Local government is the only institution where customers are unhappy, management is delighted, and the solution is to send a bigger bill. For ratepayers, the relationship with council begins and ends with rates notice. The amount increases, the justification is polly waffle, and the money disappears into a bureaucracy few understand, and fewer question.
New research commissioned by Candidate Ready exposes a remarkable disconnect. An independent Fox & Hedgehog poll of 1,000 South Australians found 61 per cent believe councils fail to deliver value for money, meanwhile, a separate survey of councillors found 79 per cent confident their council delivered good value. Although the questions differed, the contrast is striking, those spending the money are considerably more satisfied than those earning it.
Perhaps councils and ratepayers have different ideas about local government’s purpose.
Ninety per cent want roads maintained, 87 per cent want rate increases minimised, and 83 per cent want rubbish collected. Yet councils have developed an appetite for political causes beyond their traditional responsibilities. Seventy-six per cent don’t consider changing Australia Day a council priority, but some councils have moved citizenship ceremonies and abandoned official celebrations. Meanwhile this year, three Adelaide-area mayors travelled to Brazil for a climate junket. Apparently, no global issue is too large to tackle, and no pothole too large to ignore.
More interesting is the electorate’s growing impatience with financial mismanagement. Seventy-two per cent oppose taxpayers bailing out financially failing councils. Fifty-eight per cent believe the CEO of a failing council should be ineligible for reappointment, while 56 per cent would deny its councillors another term. The public wants consequences, not carefully worded statements justifying fiscal incompetence.
The appetite for reform extends beyond changing councillors. Fifty-one per cent of South Australians support council amalgamations, rising to 59 per cent among those under 35. Younger Australians appear less sentimental about council boundaries, and more willing to back structural reform. Remarkably, 46 per cent would even support abolishing local government if the state could guarantee rate caps and long-term financial stability. For an institution that prides itself on being closest to the people, the prospect of nearly half the electorate being prepared to dispense with it should strike a chill to the marrow.
Unlike private businesses, councils have a captive revenue base. When expenditure exceeds revenue, the temptation is to increase rates rather than confront the difficult decisions required to restore financial discipline. Ratepayers cannot shop around for another council, and that monopoly should demand greater accountability, not excuse its absence. Councils must learn to live within their means, just as the households and businesses funding them are expected to do.
Yet there is an uncomfortable contradiction. Ratepayers demand accountability but rarely exercise it. While 77 per cent say they’re likely to vote in council elections, only 29 per cent can name a councillor. It’s difficult to hold elected representatives accountable when you don’t know who they are.
Candidate Ready was established by South Australian residents and ratepayers frustrated by the lack of financial discipline and accountability in local government. Its purpose is simple; to recruit, train and support everyday South Australians prepared to stand for council, scrutinise expenditure and put their communities’ interests first.
Ultimately, ratepayers cannot expect better government while remaining spectators in their own democracy. With council elections approaching, the opportunity for change is real. The choice is straightforward; accept another four years of rising rates and questionable priorities, or step forward and demand something better.
Councillor Survey
What South Australian councillors told us
Electorate Polling
What South Australians want from their councils
The post Councillors are happy, shame about the ratepayers appeared first on The Spectator Australia.