Boorowa Shire councillors this week questioned why the town’s new bicycle path project had come in $152,364 over budget.
In a report to this week’s Boorowa Shire Council meeting it was revealed that funding for the project will now need to come from savings in the road maintenance Fag component budget.
The project should have been 4.3 kilometres in length but ended up 5.295km in length.
According to a report by the General Manager David Phillpott “information on the over expenditure did not become known until the completion of the project”.
“I requested measurements of constructed paths to be taken,” Ms Manns’ report said.
“It was estimated that the total project could be completed at $160 [a] metre and the actual cost of construction was $165.
“When the application was submitted to the Department, measurements were taken from the town maps and it would appear that the measurements used were incorrect in measuring the actual distance of the defined areas.
“It was never contemplated that the measurements would be incorrect.
“The project looked to be going well on a unit price basis until towards the end of the project when a number of invoices arrived attached to statements.”
At this week’s council meeting Cr Grant Cotter asked council staff if there were any further details on why the project came in over budget.
“There are no further explanation than what is in the report,” general manager David Philpott said.
Cr Elizabeth Webster said she had a problem with the funds now needed for the project coming from the roads budget.
She also questioned why there were savings in the roads program.
“I’ve had ratepayers ringing about the roads and can’t understand why we don’t have better roads maintenance,” Cr Webster said.
Cr David Evans said he found it difficult to understand how the council could run nearly one kilometer over distance on the project.
“That’s nearly 25 per cent over,” he said.
Cr Evans said the council had received a grant for a 4.3 kilometre path, the Minister had put out a press release for a 4.3 kilometre path but “we seem to have done a lot more work than we were funded for”.
Mr Philpott told the meeting “I don’t know what else I can add other than what has been provided to you.
“Yes there was overspending and yes there was a miscalculation,” Mr Philpott said.
In defence of the council management Cr Rob Gledhill said the general manager was worried throughout the project that “we would have to hand some of this [grant] money back, that we wouldn’t be able to spend all of the funds”.
“I say a boo boo was made on the figures given to the general manager by the engineering staff.
“We can’t expect the general manager to double check everything given to him,” Cr Gledhill said.
Mayor Wendy Tuckerman said “The fact of the matter Cr Gledhill is the General Manager was responsible for the project it has been mismanaged and it is easy to point the finger at engineering staff when they are not here to defend themselves.”
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