Last weekend The West reported the City of Perth was set to approve $2.5m ratepayer spend on a refit of Council Chambers, and preparation to potentially lease a floor of space as commercial / office space in Council House.
Last night I attended the open briefing on the council agenda being set for next week so that I could clarify two points –
- The City is in caretaker mode and capital spend approvals are on hold until the new council is elected.
- Approval and decision making of the design and development of council refit (Item 6.8 on the agenda) be postponed until the new Council is elected.
It is important that decisions related to discretionary spending of ratepayer money and which will impact the new Council and administration are not made or locked in before the new Council is elected in less than a month.
My feedback from residents and businesses is that there is a need to focus ratepayer funds on areas that will have a material impact in the community. With a tighter financial position in the coming 12 months it is up to the Lord Mayor and Council to set the strategy to address short term issues while positioning the city for the future.
I was assured by Commissioner Hammond that there will be no major funding decisions or approvals made before the new Council is elected on the 17th October.
In relation to the office fitout for the Council Chambers, this was actioned as a result of the City of Perth inquiry which recommended the council dining room be repurposed. I agree the dining room needs to be repurposed. However, the new Council needs to review both the timing and utilisation of the new space that is created in order to maximise benefit to residents and ratepayers.
The City of Perth currently has 20% commercial office vacancies, which will potentially rise. So creating and releasing more commercial space to lease in to the market requires careful consideration on the impact to the broader commercial environment which is already struggling.
I appreciated the opportunity to ask these questions of Chair Commissioner Andrew Hammond and the work he and the other Commissioners have undertaken in preparing the City of Perth for an Independent and faction-free council.
The next 3 years will have significant challenges and strong leadership is essential along with a return to good governance and a council that is watching the financials to ensure all investment is benefiting residents and ratepayers.
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