GOULBURN will enjoy a yearly mid-March half-day public holiday if councillors back Mayor Geoff Kettle’s call at tomorrow night’s Goulburn Mulwaree Council meeting.
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In a mayoral Minute, Cr Kettle says Council should apply to Industrial Relations NSW to have the afternoon of March 16, next year, declared a half-day holiday for the Goulburn 149th Birthday Cup meeting.
Similar applications should be made every year thereafter, as required by Industrial Relations regulations.
Cr Kettle’s bid for half a day off follows Racing NSW’s granting to Goulburn and District Racing Club of a special annual Birthday Cup meeting.
Next year’s meeting will be promoted throughout the racing industry, and be a pipe-opener for the Big One – the 2013 Birthday Cup race to mark Goulburn’s 150th birthday as a city.
In his Minute, Cr Kettle says: “It is well known that such annual half day holidays in other regional centres, such as Wagga Wagga and Albury, are very successful, and have seen their events become major tourism attractions injecting substantial funds into their local economies.
“It has also been suggested that the day be built into a major regional event, and the Racing Club is keen to work with Council, the 150th Birthday Committee and other local community groups and service clubs to ensure the event’s success.”
Meanwhile Goulburn Mulwaree Councillors will notice a boost in their pay cheques this month if a recommendation to accept the pay rise is passed at tomorrow night’s meeting.
A 7.3 per cent increase is on the cards after the NSW Local Government Remuneration Tribunal adjusted the recommended pay rate upward in April. Councillor fees will jump from $15,500 to 16,640 per annum, and the mayoral figure - paid on top of the councillor rate - increases to $36,320.
As a result, Mayor Geoff Kettle would earn $52,960 for the 2011/12 year. If passed, Goulburn Mulwaree Councillors will earn the maximum rate allowed under the ‘Regional Rural’ category of the award, set by the Local Government Tribunal.
Also at tomorrow’s meeting, a report to councillors reviews the effect of the Gillard Government’s new carbon tax on Council-owned waste facilities. Waste and landfill are one of the nation’s biggest carbon emitting sectors, and are therefore set to fall under the new tax.
The coming editions of the Post will review how the carbon tax will affect council’s bottom line.
