COUNCILS seem to be the first to cop criticism when rubbish is left in waterways, potholes appear in roads and contractors fail to deliver on major projects.
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But when you consider how much Orange City Council staff have dealt with in the past two years alone, perhaps ratepayers need to cut the organisation some slack.
When projects like the Orange Regional Airport upgrade, the Macquarie pipeline and Suma Park Dam are mentioned in the same report, with some of those projects worth in the tens of millions of dollars, it seems that councillors have the weight of most of the development in Orange on their shoulders.
And that’s not even counting the 3000 phone calls, 3500 letters and 20,000 emails staff receive every month.
Whether councils should stick to the three Rs of rates, roads and rubbish will always be thrown up as Orange ratepayers are ultimately the ones footing the bill for these projects, together with state and federal funding.
On the one hand, ratepayers are paying some of the highest rates in the state and deserve, not only some relief, but an assurance that their money is being prudently spent.
On the other, economies thrive on infrastructure development especially in tough times and the current economic climate is not giving many businesses certainty - New Year’s Eve Party Under the Stars organisers struggling to secure sponsorship for this year’s event can attest to that.
Councils face a contradiction of expectations - they must be there to help when all other avenues have been exhausted, yet they must also keep their costs down and try to keep 40,000 people happy.
Ultimately, budgets show whether councils are getting the balance right.
With NSW Treasury Corporation ranking Orange as having one of the most financially sustainable local governments in the state, things are certainly looking good at the moment.
If it continues that way, there should be no problem with the council continuing to pursue bigger projects and grow the city.
If it doesn’t, the three Rs might start to look a little more attractive.