Your Council Rates, parking fines are well spent

About 10 years back, the Councils in Melbourne, Sydney etc.. came up with a brilliant idea of making money - reduce the number of available parking spaces - increase the parking fines and the number of ticket inspectors.

(The councils are the politicians who run the municipal side of things - stuff like your garbage, fixing the road faults, putting speed bumps, legislating for speed limits, setting house height limits, approving local building construction, etc.. Unfortunately, they are usually run by 3rd rate politicians from the loony left. People who prefer to the lives of humans endangered than to cut a tree down.)

Recently, it was reported that a number of councils went on a spending spree on themselves. Read on...

SYDNEY councils splashed thousands of dollars on Christmas celebrations, with City of Sydney spending $100,000 on a staff party and barbie, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

As Australia was spiralling towards recession, Ashfield council held a $10,000 Harbour cruise, Waverley spent almost $4000 on a single boozy dinner while Warringah spent $17,480 on gift hampers alone.

The biggest spender was City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, whose council spent $55 a head for 1750 staff and councillors - or $96,250 - for a Christmas party at Paddington Town Hall on December 19, and a separate barbecue.

City of Sydney staff celebrations were on top of the $1.7 million spent on community Christmas celebrations in Martin Place and Hyde Park and receptions for local charities and residents groups at Customs House.

A City of Sydney spokesman said it would review the costs of the Christmas parties, which were held to "recognise their work . . . and encourage all to continue to work hard for the community".

"Under current global economic conditions council is reviewing all aspects of its 09/10 budget including reducing the amount spent on Christmas celebrations for staff," the spokesman said yesterday.

Randwick was the second biggest spender, dropping $29,082 on a party at Centennial Park on December 12 plus $12,778 on a Christmas Eve barbecue for its 600 staff - a total of $41,860.

Of $25,250.40 spent by Warringah, $17,480.40 went to hampers for 840 staff, with the rest on a dinner for councillors and senior staff, and two staff barbecues.