On more than one occasion Dean Lynch has exposed his bias in looking after the Cooma end of the shire, including his admission that some people in Bombala have been excluded because they were too outspoken. This is not democracy, this is a quasi dictatorship and has no place in a democracy.

Perhaps those of us who are deeply angry would be to some point assure of process if an independent administrator was appointed.

In 1750 a fiery young clergyman in Boston, Massachusetts by the name of Jonathan Mayhew coined the immortal words “No taxation without representation” in “Pamphlets of the American Revolution” as a fundamental democratic principle against Britain taxing the American colonies, which at that time had no representation in government.

Alas, there is a clear parallel with Reverend Mayhew’s wonderful call to arms with the Baird government’s appointment of unelected administrators to control Councils’ finances in the recent spate of local government amalgamations.

In the (then) Department of Local Government’s “Council Rating and Revenue Raising Manual (2007)” the introduction reads (page 6):

“The levying by local government of local taxes distributed on the basis of relative value of property has been the principal means of financing local government in Australia throughout this century. The local property tax has always been a tax base principally allocated to local government, which is the level of government routinely providing public services which retain or enhance the value of private property (such as local roads, garbage disposal, parks, footpaths).” [My emphasis added].

Clearly, the New South Wales Government acknowledges that rates are taxes. But what about democratic representation? Unfortunately, no such fundamental concept is on Baird/Toole radar screens with the appointment of administrators.

With the creation of Snowy Monaro Regional Council, we have an undemocratically appointed administrator – who I hold in the highest personal regard – who not only has the total financial authority to decide the incidence of rates on the various categories of rate payers (e.g. residential, business, farmland) within a cap but also the disposition of these rates (read taxation) revenue among competing claims from the three former Shires until September 2017.

Surely, anybody who believes in and has fought for democracy must find this state of affairs totally reprehensible. The amalgamation of the former Bombala, Cooma-Monaro, and Snowy River Shire Councils is currently a fait accompli – at least until a State Government of a different political hue is elected – if one can believe the current rhetoric. 

I call on the Baird government to hold local government elections in September 2016 to restore some sort of legitimacy to what has been, possibly, a fatally flawed process.

The claim Bombala Shire had $5million in restricted funds is probably correct.

These funds are to cover PAYG taxes, long service leaves etc. and reserve to repair and replace facilities such as water and sewage.

The shire had become far more secretive after the GM’s first annual report in 2014 financial year.

In 2014 there were approximately $1million in each of the sewage and water reserve accounts.

Given the benefit of the doubt, the sewage account may have $2million in it.

The mayor has said the sewage is a major problem and will require $10million to replace it.

In other words the sewage rates should have been about double to cover the system’s R&M and replacement.

One of the major reasons the state government has insisted on the amalgamations is it is sick of bailing incompetent councils out.

The $5million unrestricted reserves would require documentary evidence of their existence.

The shire turned over approximately $7m per annum – $3.5m in rates that went straight to wages and $3.5m in grants that are mostly for specific projects.

The shire made a $1.5m cash loss in 2014, a $500k loss in 2015 and there is no reason to think 2016 is any better than 2015.

Where did the $5m come from?

As for the shire taking legal action – that is nonsense. The staff may have given the councillors incorrect advice.

This is another problem in small councils where the staff are inexperienced and give incorrect advice.

This has happened repeatedly in Bombala over decades.

But the Bombala Shire, not long ago was having trouble paying its electricity bill.

Had it taken legal action, it would have run out of funds before the first call over.

What the former councillors should do is come to grips with the idea the Bombala Shire is over and support the new Bombala representatives and get Bombala going again.