In the lead-up, we'll be asking a member of each of the six teams running questions related to their policies and the municipality overall.  

This week’s question is as follows - Kiama council recently avoided amalgamation with Shoalhaven. What are your team's plans to help ensure the municipality remains 'Fit for the Future?’

See below for their responses. 

Andrew Sloan, Greens ticket. 

There is always a tendency for candidates to make big-spending promises at election time.

I will not be doing that as I understand the importance of keeping a balanced council budget to help avoid amalgamation and minimise rate increases.

The Operational Ratio requires council to continue to look for efficiencies, but I won’t support cuts to the services we currently provide.

Electricity costs are a big portion of the budget and I have pushed for LED streetlights and solar cells for our main facilities. Both will dramatically cut annual costs.

Where new capital works are required to cater for our growing population it should be funded mostly by developers and not existing ratepayers.

The “developer contributions” council receives for each new lot is about half of what Shellharbour and one-third of what Wollongong council charge.

That needs to be fixed soon as we are missing out on a major source of revenue to help provide new infrastructure and amenities.

Neil Reilly, Community Voices.

First and foremost, when invited, we must participate in ‘Fit for the Future’, round two.

We must ensure that we have put in place the measurable attributes that show we reach the given criteria. Without this arduous step, any future plans are redundant.

Next, our platform is that council undertake a top to bottom review of our operational procedures and structure to ensure that we align with future requirements.

Our past success must be respected, but few, if any, organisations are beyond improvement.

Aligning our systems and structure with effective outcomes means we will escape the threat of future amalgamation and will make us eligible for low interest borrowing, vital to our delivery programs.

Gavin McClure, Experience Counts.

Our team will work very closely with council directors that are responsible to ensure that Kiama council are better than benchmarks set by the state government that are necessary to comply with to maintain a ‘Fit for the Future’ status. 

Our team candidates have many years’ business experience and this experience will assist us to be more versed with the ‘Fit for the Future’ requirements. 

Our commitment is also to work very closely with our community to ensure that collectively we address the major issues together, so that if we need to call on the community again to fight we have their undivided support.

Mark Honey, Honey/Westhoff Team. 

It must be core policy for council to meet all of the ‘Fit for the Future’ ratios set down by the state government. This will require constant review of council’s revenue sources, its operational and capital expenditure and to control its priorities to meet those parameters.

Council must develop revenue sources, e.g. continue the land development program at Spring Creek; increase revenue from its caravan parks; and investigate commercial activities using council resources. 

Council must ensure proper controls on expenditure and seek grant funding actively.

A permanent Strategic Review Committee to be set up to regularly review projected revenues, charges and likely rate projections, to ensure long-term liquidity for council’s requirements.

Council must pressure state and federal governments to stop further cost shedding to local governments.

It will be important to maintain a good dialogue with the community to ensure that all residents are aware of the need to maintain financial viability for the council and the impact that may have on expenditure programs from time to time. 

Mark Way, Kiama Independents.

Our Kiama Municipality’s Independents team will continue with council’s initiatives to minimise impacts on ratepayers by various factors that include reviewing depreciation, cost reviews and increasing the return from commercial activities.

This will allow council to minimise rate increases through efficiencies.

We will continue the direction by council’s consultants, who provided advice on efficiencies and cost savings to meet ‘Fit for Future’ that have enabled council to meet all of the key sustainability and financial ratios by 2019-2020.

To continue with infrastructure improvements in the municipality, we will endeavour to source funding from state and federal governments, plus the sale of under-utilised council-owned land.

Matt Brown, Community and Labor. 

In a nutshell, the answer is ‘sensible economic management which strengthens the community’.  

We are fortunate to have a number of profitable council-run businesses, like Blue Haven and our caravan parks, which assist the rate base along with government grants. 

To strengthen the community we need to preserve and retain the integrity of our towns.

That means better design and better construction. We need to deliver good outcomes in regards to sport, cultural, health and educational participation. 

We also need private sector investment which will allow locals to find work closer to home. A strong community living within its means will ensure we remain ‘Fit for the Future’.

Do you have a question to ask the election candidates? Email us at kinews@fairfaxmedia.com.au.