The Tamborine Daily Star editorial of 26 April posed a truly thoughtful editorial question about the basic responsibility of Councillors - should the responsibility be to residents, or to the Corporate Council as a business enterprise? There are a couple of aspects you may wish to add to the overall picture.
The Local Government Act lists Councillor responsibilities. Relevant to the present discussion, Councillors must:
- Represent the current and future interests of the residents of the local government.
- Ensure the local government achieves its corporate and community plans.
- Provide high quality leadership to the local government and the community.
- Be accountable to the community for the local government performance.
The above seems to indicate a split responsibility. However, in establishing priorities it is worth considering:
- Compared to a Board of Directors, the Local Government Act outlines a higher than
- normal need for Councillors to directly represent the interests of all residents as
- shareholders.
- What other public corporation can directly impose on its shareholders very
- significant recurring costs in the form of rates and other charges? Further, if these
- bills are not paid on time, the penalties can be severe.
On balance, I know where my preferences lie.
Phil Giffard
Tamborine Mountain