A member of Wollongong City Council’s citizens panel has come forward to explain the meaning behind some of the group’s recommendations to cut services, raise revenue and make the council more efficient.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bulli resident and panel member Nicola Stanistreet approached the Mercury on Thursday to expand on some statements included in the panel’s final report, after it was criticised for containing vague or ambiguous suggestions like ‘‘crematorium – exit’’.
She said consultants from the community engagement group Straight Talk, which facilitated the citizens panel, had typed out the final report.
Panel members had also not realised council staff would be unable to answer questions about each recommendation in more detail, she said.
‘‘The reason that there’s not a great deal of detail in the report is that we expected the council to provide that information,’’ she said.
‘‘I know that you can’t say ‘crematorium – exit’ and expect people to know what that means, but we were kind of assuming the council would be available to explain these things.’’
The citizens panel forms a pivotal part of the council’s wide-ranging financial sustainability review, which was announced in May to help meet a multimillion-dollar infrastructure backlog.
Nicola Stanistreet, right, from the citizens' panel.
Made up of ‘‘randomly chosen’’ Wollongong residents who represented a broad range of demographics in the city, the group met four times during September and October, and was asked to suggest ways the council could find an extra $21 million each year.
Its final report was handed to Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery on Tuesday, then put out for public consultation with residents invited to respond within two weeks.
Despite some of the oversimplified or confusing suggestions put forward in the report, Ms Stanistreet said a lot of thought had gone into researching and compiling the list.
‘‘We as a panel want to hold the council responsible for spending the city’s money wisely,’’ she said.
‘‘We all love this city and that was why we were on the panel – because we love being in Wollongong and we wanted to do what we could for it.’’
She urged all residents to read the documents published on the council’s Have Your Say website and submit their opinions before community consultation on the financial review closes on November 20.
