This is the Action Plan we used during the 2022 Onkaparinga Council election when I teamed up with 11 other candidates. We all believed in these things …
From September 2022 …
We are all ordinary rate payers who love their community and if we are all elected we will have every opportunity to see these changes happen.
We think that what we want to do is more far reaching and will have a greater impact of all rate payers than what any other candidates are offering in this election.
We are not for the Status Quo but we need to get back to the basics and stop spending like there is no tomorrow.
Here is a list of what we want to see happen;
1. We have many ideas on ways to introduce efficiencies that will bring big cuts in Council rates and even increases in services, through lawful and transparent business practices.
2. Onkaparinga has $95.4m of loans which will peak at $138.5m in 2023/2024 and will take until June 2041 to pay off. WHY? This is no small question.
3. This current council plan a 4.7% rate rise. We need to put a freeze on this until it can be properly investigated.
4. So many of the projects that are costing big money should be paid for by our taxes by State or Federal Government not rate payers. We should hand them back to the Government, where they belong.
5. We will oppose the forced sale of anyone’s home who owes unpaid Council rates, where there is in genuine need.
6. Stop Council withholding any services if someone is behind in their payments.
7. We support giving additions concessions to Centrelink Pension Card Holders and low income rate payers.
8. We believe that if council makes a bad decision it needs to own it, where appropriate, and quickly admit responsibility by paying compensation and not fight it ‘tooth and nail’ in the courts.
9. Approvals for all developments, home improvements or land divisions should be given automatically within 30 days unless THE COUNCIL makes an application for a time extension for another 30 days.
10. We would like to see rate payers get free fruit trees and set up community gardens.
11. Generate bigger incomes from rubbish recycling.
12. Accelerate the clean-up of our suburbs, repair of roads and fix local traffic safety issues and remove graffiti.
13. More rubbish bins in public areas.
14. Purge the council of politics and ideology.
15. Make council accountable.
16. Enquire about conditions in Aged Care Homes.
17. Cancel all plans to sell off or lease our water assets.
18. More public toilets.
19. Restart a Community Newspaper to benefit so may rate payers that don’t use the internet. This would also be a great resource to document decisions and latest news in a fixed hard copy format that is not subject to change, unlike so much of what appears online.
20. Reduce the use of herbicides as much as possible.
21. Change dog registration fees to a single one-off fee of $150 which includes a $50 deposit. This would be a one-off payment to cover the life your pet. If your pet dies or you leave Onkaparinga then report this to Council and you will be refunded the $50 deposit.
We need to return to the basics of Rates, Rubbish and Roads – with a council dedicated to serving the interests of the people.
Note: When we say Rates, Rubbish and Roads this a slogan and a catch-cry for getting back to the basics of what Councils use to do which also includes things like asset management, community services, sports and public events.
What we don’t like is paying for things which are political and partisan in nature and almost always engaged in by council, at great expense to rate payers, WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT.
If any issue has only partisan support; if rate payers have differing opinions based only on their political affiliations then Council should have nothing to do with it. Hand it back to government.
Councils are not government.
Most rate payers would not even know what Council is spending their money on which explains why some are skeptical about our ability to deliver on RATE CUTS. If Council clearly made known what they were spending OUR MONEY ON, none of us would doubt that big savings were possible.
This emphasizes the need for transparency.
If you think you would like more information please email me at mark@mark4mayor.net