We all know that there is a budget and staff shortages, but as Mr Russell-Clarke states, he witnessed food that was inappropriate for patients’ medical needs and his own food was too salty and chose to have his own food brought in.

I have been a patient at the hospital and the medical staff are amazing, but the food has always been barely edible, unappetizing and unappealing, which doesn’t go hand in hand with good recovery outcomes.

Spotless might produce 500,000 meals in a year, that doesn’t mean they were 500,000 edible meals.

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Hit a pothole recently, rattled your bones on a corrugated dirt road, slipped on a rough path, or slopped through water after moderate rain? Despairing. Not so.

Be assured by an April 19 council media release, “The 2018/2019 proposed Budget will continue to invest in maintaining critical infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and drainage.” 

“Continue to invest”? But at what level? Let’s look at council’s effort over a decade. You judge.

The rubber hits the road, so to speak, when you apply the Reserve Bank’s 23% inflation calculation to all 2008/09 Budget figures. Comparing apples with apples, one 2008 dollar is worth $1.23 today. 

Disturbingly the 2018/19 Budget reveals council allocates less to “critical infrastructure” than in 2008/09, despite population growth of 21%. 

In 2008/09 council allocated $15 million for roads, in 2018/19 just $13.7 million – a 9% crash; bridges fell 40%; drainage plunged 10%. The 2018/19 budget “statement of capital works” reveals a further dive in real dollars over the next three years. 

It gets worse. In 2008/09 roads made up 12% of total expenditure, today it is a miserable 8%. Only in the years after heavy rain is council forced to react, like 2011. 

It is not the fault of the directorate staff responsible for critical infrastructure, who do an outstanding job with restricted funds.

Where then did the extra $47m revenue from rates, fees, fines and charges we pay go? Special interests, subsidies, replication, and staff costs.

Other directorates’ swamp budget bids with feel-good and special interest projects. You know where the waste is.

Your money subsidises operating losses of $4m for tourism and major events, 22% higher; the gallery, $2.6m, up 51%; the Theatres, $2.2m, up 73%.

These services do a fine job, but their operations can be outsourced using a staged withdrawal to become self-sufficient with guarantees of no loss of quality. It’s unnecessary for them to be 100% operated and governed by council. 

Council unnecessarily replicates government agencies, non- government organisations, and private sector services, plus, it ties itself up duplicating political strategies.

No wonder over ten years employee costs (excluding consultants) leapt 50% to $64.6m  –  84% nominally.

There needs to be a vast improvement in “critical infrastructure” expenditure. To make fair budget decisions Councillors must make comparisons and consider real dollar expenditure.

Residents when you rattle, slip, and slop to pay your rates for critical infrastructure, remember council’s vision, “Greater Bendigo - creating the world’s most liveable community”. 

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