Just another nail in the coffin

Local democracy on the Central Coast has suffered another blow under the dictatorial hammer of Central Coast Council, who are now seeking to reduce the impact of the ‘Public Forum’ on Council meetings.

24 May 2023

ALAN HAYES

 

WITH the denial of local democracy, the ‘Public Forum’ held immediately before each Council meeting has provided a rare opportunity for residents to hold Council Senior Management accountable by trying to influence Council decisions. Yet Council’s senior managers are determined to undermine the effectiveness of the Forum by separating it from the Council meeting. They want the Forum to be held on a separate day, moving the ‘Public Forum’ forward to Monday evenings prior to a Tuesday evening Council meeting for a three-month trial.

 

Council’s excuse for the change is that it will increase the opportunity for community members to have their say on matters presented at Central Coast Council’s Ordinary Council meetings, and to also provide more time for Council staff to consider their feedback.

 

Council’s Director of Corporate Services, Marissa Racomelara said the trial aims to give more community members more time to speak during the Public Forum.

 

“Currently, Public Forums are held immediately prior to each Council meeting. This small change to the scheduling will provide a valuable benefit for increased community participation and the opportunity for Council to thoroughly consider all feedback and respond accordingly during the Council meeting the following day,” Ms Racomelara said.

 

“Community members will still be invited to register to speak at each Public Forum which will be held both in person and online during the months of May and June and online only in July.”

 

Despite Administrator Rik Hart contending that the community’s voice will be heard on matters that are important to them residents disagree, claiming that they will have to attend two meetings rather than one, and the process will cost more.

 

“It is obvious that the main purpose of the change is to reduce the impact of the Public Forum on Council meetings,” said Coast resident Joy Cooper.

 

Administrator Rik Hart announced the change at the April Council meeting despite there being no notice on the agenda, no accompanying report, and no recommendation. Nor was the change approved by any formal resolution.

 

“It even breaches Hart’s own code of practice that he introduced,” said Ms Cooper.

 

“There wasn’t even a motion put forward to make the change.”

 

Even though Hart maintains that all community members will be given a fair go, local residents disagree.

 

The “trial” is non-compliant with the current Public Forum Policy. This policy, which has not been amended or suspended, states that any Forum should be held on the same day as the Council meeting.

 

“Council staff will control the public narrative as their words will be the only words heard and reported on the night of the Council meeting,” Joy Cooper said.

 

“When those who govern us believe their own policies do not apply to them, this is a slippery slope towards arbitrary government. Sadly, this is all too common where democracy is absent.”

 

In recent months, Forum speakers have been critical that Council services continue to deteriorate despite massive rate hikes and asset sales. In response, the Administrator and Council Senior Managers have at times appeared not across the detail of their own reports or briefs.

 

But the question that needs to be answered, “is Council Administrator Rik Hart being properly briefed?”

 

Council CEO David Farmer, who essentially remains silent and flies under the radar, akin to the comic book character the ‘Phantom’, or the ‘Ghost Who Walks’, is in charge of Council Directors and is responsible for their actions. If they fail to adequately brief Hart, then Farmer is failing in his job.

 

Coast residents are convinced that Hart is only being informed about what staff want him to know, so that it suits their own agenda.

 

“That is why they want an extra 24-hours, to respond to constructive criticism with Council spin,’ said Joy Cooper.

 

“Rather than seeking to marginalise constructive public scrutiny, they should use it as a spur to improve performance.”

 

None of the other changes within this “trial” are anything new. For example, addressing items not on the agenda (the Open Forum) was previously allowed but abolished by Administrator Rik Hart himself in February 2022.

 

Technology such as Zoom was used during Covid lockdowns, but subsequently discouraged by Council itself.

 

Five-minute speeches have also been allowed in the past before being reduced to three minutes by Council.

 

So, except for the 24-hour gap between the Forum and Council meeting, none of the “trial” changes are new. All the changes could easily be added to the current Forum held on the same day as the Council meeting - as they have been in the past.

 

“The only real purpose of the “trial” is to reduce the impact of the Forum by separating it from the Council meeting,” Joy Cooper said.

 

“The other changes serve merely to obfuscate its main purpose – which is most likely the predetermined outcome of the “trial” and any subsequent “consultation.”

 

Wider concerns illustrated by current council administration are:

 

• Local democracy has been suspended well beyond the originally stated purpose and should be restored.

 

• Local government is dictatorial. Community input to decision making is increasingly marginalised. Council “consultations” often appear to be predetermined and there is taxation without representation, leading to higher rates and worse services.

 

• The absence of public accountability is leading to arbitrary decision making where the Administrator and Council Senior Managers believe they can act in contravention of their own policies. There are no effective checks and balances.

 

• The Administrator increasingly meddles in issues such as the Public Forum that would be better left for the return of an elected body with democratic legitimacy. He should focus on improving core functions through better management performance, efficiency and productivity. He should also remember part of his role is to be responsive to the local community.

 

But the dictatorial hammer gets even worse!

 

A performing arts precinct in the middle of Gosford is a no-brainer for the city’s day-and-night-time economy, yet Rik Hart refuses to leave public land used for this purpose as a community legacy.

The Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct (FOPAP) has called on the Central Coast Council Administrator to be mindful of the needs of future generations on the Coast and to stop the selloff of the last remaining prime public land in the Gosford CBD.

 

Chair of FOPAP, Mr Barney Waters, said a staff recommendation to move ahead with the reclassification of community land at 72 and 75 Mann Street Gosford was the “last nail in the coffin of a long-promised performing arts centre for the city.”

 

“If Rik Hart doesn’t know the history of this community’s fight to have a performing arts centre in Gosford, then he needs to do his homework before rubber stamping the staff recommendation to reclassify blocks of Mann Street community land to operational land so they can be sold,” Mr Waters said.

 

Mr Waters said that Central Coast Council had a proposed deal with the former NSW Government to sell most of the block between Donnison Street and the Conservatorium of Music “but the new state government hasn’t agreed to that deal.”

 

Mr Waters said Mann Street was an ideal location for a future performing arts precinct and the perfect solution to breathing life into the Gosford CBD.

 

“Administrator Rik Hart will be leaving town in September 2024 but he should leave the community with at least enough public land in Mann Street to develop into the performing arts centre we have long dreamed of and campaigned for.

 

“The selloff of the former Gosford Council chambers, the Broadwater Hotel and the two buildings that were specifically acquired for a performing arts precinct should not go ahead for many obvious reasons.

 

“Perhaps Mr Hart is not aware of the rates levy Gosford residents paid for years to fund the purchase of the Broadwater Hotel, which was going to be the city library at one stage.

 

“A performing arts precinct in the middle of Gosford would be a wonderful legacy for future generations and is the cultural infrastructure that the population of the Central Coast deserves and needs.

 

“I have heard Mr Hart say that the Council’s finances are back in the black, so why does he need to agree to reclassify and sell this land? It is a public asset. I’m not pretending that we will get a performing arts precinct in the next 12 months but at least he could leave us with that option.

 

“The last thing Gosford needs is to have this prime land sold off to another private developer so it can sit and decay for the next 20 years.

 

“I say to Mr Hart, please keep this land in public hands, so we can keep working towards our goal of a public performing arts facility that future generations will be proud of.”

 

So, where does the Central Coast community fit into Council’s plans? As the ‘Butch Cassidy’ and ‘Sundance Kid’ scenarios continue to play out, they are the unfortunate victims of a dictatorial hammer that continues to strip away the rights of a democratic society – another nail in the coffin!