I agree with both and in that in my personal experience, Councillors are not given full and frank information but instead are given a synopsis of the Council employees opinion of the correspondence or information.

We were told prior to the amalgamation (for which I was opposed) that this was the best thing since sliced bread.

We were informed at various public meeting that $5 million was a carrot that could not be ignored.

Now it would appear there was 1080 in the carrot.

Hilltops residents were given this tax payer money and now we are told that $5 million was not enough.

The question that appears to be lost is what happened to the $5 million?

Where was it spent?

Why has there been no issuing of the detailed spending specifics?

The committees were all told that the IT of all three Councils were incompatible prior to the merger. The Administrator and the previous GM were very well aware of this.

We were told that Young Shire Council was too deep in debt due mainly to the borrowing for the sewer upgrade.

This loan however was approved by the State Government.

I was witness to the Hilltops Shire Councillors (HSC) auditors virtually apologizing for the financial state of HSC when presenting the financials to the previous GM and the Council at Boorowa.

My grading of the HSC finances would be a B minus.

The allowance for the infrastructure is miniscule to what has to be spent.

Now HSC is calling tenders for a consultant to tell HSC how to spend a $1million tarting up the Murrumboola Creek.

This is money from the merger!

HSC is also calling for tenders for the upgrade of Boorowa Showground sewer system.

HSC is also spending almost $1 million in closing the Boorowa tip which means all the ratepayers in HSC will subsidise the Boorowa residents transferring their rubbish to Jugiong.

The Boorowa tip has years of use left.

There also appears to be a plan afoot to close all the village transfer stations as well.

What are the plans for HSC when Red Hill, Boorowa, Harden and Bald Hill tips close?

John Byrne