Mr Schoen said there is no proper governance.
“Combined with a total lack of transparency, it’s a recipe for disaster as is evidenced by the appalling situation of council’s finances requiring council to go for a second attempt to get a permanent Special Rate Variation now 80 per cent. Rate payers are not to be seen as council’s ‘ATM’,” he said.
“Most of Federation Council’s decisions are made in committee behind closed doors out of the public eyes.
“The mayor is quoted in the media saying he needs an extra term to bed down the recommendations from the Drew Report.
“The Drew report is not rocket science and most of the recommendations were so obvious and could have been implemented in the proceeding seven years.”
Mr Schoen claims Federation Council is littered with failures of current leadership and the excuses are “always that former councils, state government policy or utilities are the reason, it is never Federation Councillors’ fault”.
“Corowa has the flashiest pool in rural NSW and costing a fortune to run, building approvals will soon grind to a halt because the current sewage works are at capacity. The off-river disposal for the treated effluent is below the area required and has been poorly operated with lack of qualified oversight,” a recent past NSW Farmers Federation President said.
“To describe this as a sh-t show would be generous.”
Federation Council needs new councillors according to Mr Schoen.
“The road ahead will not be easy but for the sake of the current and next generation this has to occur,” he said.
“As a former councillor and deputy mayor of Corowa Shire Council, after the high temperature fiasco and numerous high profile leadership positions in Advocacy and on Boards, I have the experience to ensure an end to Federation Council being one of the worst performing councils in NSW.”
