Northern Inland and Tamworth District Cricket Association president Ben Middlebrook has blasted Tamworth Regional Council as being “out of touch with the community” after the council voted against waiving the full fee for an upcoming carnival.
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Despite a TRC report estimating that October’s Northern NSW Cricket Carnival would bring $300,000 to Tamworth, council agreed to only waive 30 per cent of the $4,053.77 fee.
Recently TRC waived fees on the Country Cup gymnastics event, the National Primary Games and the June Baseball Carnival.
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“Council have lost sight of what community is about – they have lost touch,” Mr Middlebrook said.
“We are not the only sport that isn’t happy either. Sooner or later there will be a sporting uprise in Tamworth and there could be some major changes at council because of it – it is only a matter of time.”
The Leader approached council for a response to the claims on Friday, but our calls and emails were not returned.
The long time player and administrator believes that TRC have become more concerned with “turning profits than serving the community” in recent years, and will now, albeit begrudgingly, take action.
“I will be taking the Northern Inland carnival elsewhere next year,” he said.
“When the community is doing it tough through the drought I would have thought bringing $300,000 to the town would have been welcomed.
“Council are meant to serve the community, but these days they seem to be running as a big time business.”
While TRC declined to respond to these allegations on Friday, the same report that estimated the $300,000 boon also stated the 30 per cent reduction in fees was in line with the sport event fee subsidisation policy, which acts on a scale of how many visitors each event brings to town.
“The basis for the recommendation of a subsidy for this NSW Cricket Carnival is due to the significantly lower number of visitors and economic benefit expected,” the report said.
The carnival is expected to bring 275 visitors to town for four nights.
Mr Middlebrook countered that the report failed to take into account the estimated 600 other visitors that come to town throughout the regular season for representative fixtures.
“They have lost sight of what sport means to the community, and what the sporting community brings to Tamworth on a weekly basis,” he said.
At TRC’s regular meeting on Tuesday a motion was agreed upon to raise TRCA fees from the current $41,000 annually to $83,000 annually.
The fee rise will however be implemented over three seasons, with the fees capped at $55,000 next season, and going up $10,000 for the next three years.
In June last year TRC wiped an existing TDCA debt of $24,000.
