I support Jeff Johnson’s opposition to Ballina Shire Council’s Special Rate Variation (SRV), (Echo 12 November).
The proposed SRV is a callous cash grab in a cost-of-living crisis. It is tantamount to a financial scam on ratepayers.
The survey that Council conducted was blatantly biased and consequently many residents did not participate. The survey has no credibility.
Ballina Council has suggested that it should not use its investment portfolio to fund services.
It says: ‘It’s like suggesting that someone tap into their super to pay their rent.’
This is a ridiculous analogy and is typical of the misleading spin the Council is using to support its SRV cash grab.
Superannuation represents the savings of individuals over their working life, so they have an income to live off in their retirement. Ballina Council does not have a superannuation fund. It does not ‘retire.’
It is an ongoing entity and has recurring income including from investments and government grants to fund it operations.
Council should be maximising the efficient use of these funds and not scamming ratepayers through an unsubstantiated SRV during a cost-of-living crisis.
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. 
