Wollongong council gives itself A+ in final review

The End of Term report spans 80 pages and boasts an extensive list of the council's most significant achievements and milestones during the past four years.

The document will be presented to councillors for approval at their final meeting this evening.

Read more: The hero surfer first on the scene at Bulli boating tragedy

The highlights of the term, according to the council, include record investment in infrastructure, the rollout of improved community services and a renewed focus on sustainability, the latter of which saw the council introduce the FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) collection, plant 5000 trees under the Urban Greening strategy and commit to bold emissions reduction targets.

The council also applauded the rollout of key projects in the mammoth West Dapto Urban Release area, including the completion of the award-winning Karrara Bridge - the council's largest ever infrastructure project.

Another much-applauded highlight was the city's significant investment in cycling facilities, from new mountain bike tracks to an overhaul of, and in some cases, much-needed upgrades to cycleways throughout the region.

In a message to residents at the start of the report, Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the current crop of councillors had come to the table with a series of "ambitious plans" when they were elected in 2017.

"Since 2017, we have continued to deliver for our community," he wrote.

"As I look back over this term of council, I don't just see the passing of time, I see four extraordinary years well spent."

However, there are those in the community who remain critical of the council's performance in several key areas.

Wollongong neighbourhood forum secretary and retired town planner David Winterbottom said the outgoing council didn't have the best track record when it came to listening to ratepayers.

"They are doing some good things no doubt, but they aren't getting everything right," he said.

"It's been very mixed in terms of achievements."

Mr Winterbottom praised the city's improved cycleways and the investment in libraries and the art gallery, but said for too long the council had ignored the concerns of residents on issues to do with traffic congestion, overdevelopment in suburban streets, parking in the CBD and the revitalisation of the Crown Street Mall.

"I'm not so sure I'd give them much more than a five out of 10," he said.

Bradley Chapman, whose neighbourhood forum covers Fairy Meadow to Corrimal, agreed with Mr Winterbottom's concerns on overdevelopment in the area and called on the council to put caps on the medium density housing and dual occupancy rates.

"We're not anti-development but we'd like a reasonable effort to cap development," he said.

However, Mr Chapman praised the council's improved performance on road maintenance and the FOGO initiative, but said he was disappointed that his local councillors had not made more of an effort to attend the forum's meetings.

"It would have been great to have them visit our meetings to touch base with residents about their concerns," he said.

Forum 7 convenor Peter Maywald, whose area covers Port Kembla to Windang, gave a mixed review, saying while there had been many positives during the council's tenure, some areas had been left wanting.

He said the council had drafted plans for almost every town and significant piece of land in the area, including Port Kembla, King George Oval and Hill 60, however delivery on the promises had been slow.

"We've got a lot of plans, but not a lot of action," he said.

One issue the forum is desperate for action on is urgently needed upgrades to Northcliffe Drive, which is dealing with increasingly large volumes of traffic, including heavy vehicles.

"The past council was aware of the issue but didn't put enough thought into resolving it," he said.

However, Mr Maywald had nothing but praise for the efforts of ward three councillors, naming the Cringila Hills mountain bike park as a highlight for the area.

Gordon Bradbery was pretty confident ahead of the 2017 local government elections that he would be reelected lord mayor of Wollongong.

Others were too. In fact, online betting agencies had Cr Bradbery as the clear favourite from the get-go.

A select few put their hat in the ring to challenge the former Uniting Church minister turned politician, but none were surprised when Cr Bradbery romped home with the win.

He ran on a campaign of honesty, telling voters the incoming councillors would have to be realistic about the limitations of the council budget.

"When you come onto council, it's all so nice and easy to say these sorts of things, but when you come to the reality of budget you have to sit down and carve up that money dollar by dollar," Cr Bradbery told a candidate forum at the time.

Among his big promises for the term was renewing the council's focus on amenity and sustainability.

Four years on, as ratepayers prepare to go to the polls once again, residents can take a look at the council's final report card and decide for themselves if the Lord Mayor - and his fellow councillors - kept the promises they made back in 2017.

The End of Term report, which will be presented to Monday's council meeting, might be a self-congratulatory puff piece at first glance - and it definitely has an unabashed air of flattery about it - but underneath all the back-slapping and self-congratulatory wording, it should become clear to residents where their money is being spent.

Of course, the council can always do better by its ratepayers - just ask the convenors of the city's neighbourhood forums.

We did, and the overwhelming message was the need for more listening, followed by more doing.

Prospective councillors, take note.

The Illawarra Mercury newsroom is funded by our readers. You can subscribe to support our journalism here.