To be or not to be, that is the question being asked of MidCoast Council administrator John Turner as he considers whether to fill the vacant position on the MidCoast Council Local Representative Committee (LRC).
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It is 20 days since LRC member and former Greater Taree councillor and deputy mayor Robyn Jenkins hit ‘send’ on an email to Mr Turner to advise of her decision to resign from the committee. It was a $19,000 ethics call for Ms Jenkins, “a matter of conscience” as she felt it was “not ethical” for her to accept the annual payment for the work required of her on the committee. She contends the LRC “is not achieving” and “being sidetracked to talk about things that are not fundamentally important to the people.”
Mr Turner’s quick defence of the committee included that it functions well within its Terms of Reference but stressed it is an “advisory committee at best” with no binding or voting rights in relation to any matters before MidCoast Council … “there is no such thing as the power of the committee.” In a surprising revelation Mr Turner added that he does not support the payment of money to LRC members.
“The cost of the committee was borne on us by the State government who said that we had to pay them councillor’s fees. I don’t believe that should have occurred quite frankly but that was what the State government said.”
Money sits front and centre in all discussions relating to matters before MidCoast Council as it is a 10,000 square kilometre local government area with a massive infrastructure backlog and significant revenue challenges.
We know around $19,000 a year is paid to each of the remaining LRC members Kathryn Bell, James Henderson, Frank Hooke, Karen Hutchinson, Trent Jennison, Carol McCaskie, Len Roberts, Katheryn Smith, Leigh Vaughan and David West, with the chair Jan McWilliams receiving a higher payment. That payment requires member attendance at a monthly meeting and representative duties if required by Mr Turner.
Twice in 20 days Mr Turner has been asked by the Manning River Times if he will select another person to sit on the LRC and twice Mr Turner has said, “I’m considering it." Here’s a little free advice … consider the cost saving of not filling the position – one more voice on a committee that has no power is an unnecessary expense.