champagne tastes after spending $237,000 on a park sign and producing an annual report which cost $215 for each copy.
The inner-west City of Maribyrnong splashed more than a quarter of a million dollars on the sign at Footscray Park facing Ballarat Rd.
The sign, comprising 13 1.5m-high letters costing $18,000 each, was erected on a steel structure so large it partly blocks a park entry path below it.
The council, which also covers Braybrook, Maidstone, Seddon and Yarraville, also lavished almost $20,000 on art direction, photography and creative development for its glossy annual report.
A photographer and assistant charged almost $11,000 for two days’ work to shoot nine pictures to adorn the pages of the council’s annual performance and financial report.
The council was charged $2800 “art direction’’ for the two-day photo shoot.
And a one-day reconnaissance of shooting locations cost the council $1350.
The photographic shoot produced nine portraits in the council’s 168-page annual report for 2017-18.
Just 150 copies were printed at a total cost of $32,000. It is also available online.
The cost revelations come as households receive their annual rates notices, prompting the Maribyrnong Ratepayers Group to urge the council to rein in spending and stop increasing rates.
“Maribyrnong City Council seems to have champagne tastes that are way beyond community expectations,’’ spokeswoman Denise Boyd said.
“MCC paid $237,000 for one park sign, and pays the CEO nearly as much as the Premier, so this annual report cost would not have raised any alarms.
“Residents have been gouged rates of $4000 and upwards for years and council doesn’t think that’s outrageously high either,” Ms Boyd said.
The council’s corporate services director Celia Haddock defended the cost of the annual report, saying competitive quotes were received as part of the procurement policy.
The copies of the annual report were distributed to politicians and at briefings to stakeholders on the activities of council, she said, and that the costs represented value for money.
“These photos are then used for other publications and for our website,’’ Ms Haddock said.
Similar costs are expected this year’s report.
State government guidelines dictate that annual reports should be produced at minimal cost.
“Excessive or unnecessarily expensive design and print is not appropriate for annual reports.’
“They are not marketing documents,’’ the rules state.
The requirements also say that “large format, full page photographs are not to be included’’ and that photography is not be commissioned every year.
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Footscray Park is the centre of a row over plans for Melbourne Victory to create a $18 million soccer academy on parkland near Maribyrnong River.
Maribyrnong council is expected to deliver another healthy surplus this year — $6.2 million, up from last year’s $5.4 million.
Ratepayers were hit with a 2.5 per cent average rate increase — the maximum allowed by the state government’s cap.