Ask The Mayor Anything - July 2020

Published on 05 August 2020

Your questions answered for the month of July! As always, any questions not covered in the video are addressed below. 

Rohan Barron - I have a property that has been vacant for years. Where do I get the refund for the bin collection? Also, I have two bins at home that are both paid for. Only one is getting emptied. How do I go about a refund for this also? Or do I just send an invoice?

Hi Rohan, paying for a service and choosing not to utilise it does not make you eligible for a refund. If you are paying for more waste services than you actually need, then please feel free to call our office on 8080 3300 and change your arrangements.

Adam Pierscionek - Why does the council send rate payers to debt collection agency’s without a second letter, final letter? Or even a simple phone call? Not to mention does the rate payers know this service (which is done out of Sydney) costs us (rate payers) $300,000 a year?? But no the council won’t do this themselves, they hid behind a made up privacy law. To spend funds that could easily be used around town.

Hi Adam, like most Councils, Broken Hill utilises a dedicated external collection agency for Council's debt collection of rates & charges. This service cost us around $50,000 in the last year, not $300,000. Council issues around 40,000 rates notices per year, and it's simply impossible for us to send a letter or make a phone call on every occasion that someone doesn't pay.

Jan Ellen - Why are there no Christmas Decorations put up anymore. Other towns still decorate. This town has become so sad and neglected.

Hi Jan, we do still have Christmas decorations in Broken Hill, however a few years ago Essential Energy asked us to stop hanging decorations from power poles due to health and safety reasons, which we understood and complied with. So in the years that have followed we have put up lights and decorations in the town square, Sturt Park, and Patton Park instead. A lot of houses and businesses in town do a great job with their own Christmas decorations and displays as well. We are also currently working on permanent lighting displays around the CBD that will allow us to light up key areas of the city in Christmas colours this year.