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New Council Building

Our concern is the funding and ownership of the building. We have been assured that the costs can be provided without increased impact on ratepayers, mostly by savings from unnecessary other buildings and increased efficiency.  However, it appears that CoGG are paying about 1/2 the costs but there has been no mention of who is funding the rest - and therefore who will own the property after construction. Bendigo went down this track and ended up paying rent on a building that they were supposed to own. We hope the same will not happen in Geelong

Roads for New Developments

There is a lot of new construction occurring around region lately and many of the existing roads to these areas have not been upgraded to handle the additional traffic. Two-lane rural highways and residential streets are being used to access much of the Armstrong Creek and Warralilly areas leading to significant traffic issues as well as damage on previously minor roads. Planning for any new development should include suitable infrastructure being in place before construction rather than trying to retrofit after the fact.

Apart from new estates, several other areas in the Geelong region are also struggling to keep their infrastructure up to scratch. Lara has been undergoing massive growth over the last decade without any attention to its deteriorating roads. And all across the Bellarine, continual growth has put pressure on both the road and water. The Drysdale bypass is a start but only that.

South Geelong Urban Development

A long term plan has been floated for increased development in South Geelong. Amongst other things, it allows for 10 storey buildings along Moorabool St, over-building of the South Geelong Station, a multi-storey car-park and high density apartments near the Stadium. Needless to say, we are somewhat concerned about the plans and what they mean for both the area and the character of Geelong

Commercial Rates

Geelong's rates for commercial properties are some of the highest in the state. Despite the drive to re-vitalise the city centre, businesses still need to pay 2.5 times as much in rates as residential buildings. There are only about half a dozen Councils in Victoria who have rates as high.

Local Government Act

The State Government recently re-wrote the Local Government Act which is the major source of authority for Councils. Our colleagues at Ratepayers Victoria had a number of issues with the previous law since it had many holes and ambiguities. Unfortunately, the replacement is even worse and was pushed through, before all submissions were reviewed, by Adam Somyurek before he was dismissed for mis-using his position. We are hoping there will be a chance to comment again before it is enacted into law

Council Budget

Accounting for non-profit organisations, such as Local Councils, is somewhat different to normal business book-keeping. A study is been undertaken by Ratepayers Bayside to understand the figures provided by Councils and whether they are useful or sufficient for ratepayers generally

Indented Head Land Swap

The exchange of land between Council and a local developer in Indented Head shows some concerning aspects. Starting with the fact that apparently the land ownership is murky, the exchange is not favourable for the Council and removes valuable green space from the local community. We have attempted following the issue with both Ombudsman and IBAC but are having trouble getting action.

Ratepayers Geelong is an incorporated community group of people interested in issues of importance to its members and all ratepayers in the Greater Geelong region. Our aim is to keep a watch on the Greater Geelong City Council and call attention to things, both positive and negative, that we believe ratepayers should be aware of.

 

 

The latest version of the South Geelong "Urban Design Framework" has just been published for public comment on the Council "Your Say" website. This is a good opportunity to remind all residents that the first point of contact for any comment about Council plans can and should be this site. While Council often ignore, or at least don't act on, comments they sometimes do and many proposals are adapted after citizens give their responses. If nothing else, the site provides an insight into what matters are being discussed.

 

The plan for South Geelong joins similar documents for Central Geelong and the Pakington St/Gordon Ave area. There are also frameworks for the new North and West Geelong developments (Lovely Banks and Batesford) as well as Drysdale and an old one for Ocean Grove. They provided an interesting view into the plans for various regions and the starting point for objections (if any) to the development plans.

This is the third round of consultation for South Geelong and the big ticket items are: an increase in the heritage overlays in several places, major (massive!) development along Moorabool St around the stadium, and a complete overhaul - and overbuild - of the area around the Station. For the last point, residents should also be aware of the State Government plans for the railway line which include a raised line through outbound past the show-grounds as well as a complete re-build of the station; tying in with the Council plans to overdevelop the area.

We are concerned about the density of building planned which will turn the old Barwon Water site into a mass of tightly packed apartments. The possibility, or even likelihood, of turning the comfortable suburb of South Geelong into a dormitory for commuters to Melbourne is going to alter the family friendly area unless handled very carefully.

Ratepayers Geelong is an incorporated community group of people interested in issues of importance to its members and all ratepayers in the Greater Geelong region. Our aim is to keep a watch on the Greater Geelong City Council and call attention to things, both positive and negative, that we believe ratepayers should be aware of.

We welcome new members and the only requirement is a desire to make a difference. The issues we follow are suggested by our members and we encourage anyone in the Geelong region that wants to help, or who has a particular concern, to join us.

As our Rules of Association state, the organisation's purposes are:

  • To function as an educational body to disseminate information on issues and processes of local government;
  • To work for equity for ratepayers and residents;
  • To work for improved democratic process and participation in local government;
  • To work for accountability and good governance in local government, all tiers of government, and other relevant bodies;
  • To promote the return of local government to local control. In particular,
    • To advocate for collaboration, accountability, and transparency within Council;
    • To be a strong voice for the individual ratepayer;
    • To ensure Council decisions, actions and non actions (including planning, expenditure, policies, local laws and outcomes) put ratepayer interests first, are fiscally responsible, protect asset value, avoid self interest agendas, and keep rates to a minimum.

As a community group we are not appointed by anyone and have no ties to any political group, although we are affiliated with Ratepayers Victoria and have a reciprocal arrangement with them. There are a number of such groups in the Geelong region with a special interest in particular areas or topics. We are happy to work with any such where the interests of ratepayers are involved.

Our current office bearers are:

  • Peter Mitchell - President and Media contact
  • Jim Collins - Vice-President and Treasurer
  • Denis O'Bryan - Secretary
  • Antonia Kerr - Membership and Events
  • Alec Sandner - Local Government expert

 

Ratepayers Victoria: https://www.ratepayersvictoria.com.au/

City of Greater Geelong: https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/

Victorian Electoral Commission: https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/ 

Victorian Government: https://www.vic.gov.au/