Council identified a black hole in its water budget which it plugged by raising water charges.

The unveiling of a landmark cultural building was a high point while the demolition of historically-significant structure brought a resolution to an issue that was costing the city hundreds of dollars each week.

Councillors did not always get on and ratepayers picked up the bill.

Dubbo’s worst flood in 20 years put a big full-stop to the year - but has a new chapter begun?

Water

It was the year the people of Dubbo copped a rise in charges because they were waterwise.

Dubbo householders and gardeners were told that because they had not used enough water in the 2009-2010 financial year, council would have a projected $80 million hole in its water fund within 20 years.

Council’s answer - well it had two.

The public was invited to comment on two pricing systems, a flat charge and a tiered option and both attracted 14 submissions in support.

Councillors then had the job of deciding what would be best for Dubbo residents - and they were as divided as the city’s residents.

Cr Mathew Dickerson supported an amended tiered option because it encouraged people to be water conscious, but his amendment was narrowly defeated, and then in a split decision councillors gave Dubbo a flat rate of $1.53 per kilolitre for their water.

Council announced the increase - which also included a 40 per cent increase of the water access charge to $175 - in April with general manager Mark Riley warning a failure to act in the 2010-2011 budget could “inhibit the growth of Dubbo”.

Economic development

The NSW Division of Local Government’s advice to council in 2009 that it could no longer fund an external organisation - Dubbo City Development Corporation (DCDC) - to provide economic development services gave council a problem to solve in 2010.

Previously council had given the DCDC $300,000 for one year of service, but complying with the advice, council invited tenders for a one-year contract.

Senior staff recommended council accept the DCDC’s $228,000 tender, but it attracted a slim majority with the votes of councillors Allan Smith, Mathew Dickerson, Lyn Griffiths, Greg Matthews, Richard Mutton and Rod Towney.

Crs Tina Reynolds, Ben Shields and Ann Barnard lodged a rescission motion that was ultimately lost 4-7, but during the debate Cr Peter Bartley, who voted against the rescission motion, said Cr Reynolds’ efforts had been worthwhile.

“One year (we paid) $300,000 to the DCDC, ratepayers have Cr Reynolds to thank for saving the city $72,000 for the next 12 months.”

Theatre

It drove a rate rise but Dubbo’s tiered theatre became an $18.5 million, 500-seat reality in 2010.

The theatre was “16 years in the making” and a controversial addition to the city’s infrastructure, with many in the community and some councillors believing it was a luxury not a necessity.

Nevertheless it was delivered on time and on budget in April.

From Hotel California: The Eagles Experience 2010, the sell-out first performance in April, the newest arts centre showed that Dubbo is a city of theatre patrons.

The theatre was officially opened in July by Dubbo mayor Allan Smith and former mayor Greg Matthews in front of 500 people.

$150,000 consultant’s report

Dubbo can avoid a $130 million infrastructure backlog within 20 years -if it raises rates and caps services spending, according to Professor Percy Allan.

Prof Allan recommended raising rates by almost 5 per cent per property after inflation is taken into account every year for 10 years.

The research director of Review Today and former NSW Treasury secretary conducted an almost year-long review of council’s sustainability that has cost ratepayers $150,000.

Prof Allan’s “responsible scenario” was handed to council and the community in July and included raising rates, increasing fees and charges, increasing developer contributions, capping spending growth on services and raising an additional $11 million in loans.

Rates are pegged in NSW and councils have to gain special permission to raise them above the CPI level - Dubbo’s last attempt failed.

Dubbo mayor Allan Smith immediately said he would not

rule out a rate rise, but other councillors questioned the report’s outcome.

Crs Peter Bartley, Ann Barnard, Tina Reynolds and Ben Shields all said they expected the report to look at items to trim from the budget, but Review Today indicated an efficiency audit was an additional service it offered for an additional fee of $15,000.

Prof Allan wanted his report to “provoke discussion” in the community and initially it did that - finding opposition from some councillors and the Dubbo Chamber of Commerce.

Cr Smith said council would consult with the community in the coming months, but since then it has sat on the report, although Cr Mathew Dickerson, now deputy mayor, said he wanted to see decisions made by June 2011 or at the latest June 2012.

Code of conduct complaints

Dubbo councillors have an agreed code of conduct and they’re not afraid to use it.

Dubbo City Council general manager Mark Riley received eight complaints within the first quarter of 2010.

During the second quarter four more were received, bumping the half-yearly total up to 12, the highest number Mr Riley had to report on in his five years in the position.

Councillors debated the strength of the code of conduct system - Cr Peter Bartley, who had previously been found guilty of a code of conduct breach, emerged as a critic of the code because of its lack of “procedural fairness”.

Despite the abundance of complaints there was only one that proved to give a councillor grief and ratepayers a whack in the hip pocket.

Cr Ben Shields was ordered to apologise to Cr Richard Mutton for calling him a “pathetic disgrace” and using other “offensive” and “abusive” words and behaviour.

The two councillors also had to attend counselling sessions together to “improve relationships”.

Any comic value found in the episode may have been lost when it was revealed the investigation,

legal fees and counselling sessions had cost Dubbo ratepayers

$26,597.

Cr Mutton’s profession

The Psychology Council of New South Wales (PCNSW) decided to take no action against a Dubbo city leader who wrongly claimed to be a psychologist.

