Gamble makes apology for Shire budget changes

FORMER mayor Cr Gavin Gamble has released a public apology aimed at addressing last minute budget cuts which saw million dollars in initiatives slashed in 2023/24 by a majority of Golden Plains Shire councillors.

In the apology, which Cr Gamble posted to Facebook, he expressed his disappointment with the cuts that he said targeted environmental initiatives, recreational trails, and a climate emergency plan.

“I apologise for being angry and upset at the meeting and for making an error in judgement in going along with the prior last minute ‘process’ which saw this situation unfold,” he said.

A day before the regular council meeting, a briefing was held to hear Cr Owen Sharkey’s concerns with the then proposed budget, and he also argued for cuts in the current economic environment.

Cr Gamble particularly expressed his concern with a 100 per cent cut to environmental initiatives such as building modifications for fire and waste innovations.

Climate emergency plan funding was also reduced by 42 per cent.

“Scientists are warning us desperately: reduce greenhouse gas impacts ASAP or suffer catastrophic consequences,” Cr Gamble said.

In a later comment, Cr Gamble said he hopes these concerns will be addressed.

“The financial situation and the council budget will be subject to monitoring for changing circumstances, and I hope my concerns around the focus of the modification to the budget can be rectified in the future,” he said.

In the Facebook post, Cr Gamble targeted Cr Sharkey, saying Cr Sharkey didn’t mention his concerns until the last minute.

In response, Cr Sharkey said the final decision rested with council, who voted six to one in favour of the cuts, with only Cr Gamble against, and therefore the decision was not made purely by him but by six councillors in agreement.

“Councillor Gamble has sort of singled me out and not referred to six other councillors who supported it,” he said.

Cr Sharkey said he maintained the cuts were the correct decision in the current economic climate.

“We were balancing the budget on selling land and I wanted to reduce that risk,” said Cr Sharkey.

“In a good year last year, we sold three parcels of land, and this year we were budgeting to sell six in a tough market.”

Mayor Cr Brett Cunningham agreed that the decision was made by most councillors and reflected the market.

“At the council meeting, six of the seven councillors agreed it was in the best interests of the community to take a more conservative approach and defer some capital projects until council could be sure we could afford to deliver them,” he said.

“Preparing this year’s budget was an extremely challenging process, as council’s income may not be as much as projected in its long-term financial plan.”