Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig says rates must be spent on what region needs, not wants

Mayor: region’s councillors’ responsibilities extend well beyond the division they were elected in

A message from Mayor Glen Hartwig

Over the past week or so, you may have seen the Getting To Know Your Councillor videos on the council Facebook page.

These were created for you to get to know your councillors a little better.

You have the right to know who is making decisions on your behalf and it is the responsibility of council to provide an avenue for you to understand your council if you choose to do so.

This council were elected for their beliefs and strengths, what they stand for and what they recognised needed to be delivered on behalf of the community.

Although you may know what your divisional councillor stands for, you may not be aware of other councillors and their priorities across the region.

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These videos are a great snapshot of who makes decisions on your behalf.

Councillors are elected in divisions, but Mr Hartwig says they are responsible for looking after the needs of the whole region.

Councillors are there to listen, and I encourage you to contact any of our councillors should you need to; their contact details are listed on the council website.

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That’s what we are here for, although should you wish to report a pothole or standard issue, please call 1300 307 800, visit the link on our website or download the app Snap, Send, Solve as staff will get back to you sooner than we can.

It’s also important to remember that all nine, myself included, make decisions for the entire region, not a single division.

Once a councillor is elected, they no longer represent their division – they represent the entire region – which is the same for all councillors across Queensland.

We produced these videos in the lead-up to the 12 month anniversary of the election and still have a couple of videos to be posted this week.

Meet the councillors videos have been released in the lead up to the first anniversary of last year’s council elections.

If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can find them on the council YouTube page.

Councillors are elected to be the voice of the community.

We need to understand and reflect the community’s needs and priorities so we can make better decisions for the region.

We are here to support the community and to ensure we spend your rates in a financially responsible manner.

It’s about what is needed, not what we would like to have.

Originally published as Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig says rates must be spent on what region needs, not wants