TAMWORTH Regional Council has again deferred a decision on supplying funding for the Wallamore Anabranch improvement programme, after Glenn Inglis showed his financial nous, picking a part the proposal.
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The financial factor of the the Wallamore proposal has seen it pushed back for more than a month.
Council considered a report on August 23, proposing TRC pay $15,312 for re-vegetation works at the Westdale water treatment plant, and allow Landcare Australia to control the funds.
TRC water director Bruce Logan suggested council withdraw the motion because he believed the figure was actually closer to $80,000.
TRC reconvened following the 2016 council election, with three new faces on board.
The riverine improvement programme was put in front of council again on Tuesday night, where it was revealed the funding request had ballooned to $159,000.
While the funding request blew out by 1000 per cent, it was still proposed that Landcare Australia would hold and administer the money.
A point which wasn’t lost on a number of councillors.
“I can't work out where the $159,000 comes from,” Cr Inglis said at Tuesday’s meeting.
I can't work out where the $159,000 comes from
- Tamworth Regional Councillor Glenn Inglis
“I've read the annexures and nothing adds up.
Cr Inglis asked his fellow councillors if it meant “the end of the world” to defer the decision.
“It's a lot of money for the purpose,” he said.
“I can't consciously vote on something I don't understand.”
Returning councillors Phil Betts and Juanita Wilson spoke following Cr Inglis’ comments, raising their concerns with the lack of accountability measures in place once the funding is handed over.
“There’s no accountability in reporting back,” Cr Betts said.
While Cr Wilson would like to see “progressive reporting on expenditure”.
Council received the written request for financial and non-financial support from the Wallamore Anabranch and Peel River Rehabilitation Steering Committee.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
