Open letter to the community of Mount Isa from the Irish Club
On many occasions now Mayor Joyce McCulloch has referred to a "certain court case" as a factor in Council's decision to introduce a new water charging system for Mount Isa ratepayers.
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Her most recent such reference was in the North West Star on Saturday February 15, 2020. The reference reads as follows "I think the consequence of a certain court case put Council into a position that they were not ready for".
It is obvious that the case which she is referring to is that involving the Irish Club.
The Club has continually refused to comment on the court case while the matter was before the court or even since the court case was concluded.
However, in light of the Mayor's comments in the context of an election campaign, and now further comments made online by a sitting councilor, Club members and the community ought to be aware of the full circumstances.
The court case in question was initiated by the Mount Isa Irish Club in response to Councils' actions where rates and utility charges were significantly increased.
The Club's board considered this action by the Council placed the future of the Club in jeopardy. The increase in 2016 was in the order of $50,000.
This increase was the result of Council increasing the water allocation by almost 100% despite the Club not having consumed half of its original allocation in any year.
There was no certainty that this sort of action would not continue in future years, and fears in this regard were subsequently borne out by our rates and charges increasing from around $200,000 in 2015/2016 to about $400,000 in 2018/2019 an increase of $200,000 dollars in just three years.
The Irish Club now employs around 130 persons and is a major service provider.
It is a nonprofit organisation conducted solely for the benefit of members and the community.
The directors of the Club are not paid and receive no benefits.
Management attempted to negotiate a reasonable outcome with the Council but every approach made was unsuccessful.
Legal opinion obtained provided advice that Council's actions did not comply with the Local Government Act and Regulations.
A Supreme Court judge agreed that this was so.
During the court process, representatives of the Club attempted to negotiate with Council, however, such attempts were rebuffed.
Even after winning the case the Irish Club again offered to negotiate but was forced back to court by the council.
The Council appealed the decision and was successful.
As a result of course, the Supreme Court's decision was set aside.
Therefore, it is difficult to understand how the Mayor could legitimately state that "consequences of" the case caused Council to increase water rates.The Council won!
The decision plainly permitted Council to continue its original water policy.
A couple of issues arise out of all of this, which the Mayor, in the interests of transparency, may care to address.
First, having been successful in the litigation against the Club, why did Council change the water charging policy that had been in place for decades?
Second, Mayor Joyce McCulloch said on 4 July 2018 when speaking of the city's new water charging policy: "it responds to community feedback received over many years and also ensures the city complies with current Queensland Local Government Act 2009".
In what regard was the previous policy was non-compliant?
Mount Isa Irish Club
Editor's note: As a full declaration of interest, I am on the volunteer committee of the Irish Club. I absented myself on the discussion of this letter. Derek Barry