THE Melville residents and ratepayers association says it’ll run candidates at the 2017 council elections.
“We’ve decided to get more active in the election process,” says president Gary Crawford.
The association has hammered the council over recent months, with tensions palpable at this month’s council meeting.
MRRA members stayed resolutely planted in their seats when mayor Russell Aubrey entered the chamber, breaking protocol, and their incessant scrutiny was met with muted resistance.
They were also forced to sit through a comprehensive list of CEO Shayne Silcox’s accolades after ally and former councillor Effie Nicholson asked why his contract had been renewed early three times.
Governance manager Jeff Clark pointedly read past a line on the agenda which read; “I could go on but I will stop there,” and proceeded to name every last achievement while the minutes secretary’s fingers flew as she tried to keep up.
Ms Nicholson also submitted three questions about CDOs, and was clearly incredulous when told that after taking into account investment earnings before the debt products collapsed, the council hadn’t actually incurred a loss.
Once question time was over, things quietened down and the council approved a tower in Beasley reserve, Leeming, despite Cr June Barton saying the “jury’s out” on their health impacts.
The council also voted to negotiate a 42-year, $60,000pa lease for a Dome Cafe at the old Deep Water Point cafe site.
by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM
Our CEO Dr Shayne Silcox is always keen to point out “his” achievements at the City of Melville. It seems the City expends significant time, resources and money on all of these awards Dr Silcox and Mayor Aubrey likes to accept. We have never seem a business case suggesting the expenditure actually adds real value to the Residents and Ratepayers. Actually when you look into these “awards” a number of them are pure gloss with not much substance.