The emerging and ever increasing levels of alarm evident in the community means the COVID-19 CRISIS is the most important issue at home and internationally.
Local governance has a very important role to play in regard to all this.
Actually, residents and ratepayers are looking to "their council" for guidance, locally relevant advice, clarification in regard to various issues and more still. Indeed, this is advice that they have made a significant investment in towards having such advice and support being there and available.
This poses a number of questions, many of which are being commented upon by people who lack the authority and/or the expertise. Council employs a considerable number of people who purport to have some authority and/or indeed the expertise needed at times like now.
So, some of the kind of questions hanging in the air looking for and waiting for answers are:
- Is council providing a dedicated telephone 'HELP LINE' that both helps constituents and enables council to allay fears and more importantly discover the community's concerns and issues?
- Is Council considering replacing the advice people get while holding for extended periods when they call Council given that current messaging is past its use-by-date?
- Is council openly and proactively 'workshopping' the COVID-19 crisis towards building better understandings of this emergency in order that Councillors and officers are better placed to deal with COVID-19 issues?
- Are Councillors being proactive in making themselves available to constituents relative to COVID-19 matters?
- Indeed, is council being proactive in initiating digital fit-for-purpose communication networks and protocols employing off-the-shelf technology to facilitate effective communication with its ratepayers and residents?
- Is Council actively considering some/any form of public forum relative to COVID-19 matters and if so when and in what form?
- Will council consider providing 'rate relief' for people who lose income as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis and if so how and in what form?
- Is Council being proactive in adjusting its budget in order that it is better placed to meet ratepayer's and residents changing circumstances? If so, in what way and in what anticipated timeframe?
- Is Council investigating how it might cut rates in the coming financial year and by something in the order of 10%? If not, why not?
- Is Council preparing a budgetary adjustment for the current financial year looking for savings and the means of funding mechanisms for unanticipated and unanticipatable expenditures given the emerging and entirely anticipatable financial crisis flowing from consequences relative to COVID-19 matters?
Ratepayers and residents are looking to 'GOVERNMENT' for advice and support and Local Government has an important role to play!
Council addressing the concerns embedded in the questions above will surely be welcomed by ratepayers and residents.
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