Ahhh bazinga...just...bazinga...I am of course refering to the Mount Gambier City Council and their 'Consultation Process'...stop laughing at the back...thankyou...re their 'Daft Budget'....right, I'll see you in my office...now...and the rest of you, just get on with it...(please refer previous post)
I'm not even going to bother trying to address the figures provided in the Draft Budget because, 1) I'm not an Accountant, and 2) I don't believe any of those figures are based on reality, and 3) Council cannot be trusted with one red cent...full stop...cannot be trusted, full stop...
I'll say it again...there must be a genuinely Independent Inquiry into the Main Corner Project and associated cost blow-outs, missing money, etc, and until this is done Council should not be allowed near anymore ratepayers money.
But it's too late...because they just voted themselves the ability to spend twice as much as before, and you know that they will spend every cent...and most of it on themselves...look out for a cafe at the Old Hospital site, given free of charge to Steve Perryman or a Councillor's aunty...(I'd suggest they're the same thing-Ed)...nice...very nice...
But I digress...slightly. At the meetings I have had numerous Councillors put there hand up at me to silence me. At the Saturday meeting Cr Ian Von Stanke did it repeatedly, also saying several times "Nobody's interested in what you have to say Nick"...but they are Ian...you know they are, you pr(sorry, gonna have to stop you there-Ed)...I was going to say 'precious little darling'...(yeah, sure you were-Ed)...
But he is...when I had a go at him (Saturday's meeting) about 'The Letter Incident' he was up half out of his chair, leaning across the desk toward me, angrily mouthing off about how I'd called them "criminals" and "insider trading", etc, in The Border Watch, as though that somehow justified and excused coming to my home with the letter that he claimed "isn't threatening". Please see previous posts re this issue.
The Point - At a public meeting Cr Ian Von Stanke openly acknowledged that he had been to my home with the letter, but blamed me for that...I provoked him...and repeatedly denigrated and abused me, repeatedly rising out of his chair, talking over me, waving his hand at me, etc.
It was a most un-gratifying display of unprofessional bullying and harassment...(and Von Stanke's behaviour wasn't much better-Ed)...nice...
Ian Von Stanke also tried to blame "the media" for misrepresenting the cost of the Library and Main Corner, as Darryl Sexton had done at the first meeting, and I duly reminded the meeting of that and repeatedly asked, again, why Council had not corrected The Border Watch, but nobody would answer my question.
I note that The Border Watch printed a full letter from and apology to (including graphic on front page) Grant District Councillor Alan Hill on Thursday 23rd May re an article only the previous day;
"The Border Watch acknowledges some errors were included in the story on the front
page of yesterday's edition. This newspaper apologises for any offence caused to Cr
Alan Hill and the family involved and for confusion to readers. Editor Jason Wallace."
But Mt Gambier City Council allegedly can't get TBW to correct a massive mistake made repeatedly.
Furthermore, when the Rail Lands issue came up I reminded Darryl Sexton that I had asked him 10 times at the first meeting "...have you re-zoned the Rail Lands to Retail?" without an answer...just had to keep asking...
At the third meeting it went like this; "Have you re-zoned to Retail?"...Darryl responded, "No...not to retail"...Say I, "If not to Retail, then what?"..."City Centre"...then someone else asked, "What does that mean?...and Darryl said, "Some Commercial...um...some Retail, and some Public Use."
At a public meeting Darryl Sexton acknowledged that Council has re-zoned the Rail Lands for Retail (and other use) but he initially lied; he said "No" to a direct question, and only when pursued on the issue, when backed into a corner, did he eventually spill the beans...(what do you know about the beans?-Ed)
Council has re-zoned the site to achieve the Rail Lands Retail Agenda as per previous posts. When I identified this RLRA and how it had dominated Council planning, etc, I was howled down with much waving of hands about how wrong I was...but I'm not...
Earlier in the meeting I had also backed CEO McShenanigans into a corner, from where he admitted that at it's Tuesday evening meeting 21/05/13 Council had passed it's 'Increased Borrowing Capacity' with the justification that they needed that money to do the projects currently, allegedly still subject to 'Consultation'...it was an amazing admission...from some-one who wasn't even at the meeting...(he was absent for some reason)...
(Fascinating...but you promised me a Puppet Show-Ed)...yes, I'm getting there...but a quick summary...literally all of the 50+ people who have attended thus far have said the same things...the Main Corner is a disaster; as with the Bus Shelter; the paving; general maintenance; etc, don't do these projects now, wait a bit; and most importantly...don't raise our rates, we/the town just can't afford it.
Throughout the 3 meetings I have been repeatedly 'attacked' by Councillors, Council staff, and Mayor Steve Perryman, whilst they repeatedly refuse to answer my questions...typical of the bullying, harassment, and intimidation that Council metes out to anyone who dares to speak out...but especially to me...but that's ok, because I am special...
In previous posts I described my several interactions/contacts with CEO Mark McShane, namely that he had blown right past me at some functions, glared at me at Council meetings, and stood there speechless and stony-faced not saying a word the day I encountered him and Frank 'The Ghost' Morello outside the Helpmann Theatre...several encounters but not one word spoken (by him)...I wasn't sure that he could talk at all...
The exchange described in the previous post was the first time I'd seen CEO McShenanigans talk whilst not behind his 'desk' in Chambers...I'd just assumed that he was a marionette or a puppet, a Muppet if you will, and couldn't talk unless former CEO and now highly payed 'Consultant' Greg Muller had a hand up the back of his jumper...(nice-Ed)...and that is why you can't see dual CEO Greg at these Council meetings...because he's under the desk operating the dummy...
Why does Mt Gambier need two CEOs?...because that's what's happening...either Mark McShane is such a screaming incompetent that he needs Greg Muller to hold his hand, or he is just a puppet of the people actually running the show...(can I have a fiver each way?-Ed)
At the Budget meeting 25/05/13 McShane appeared to be fully autonomous, apparently moving and speaking independently, and you couldn't see any wires or anything...it was a very clever piece of illusion...
How much are rate-payers forking out to keep Greg in the luxury he's clearly become accustomed to whilst he continues to run Council from behind McShane?...keeping the Gravy Train on track and the corruption buried...good luck with that Greg...
There are 2 more 'Budget Consultation' meetings and I'll review them after the last one.
Later: The Border Watch this Week
Apparently TBW isn't going to give me any election coverage because I said not nice things about them on this blog...deadset...stop being so biased and harden the shrek up...
I am Nick Fletcher and you're not...thus nature restores the balance...(hilarious-Ed)...
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