Now the 33 per cent rate rise for Byron shire has been approved by IPART, how efficiently will our money be spent?
Observers at the last council meeting could not have missed members of the public giving senior staff tutorials on their areas of professional responsibility.
Comment on the staff report concerning the future of the Tyagarah airfield revealed that a helipad (a private landing spot) had somehow morphed into a heliport (a mini-airport), expensive, unnecessary clearing has been undertaken over time due to ignorance of the airfield’s category, a very successful multi-national parachute business was operating on a nominal rent and obscurely-documented but substantial sums had been spent on consultants for the consequently abandoned redevelopment plan.
Public consultation had been at best token.
Although it appears that most councillors and the GM are prepared to overlook this embarrassing episode, it is my understanding and experience that it is indicative of staff performance across the whole organisation.
Longer-standing, influential councillors recently demonstrated in this publication [Byron Shire Echo and Echonetdaily] that they were ignorant of their governance (watching staff performance) responsibility under the Local Government Act and things have drifted accordingly.
The council Internal Audit Advisory Committee which is supposed to have oversight over such matters has not been reconstituted as required since the council election and has not met since Nov 2016.
Under these circumstances can anyone have any confidence that the money from the rate rise will not be substantially wasted?
Tom Tabart, Bangalow
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
