Budget Review 2010 2011

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=30 BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" style=" border-left: 1px solid #3366CC;" BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Tulbagh Info Information</B></div> <div> Budget Review 2010 2011</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="120" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#0099CC HEIGHT= 15 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="local_news.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tulbagh News Page 2"><U>Back to Local News</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Previous correspondence - if any - follows after in sequence below.</B></div> <bR> <div> Comments made by Tulbagh Ratepayer in respect of the Witzenberg Municipality's Annual Budget Review (2010 -2011)</div> <bR> <div> <B>J A Veschini</B></div> <div> <B>P O Box 10,</B></div> <div> <B>Tulbagh,</B></div> <div> <B>6820</B></div> <div> <B>email : </B><B><U>rockyvalley@telkomsa.net</U></B></div> <div> <B>023 2302172</B></div> <div> <B>082 6538229</B></div> <bR> <div> 25 May 2010</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Municipal Manager</B></div> <div> <B>Witzenberg Municipality</B></div> <bR> <div> Dear David,</div> <bR> <div> <B>Comments regarding the Budget Review 2010 - 11</B></div> <bR> <div> I may or may have not met your deadline for comments but I did give the matter some thought as to whether it would make any difference whether a comment submitted by me, or or any other organisation would make any difference, given the fact that you or your officials do not respond to many - if any of our communications in any event. Furthermore, I note that very few, if any, of the suggestions that I, or we make, are apparently taken very seriously by your Council and they make it clear by their actions </div> <div> that they make the decisions - with or without community consultation, or adequate public participation (which by rights they should be obligated to do and are paid for doing so).</div> <bR> <div> However, I shall comment for what it is worth.</div> <bR> <div> Page 3. I note the reference to implementation - development of a Zoning Scheme will commence shortly. In implementing the proposed tariff and policy changes, I believe you are placing the proverbial `cart before the horse', if you are to respect your vision of being transparent and being fair and the charges are to be `equitable'. How can this possibly be when some are charged for this and that and others who should be are not thus being charged due to the fact that their respective properties are not currently </div> <div> correctly zoned for the current use?</div> <bR> <div> Page 4. You refer to schools and old age homes as being 'possible' beneficiaries in terms of changes to the Rates policy. Which is it to be? Which of them will benefit? Will old age homes now be charged for Property Rates? I think this page is actually too vague for further comment?</div> <bR> <div> Page 5. My only comment would be why Council should let any debtor get to 36 months in arrears. That is surely not good `credit control' by any means?</div> <bR> <div> Page 10. Changes to Credit Control Policy. I think I have belabored this subject in numerous emails to you or your officials. I believe that it is grossly unfair to allow a tenant to incur debt by sloppy credit control and then simply pass the debt onto the owner. The debt should be payable by the person who incurs the said debt and nobody else. I have also stated previously that there should be no reason to allow debtors to accumulate the type of debts that they have up to now. Perhaps you should be reassessing </div> <div> the 'prescribed amount' to which a debtor can get to before the said debtor qualifies for an 'arrangement' for the payment of the arrears in `installments'? </div> <bR> <div> You will continue to levy sewerage availability charges against an empty shop or office but will not `equitably' and `fairly' levy the same charges for other commercial, accommodation, and similar multiple usage properties irrespective of my comments or those of anyone else or from any organisation who represents a collective of residents, ratepayers or voters for that matter. A large factory or a supermarket who possibly employ twenty or more workers, will still pay for one sewerage charge and a small complex of 10 offices or shops will continue to pay for each and every unit - all designed to discourage the small entrepreneur from doing any development in this municipality, or to balance your budgetary expenditure plans at the expense of the smaller businesses?</div> <bR> <div> Pages 11 through to 21. I believe that your budget is highly inflationary in just about every aspect. Proposed increases are well above inflation in all areas. I see provisions for all sorts of contingencies to 'pad' the budget. If you are short, you simply raise charges and property rates or `take' it from somewhere or someone else to 'balance' your budget. You actually can't loose?. </div> <bR> <div> The Municipality is obviously not a business and has no risks associated. Councillors and officials don't have to lie awake trying to work out where they are going to get enough to balance the budget as an ordinary citizen has to. You people just set your target as to what you want to spend and take it from Mr. ordinary citizen - every year.