By JONATHON HOWARD
COOLUM beach resident Dr Richard Koerner says Noosa Council deserves every penny of the $20 million it requested from the Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) recently.
The request was made by Mayor Noel Playford last week and sent shockwaves through the community, with residents fearing future rate rises and suspicion resurfacing around the total costs of de-amalgamation.
Dr Koerner holds a PHD in strategic management, was a former member of the Maroochy Waters Services Advisory board and a former treasurer of the Coolum Residents Association. He has crunched the numbers and said the true cost of amalgamation in 2008 was still being felt, while the cost of last year’s de-amalgamation was only “modest”.
“Mayor Noel Playford is absolutely right about SCC trying to rip-off the Noosa Council $20 million – due to unfinished business including the amalgamation in 2008,” Dr Koerner said.
“Those infrastructure contributions collected by the SCC from the developers building in Noosa since amalgamation must be spent in Noosa and must be transferred back.”
Dr Koerner also claimed Sunshine Coast Water and Unitywater, part-owned by SCC, had been overcharging Noosa households excessive water service charges since the amalgamation.
However, Dr Koerner said the actual figure owed to Noosa Council was closer to $40 million.
“The Treasurer and Minister for Local Government are both well aware of this rip-off, yet George Street turns a blind eye,” he said.
“The SCC owes Noosa residents more than $40 million in actual fact.
“Despite the Boundary Commissioner’s grim predictions, the costs to Noosa ratepayers of the de-amalgamation from the SCC, was modest.
“However, both Coolum and Noosa households are still paying about $160 annually in excess of the legitimate costs for water services with the continued existence of Unitywater.”
Mr Koerner said Free Noosa was lumbered with unfair termination costs due to the excessive staff increases of the SCC since 2008, and still managed to hold its rates at current levels.
“Not so the SCC, who have just announced rate increases of five per cent as well as wasting the $20 million collected annually in the pricing abuse of Unitywater.”
Mr Koerner questioned why Coolum and Noosa ratepayers had to bear the taxes for water? And where were the taxes being spent?
“I suspect these hidden costs are going towards the Sunshine Coast Council’s financial mismanagement of a so-called “commercial” airport that has yet to achieve its budgeted financial performance targets; to get SCC into the commercial development business in Maroochydore; and to subsidise an inefficient and ineffective bureaucracy now called the SCC,” he said.
“Now disband Unitywater, the creature of 2008 council amalgamations, and make SCC directly accountable for the $160 in excessive annual charges built into our water bills.”
The matter was awaiting a decision from Minister for Local Government, Community Queensland Boundaries David Crisafulli MP.
