This week The Beagle received a letter that gave us a prod that we are not often clear who Council is. Most often in the opinion pages Council is held to task and often berated for failing to either meet expectations, to engage, to respond and to deliver. Those very pointed and very detailed criticisms are aimed at COUNCIL with a BIG C being the Council Executive and the Elected Councillors. The eurobodalla council (lower case c) staff are to be commended for their professionalism to their duties, the quality of the work they do, the way they conduct themselves, the level of training and skills capacity they have to carry out their duties and their dedication and commitment to the community. The Council Executive and the Elected Councillors are another thing altogether. As they represent the primary area of Policy, Politics, Procedure and overall Performance there is much discussion and debate in the pages of The Beagle on their accomplishments.
The letter to The Beagle regarding council staff is as follows: It is interesting to note the many criticisms in "the beagle" about the ESC and its staff. Having lived in a number of States and local government areas within those States, we have found that the ESC is exceptional. Whenever we have contacted the Council staff for a range of different issues we have always found that they have responded quickly to our needs, have been able to provide the information that we needed and if they couldn't do that they explained why this was so. We find that the rates we pay are mid range to most other rates we have paid for our homes and we are very pleased to see that the money is well spent and the amenities in each town are excellent. I congratulate the Shire for the work it does and find the criticism unwarranted. Perhaps those who criticise could offer constructive criticism rather than just bagging the Council. As the editor of The Beagle I fully agree with the author of the above letter regarding general council staff. Council staff at the ground level are to be congratulated and The Beagle does so at the completion of many of the key projects that these staff deliver. Those who do criticise Council Executive and Councillors in The Beagle most often DO offer constructive criticism and do strongly voice their opinions on Policy, Politics, Procedure and overall Performance. Most often they offer guidance to the councillors with references to existing Acts and Policys that Council might have overlooked or strayed from. Often they also remind new councillors of essential history that might have been overlooked in pre-voting briefings. Hopefully that will remain the case as The Beagle continues to offer a voice for the community to actually have their say, to publicly communicate their concerns, to voice their expectations and their disappointments and to contribute to the bigger picture of where we are going as a community in both social and financial terms. The letter above is an important reminder that we appreciate the excellent work that the council staff do. Our parks are very well maintained and serviced. Our council roads and bridges are in good order as too our water and waste services. The administration staff are timely and our community services staff are to be applauded for what they also achieve. Now to return to Policy, Politics, Procedure and overall Performance. lei
