Hi readers! How many of us ratepayers are questioning the lack of maintenance and upgrade to our failed infrastructure by our Byron Shire Council (BSC)?
How many of us have had Council regulations ignored by Council, such as the development of new structures which impose stormwater and sewage impacts to our properties that had never occurred before? Or even privacy and noise impacts upon our properties via new housing development?
How many of us question if our submissions or complaints are even being heard?
Our Council is wasting money when our rates keep increasing without any improvement to the most important and necessary infrastructure which is functional stormwater and sewage upgrades. ‘No funds available’ is what I keep being told by Council executives. But I’ve also been told $5.5 million will be spent on the Mullumbimby Hospital site and the latest is over $1 million (Council land given away, replacement car parks, etc.) to be spent on the 57 Station Street proposal site. Is this where we want our rates to go?
I, for one am very concerned about the continual neglect of the failing infrastructure that is so outdated and overloaded with new construction projects that I can’t afford not to speak out. In my meeting with executive staff of BSC they admitted that the whole Shire has failing stormwater infrastructure that is in desperate need of upgrades – that pipework was never going to perform to the standards required for extra development but extra development keeps getting approved.
Surely I am not the only one questioning the operational priorities of our Council. I hear from many citizens asking whether Council are operating ethically when it comes to approving DAs when necessary upgrading is needed to ensure there are no flood impacts caused by overloading systems that have already failed. We need to act – we need to speak up.
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. 
