Tina Petroff, Ocean Shores
Great letter David Froggett I couldn’t agree with you more!
Byron Shire Council (BSC) rates are now higher than Tweed Shire residential rates, and they’ve still stuck all our ratepayers with the highest water and sewerage rates in NSW.
Our higher rates give us third world road standards and potholes you could fish in! A Council that steadfastly puts obstacles in the community’s way (after multiple community consultations and surveys) to do everything they can not to bring our little kids’ swings back to Waterlily Park. That is after they took them out in 2017, promising to bring them back, then burying them in the Council tip a year later, prompting an outcry from the many parents with babies and small children. This meant that the local schools and community had to fund raise for a replacement set of little kids’ swings to install in Waterlily Park.
It certainly is time for a change: to councillors who actually say ‘Yes’ to Olympic public pools, so our rising young Olympians can practise; proper integrated sportsfields; and cycleways (alternate transport) that actually connect with and through all towns in this Shire. Not councillors like the current Greens who have supported high rise development in Byron, and a large precinct of holiday homes on coastal dunes at Broken Head.
Who have allowed hundreds of secondary dwellings that don’t have to pay any extra residential rates. Who have allowed ‘fill ins’ in the north of the Shire across our beautiful coastline and hills, which don’t allow for adequate parking and cause more cars to park along our residential streets, more traffic on our roads, less amenity.
Who support more burden on our state of the art sewerage treatment plant (STP) that Council have understaffed for decades, and now want to close, to link us up with piping to Mullum’s STP and their old buckling drainage systems; and a mayor who’s hell bent on paid parking in friendly little villages. I’ll bet he doesn’t want paid parking in Federal where he lives!
A Council that are increasing the yearly lease on Brunswick Surf Club by tenfold ($3,000) to force them to pay the highest annual rental in NSW for a surf club with all volunteer lifesavers. They all worked very hard to redesign their surf club and achieve a government grant to finally bring their club into the 21st century, and you penalise them. Great way to thank your tireless volunteers councillors!
Absolute lunacy! Shame on you Council!