The PCNSW was responding to a complaint against Councillor Richard Mutton, who previously described himself as a psychologist in council documents, on council’s website and in the media.

According to the regulatory body, ‘Richard Mutton’ is not a registered psychologist.

Health practitioner laws restrict the use of the title of psychologist by persons who are not registered as such.

In its response to the complaint - a letter seen by the Daily Liberal - the PCNSW said Cr Mutton had taken steps to remove “psychologist” from his occupation description on the Dubbo City Council website.

Cr Mutton did not respond to Daily Liberal’s phone calls and email message that requested an explanation.

Cr Mutton draws an allowance of $15,970 from the public purse, but Mayor Allan Smith called Cr Mutton’s actions, including his steps to take corrective action to change the description of his title on council’s website to “school counsellor” a “personal issue”.

One of 12 code of conduct complaints made in the first six months of 2010 was an allegation of presenting false credentials of profession, but general manager Mark Riley dismissed it.

Cr Smith would not respond to questions about Mr Riley’s actions in dismissing the complaint.

Dubbo’s mayor

Dubbo mayor Allan Smith retained the top job at the annual vote in September but the city gained a new deputy mayor.

Cr Rod Towney did not re-nominate, and Cr Mathew Dickerson, deputy mayor for two years from 2005 , won seven votes to four against Cr Ann Barnard.

Cr Smith beat Cr Tina Reynolds by one vote to secure another term as Dubbo mayor and a departure from the secret ballot ensured his supporters were known.

Unsuccessful candidate Cr Reynolds said the community was sick of the 6-5 split of Crs Smith, Dickerson, Towney, Greg Matthews, Richard Mutton and Lyn Griffiths against herself and her colleagues.

Cr Shields, who gained the most first preference votes at the 2008 election, unsuccessfully contested two chairmanships.

Popularly elected mayor

Unsuccessful mayoral candidate Cr Tina Reynolds said this year’s result for the top job was reason for a popularly elected Dubbo mayor, because the community, not councillors, should hold that power.

Cr Reynolds has led a year-long campaign for change on who decides who will hold the golden chain of office.

In November council staff returned a report on the advantages and disadvantages of a popularly-elected mayor and of the current system, where the mayor is elected by the councillors.

Dubbo mayor Allan Smith previously did not support change but at the meeting moved the recommendation to put the idea on public display.

General manager Mark Riley was prompt in putting the councillors’ decision into action.

“The proposition of altering the election of the mayor to a popularly elected mayor will go on display from Monday, 6 December 2010 to Friday, 14 January 2011 with such timing being extended past the nominal 28 day exhibition period to take account of the Christmas break,” he said.

Dubbo residents can still make a submission, which councillors will consider in February.

As of September 2009, 33 NSW councils had popularly elected mayors.

Local environment plan

Dubbo City Council and the NSW Department of Planning have different ideas about sex shops.

Mayor Allan Smith, general manager Mark Riley and environmental services director Melissa Watkins rang alarm bells that the city’s new planning instrument would put sex shops and families together.

They revealed the NSW Department of Planning had made sweeping changes to the council’s draft local environment plan and they weren’t happy.

Under the new draft sex shops would be allowed to set up in retail areas including those near residential areas, Cr Smith said.

The change was one of a number to the draft and Cr Smith was “at a loss to understand” the department’s alterations.

However, a department spokesman played down the divide, saying it had in the main been supportive of Dubbo’s draft plan.

Two months later council and the department agreed to a compromise.

The plan went on public display in October - about 10 months after the council had anticipated.

It gained 129 public submissions, the high number pushing Ms Watkins to seek another month for her staff to finish their work on the plan - it is now due in March.

Grandstand - finally gone

The fate of Dubbo’s heritage showground grandstand took years to decide, but a crane and an excavator meant its end was quick.

The Dubbo community was divided on the storm-damaged grandstand’s worth but councillors ultimately decided demolition was the only way.

Before the heavy machinery moved in, the council acknowledged it had spent $164,342 in keeping the structure upright since a storm hit in January 2008.

Then ratepayers were told the council would spend $216,619 on their behalf on knocking it down and building a memorial in its place - but no one could say exactly how much the memorial would cost.

A director’s response during a council meeting suggested it would be more than $100,000.

Work was due to start on the memorial, featuring a covered pergola-type structure, in December.

Floods

The city’s worst flood in 20 years brought Dubbo to a standstill in the first week of December.

Heavy rainfall in the Macquarie River catchment and State Water’s releases from Burrendong Dam saw the river peak at Dubbo at 9.7m and stay high for days.

On December 2 council closed the low-level Serisier Bridge to all but heavy vehicles, and 35,000 cars and trucks had to crawl across the LH Ford Bridge.

Traffic diversions around major city roads caused extensive delays for frustrated motorists.

Council’s technical services director Stewart McLeod admitted Cobra Street had been “overwhelmed” by the traffic on December 2 and as a result council updated its road plan to include concrete blocks and further closures.

Council and Dubbo police met for two hours trying to improve the situation and on December 3 the updated road disaster plan was put in place.

Days after the first flood peak that inundated businesses on the western side of Macquarie Street and closed two shopping centres, the council called a public meeting and business operators came in droves.

With the State Emergency Service (SES) Mr McLeod warned the business people a second flood peak was coming.

It was a chance for grievances to be aired and ideas floated.

Council acted on a call for a bus service to run from the showground to the central business

district to maintain main street trade.