What you should know about Burwood Council

Despite a healthy budget, Burwood Council is charging you more and giving you less than other councils. The NSW Department of Local Government reported that Burwood Council:[1] All comparisons are made with other councils in our region.

• has a gross income of 22.5million (05/06)
• increased your rates by 14% in 2004/05 to 2005/06, an increase higher than any other Council
• has the highest 'Other revenues' with only about 56% of income coming from rates.
• Increased staff levels by 5% in 2004/05 to 2005/06 (compared to the average of 2%).
• Spends less on our Library than other nearby councils.
• Domestic waste collection costs increased by 53.1% from $90 (04/05) to $138 (05/06)
• Spent less on leisure and recreation activities than other councils (Burwood Council spends $59 per person – compared with group average of $76.90)
• Spends less on Community Services than other councils, (Burwood Council spends $39 per person, compared with $55 for the group average.)
  

Burwood Council is charging you more, and providing you fewer quality services than other local councils.

Do you really want more of this financial abuse and mismanagement? On September 13 vote for Leadership and Better Management, to provide you with greater returns on your investment, vote for John Sidoti and the Liberal Team

For those accounting majors, Burwood council has:

• A current ratio of 0.83 for the years 05/06. The current ratio is a measure of solvency. It means for every $1 of debt/liability, they only have 83 cents of assets. This is termed insolvent in the business world. If Burwood Council was a company, they would be trading insolvent, and hence breaking the law.
• Very low levels of depreciation for the year 05/06. This means they have invested little in the town’s infrastructure in previous years and instead wasted the money on advertising themselves.

Development Applications:

Burwood has for the years 04/05 to 05/06 had an 8% growth in development applications.

Burwood, like Wollongong, only takes 38 days on average to pass a DA. The group average is 74 days. Speedy? Yes. Good for developers? Yes. Much oversight or review? No. Could Burwood be the next sacked council? Yes.

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[1] Source: Comparative Information on Local Government Councils, NSW Department of Local Government 2005/06
http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/documents/Comparatives/Comparatives_2005-06.pdf

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