</div> <bR> <div> I see no provision for or any attempt shown, to actually cut OPEX costs in keeping with the current global economic crisis at all. I see provision for increases for everything and everyone as planned for the next few years as if it should be a matter of course to simply carry on making life more difficult and unaffordable for all the citizens of the Municipality. Yes, I do understand the Eskom factor and I do understand that there is capital expenditure needed to get this municipality into a position whereby it can be seen to be delivering services as it should but I honestly cannot see any attempt to contain the continuous increases year upon year (and most of the CAPEX funding comes from other tiers of government in any event) . </div> <bR> <div> It would be wonderful if the municipality was efficiently run, the staff were all productive, all the councillors the same, the wastage was being reduced, as were the losses every year. And, maybe it will not take years for the politicians to make decisions that can save us from the inevitable cycle of raising charges and rates without fail every year.</div> <bR> <div> Your budget borrows from `Peter to pay Paul'. You seem determined to stunt development? You are to raise the property Rates for business/commercial property by as much as 16.23%! That is a classical example of wealth and sustainable job prevention rather than creation. But, if you don't take it from them, you will have to take it from someone else?</div> <bR> <div> The draft budget that will be tabled tomorrow will be two and a half centimeters thick. It will chapter upon chapter of how you are going to spend money. It will not have one single chapter on how you intend to attempt to save money, stop wasteful and irresponsible expenditure, or get the politicians to show by example how they intend to stop the wasteful expenditure.</div> <bR> <div> You have even made a provision in the budget of over R700,000 for `good governance' (last year it was R1,184,000)? What on earth does that mean? Is it meant for outside `consultants' to advise Council as to what must be done to do things properly, or how to put out fires? Is it meant to cover the cost of the apparently endless `workshops' to teach everyone how to run a Municipality? Surely a Councillor should not expect to be taught how to be a Councillor? They should know that they are capable of making a contribution for their respective communities before they stand for election without having to attend `workshops' all the time? Is this meant for the staff to learn the ropes? Does Council not look for suitably qualified staff before they employ them?</div> <bR> <div> Salaries up by 15.54%? Not even Metrorail and the Unions - after the current crippling strike have negotiated an increase to equate with that and I doubt the country can afford increases beyond the inflation rate but for a `poor' municipality such as the Witzenberg, it seems to be o.k.?</div> <bR> <div> It would be wonderful if our Mayor would set the example and offer to cut her salary and that of some of her supporting staff (who may be earning more than some of our highly qualified officials) and even to suggest the abolition of the expensive and Mayoral Executive Council who collectively draw salaries that probably equate with the monthly Rates income of a small town! Maybe the Councillors will do the right thing and decline a salary increase as well?</div> <bR> <div> Your levels of service to the respective communities have and are still declining year upon year. The populace is getting angry with this. The populace is probably beginning to get angry to continue to pay more and get less?</div> <bR> <div> Well, I have made my comments for what they are worth. Some might consider my comments to be negative. Others may suggest that I fill up the potholes in my street and still pay Rates and to be more positive. Yet others may believe I should pay for their services too. Whatever!</div> <bR> <div> I have taken the trouble to attend your community `consultation meetings (two of them) and I have taken the trouble to analyze the scant information that is available to me to make an informed comment but nevertheless I have taken the trouble to make my comment (which I am sure not many will take the trouble to do).</div> <bR> <div> Without doubt, your draft budget will be tabled and will be approved by Council tomorrow as-is, despite my comments and despite the comments of the public at the various `public consultation' meetings?</div> <bR> <div> That is the way things work.</div> <bR> <div> My comments will be shared with the committees of the organisations of which I am Chairperson and the public at large.</div> <bR> <div> Kind regards,</div> <bR> <div> John Veschini</div> <bR> <div> Tulbagh</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=28 style=" border-top: 1px solid #0066CC; border-left: 1px solid #0066CC;border-right: 1px solid #0066CC; border-bottom: 1px solid #0066CC;" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>