ANALYSIS
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Crematorium – exit.
Citizens of Wollongong, respond.
No, it’s not an existential HSC question, it’s one of the recommendations put forward by Wollongong City Council’s citizens panel.
It seems likely – given the aim of the panel is to add $21 million to the council’s annual budget – that the words ‘‘crematorium – exit’’ mean the council should stop operating its Kembla Grange crematorium to save some cash.
But there is no detail about when it would be closed, whether it would be shut down completely or sold off to a private provider, or what the actual monetary gains of doing such a thing would be.
This is just one of 65 recommendations made by the citizens panel, but it is not the only ambiguous one.
Others include: ‘‘Youth services – revenue’’; ‘‘Customer service – reduce – apply an efficiency target’’; ‘‘GM & executive – reduce – efficiency’’.
Which youth services? What revenue? Which customer services should be reduced? By how much should they be cut? How exactly do you ‘‘reduce’’ a General Manager?
Similar questions were raised by some frustrated Mercury web commentators yesterday.
One, posting under the name Sam Tyler, addressed a recommendation which reads: ‘‘City Gallery – reduce – $20K increase in revenue – could also review.’’
‘‘First of all ... reduce what?’’ Mr Tyler wrote.
‘‘And by how much? Secondly, how is this ‘reduce’ going to generate a $20K increase in revenue? Thirdly, what on earth does ‘could also review’ mean? Of course you ‘could also review’, anybody ‘could also review’ anything at any time. Review how it operates? Review its existence?’’
Even the more detailed recommendations put forward in the panel’s report leave plenty of questions.
For instance, the report suggests the council implement a rate rise of up to 7.5 per cent over three years, to generate about $8.4 million a year in extra funds.
However, it doesn’t include details on whether the rise would be delivered in increments, if it is in addition to the statewide rate peg of about 3.4 per cent or if the rise would come in next year.
Normally, with decisions of this magnitude, councillors would receive full and lengthy business paper setting out the history, detail and financial benefits of such a move.
With so much unanswered in the citizens panel’s report, the Mercury approached the council for clarification hoping we would be able to speak to a staff member about the meaning behind the numerous vague statements.
However, we were told some information would probably not be forthcoming because the recommendations did not belong to the council, but the panel – who are not available to comment.
And when asked for specific details about how certain recommendations would work, it appeared council staff were also forced to rely on their own interpretations to decipher what the citizen’s panel meant.
Receiving the panel’s document on Tuesday, Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery was careful to stress this was just the beginning and all Wollongong residents would get their chance to have a say before it was put to a councillor vote in December.
Indeed all residents are invited to fill out a submission form on the council’s Have Your Say website or take to an online forum to share their thoughts before November 20.
In contrast, the review into the future management of the Garrawarra Cemetery gives residents nearly two months to have their say on the issue.
The Have Your Say website also provides detailed papers and a 15-minute video delving into the cemetery’s history to help inform their decisions.
Yet citizens have just two weeks express their thoughts on a proposal that will impact every person living in the city.
And with vague recommendations like: ‘‘crematorium – exit’’ - who knows? Maybe it will impact on them when they’re no longer living too.
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