VOTING is now under way for the Mount Gambier City Council elections after voting papers were sent out last week.
The 19,000 electors have until next Friday to lodge voting papers to elect a mayor and eight councillors.
Three will contest the mayoralty, while 19 will fight out the eight positions for council.
Indications are, from talking with people in pubs, clubs and shoppers on the street, the mayoral election will be close but most expect it to be a two-way contest between mayor Andrew Lee and Chamber of Commerce president Lynette Martin OAM.
The third candidate is retired school teacher Mark Jones, who some suggest lacks the high profile of the other two and this may hamper his attempt to win the election.
Mr Lee holds the advantage of being in office but both the Lee and Martin campaign camps are confident of victory.
At the last election Mr Lee won comfortably on the back of a bigger turnout than more recent elections.
This time he is up against a very high-profile candidate in Lynette Martin who had been at the forefront of business affairs for more than 10 years as chamber president.
Both bring to the table a wealth of civic experience and whoever wins is faced with some challenges, including a poll to decide the $39.1m indoor sports and recreation centre soon after the election result is declared.
But high on the new council’s agenda should be a reduction in rates.
For 10 years rate rises were 6.5pc-6.9pc to pay off loans incurred to build the library, Main Corner and other major projects and to council’s credit they did reduce it to 4.5pc.
While much has been said about council’s short-term plan to have rates remain at 4.5pc for the next four years and there will be no initial rate rise to accommodate the possible $9m-$14m council loan to help build the indoor centre, what ratepayers should be getting is a rate reduction and it should have been this year.
With no infrastructure project on its books and with loans of less than $3m, there is an argument for council to have dropped rates to 3pc-3.5pc.
It is a view supported by Federal Member Tony Pasin.
Also, it is known council made a surplus of almost $400,000 last year, according to one councillor, so it poses the question why has there not been rate relief?
It has now been revealed council plans to “squirrel” away funds over the next four years to help pay for indoor centre costs.
Last week (The Border Watch, Oct 24) council candidate Cr Frank Morello said “council’s long term financial plan estimated an operating surplus of $1.7m at the end of construction in 2021-22, offsetting the centre’s $1.4m operating deficit”.
It seems council’s reasoning is to keep rates at 4.5pc increase over the next four years and produce a $400,000 surplus each year so it can achieve the expected $1.7m cash stockpile.
Most of that $1.7m will go to cover the centre’s first year running costs of $1.4m – but what happens after 2022 when annual running costs still have to be met during the expected 40-year life of the building?
While council made almost $400,000 “profit” last year there was no rate relief this financial year.
As ratepayers have paid their 4.5pc increase for this year, in effect, perhaps unfairly, they are already contributing to a cash stockpile to pay for the first year of the indoor centre’s running costs, yet a vote is still to be held to decide the issue.
It was mooted earlier council might charge ratepayers an extra $20/year over four years to offset initial running costs but it was not included in this year’s Budget, however, it appears it will achieve the same outcome through the annual 4.5pc rate rises.
It might be that council hopes ratepayers will remain comfortable with a four-year annual 4.5pc increase but if it is smart, the new council will reward ratepayers for the pain they endured during the massive cost blowouts of the library and Main Corner.
They deserve rate relief.
