THERE have been a large number of letters over recent years criticising the City of Ballarat councillors and the council administration. I admit to writing my share of those letters.
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I now, however, wish to speak up on behalf of our elected representatives.
Councillors are elected for a four-year term and I know from speaking to many of them that they always act in the best interest of Ballarat as they see it.
Unfortunately, because they are, in the main, part-time councillors they rarely have the time to thoroughly research and question the information that is provided to them by council staff. This results in council staff setting the agenda and, in a de facto sense, also deciding the outcome of propositions put before council.
This is not a criticism of our councillors, who spend long hours on our behalf doing the best job they can (it is also not a criticism of the majority of the council's administration staff; although I am just not sure we need quite as many).
This is why the City of Ballarat is in its current situation with numerous major decisions being put off with no action until after 'consultation'. Consultation, as we know, that does not adequately consult with the appropriate stakeholders.
In summary, we need to support our councillors but also make sure that they know what we, the residents and ratepayers of Ballarat, expect of them.