Cassowary Coast Regional Council

Three senior council staff have announced their retirements – Ian Adcock (Corporate Services), Alf Raiti (Engineering) and Peter Kromoloff (Rates).

Together these three employees have given our local government 98 years of combined, dedicated service. Their well deserved farwell took place at the Tully Country Club last Friday night. The format and the venue were decided by the retirees, with the large attendance limited to past and present councillors, staff and family. I’m sure many members of the public have benefited from the service of these long serving employees and will join in wishing Ian, Alf and Peter a long and happy retirement. They will be missed.

All our divisional councillors attended on the night. The topic of amalgamation arose but did not detract from the overall success of the occasion, or from the recognition that the councillors are doing their best for the region in circumstances of an amalgamation not of their making.

Terry Brennan, CEO, has proposed, and Council has agreed, that four departments will be created to replace the five existing ones. They will be -

• Corporate Services
• Community Services
• Planning & Environmental Services
• Works

Twenty-eight programs are associated with these departments and cover all of the responsibilities of council.

To date the only confirmed new director is Phil Stark, Director of Corporate Services. Phil was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Atherton Shire Council. Appointments for the other three director positions will be made shortly.

Amalgamation and the retirement of long serving staff both mark the passing of an era. Humorous stories told on the night, remembered and recounted by the retirees in recollections of their years of service, prompted me to reflect that we should always strive to enjoy life, not take ourselves or our situation too seriously and not become overwhelmed by the enormity of the tasks ahead for the Cassowary Coast Regional Council. We can only do our best with the resources available, retain our sense of humour and try to leave the community a better place for our efforts.

On the night I was questioned about why this road or that bridge had repair work, or was scheduled for sealing, as opposed to work on other roads and bridges. The procedure we follow is that the councillors determine the factors to be taken into account and the budget dollars available and the staff determine which particular works will proceed. This council will ensure that this due process is followed.

The same applies with maintenance work. Most councillors including myself have recently had representations about grass mowing. Council was responsible for taking $5 ½ million out of expenditure to save further rate increases and one of the areas affected is lawn mowing. If we have gone too far let us know and staff will do two things – look to fix the immediate problem and try to find savings elsewhere in the budget review process.

Bear in mind though that past levels of service are not affordable, as identified in both the De Chastel and Orion Reports