The Shire CEO receives a 2.5 per cent pay rise, yet he is, technically speaking, a replacement CEO.

The present CEO was to leave and an interim CEO take his place, thus the present CEO is a replacement and he is to be treated as ‘new’ in his job.

An interim CEO would not have had a pay rise, yet this interim CEO did receive one.

As he is interim, he didn’t prove he has done sufficient work to deserve such a pay rise.

Question 2: How far can hypocrisy go in our shire?

The council has publicly said it “may be suspended if a local government inquiry finds it unable to govern” (last month’s Herald, Page 3), so in light of this the revenue increase, pay rises and especially that of the CEO are unacceptable.

Question 3: Is the Toodyay Shire Council deaf, blind or what?

When will it realise that it is not operating well as a council and therefore its members need a reality-check?

A letter in last month’s Herald said the paper ignores Toodyay’s ‘silent majority’.

If there is a silent majority, the letter writers can have no idea what this invisible majority thinks because it is by definition – as pointed out – silent.

People not publicly voicing their opinions may be in total agreement with The Herald or against all that is done or not done by the shire council and not agree with the letter writers.

Question 4: How can these letter writers speak for people they don’t know, see, hear, have talked to, etc.?

They better not speak for me, for that matter.

Further, bold headlines create awareness of content information.

Keep it bold Herald – bold means important.

The CEO is the shire Complaints Officer.

A complaints officer should not be the CEO but an independent professional.

Therefore, the CEO should not exercise a position that can be biased against complaints and complainants.

Question 5: Will a professional complaints officer be hired who has a mandate independent of the CEO?
Raising shire rates would provide income for such a position.

Finally, it is hypocritical to ask Cr Ben Bell to apologise (July Herald Page 9) while the CEO and Shire President have shown a lack of public grace and, even after repeated encouragements, stubbornly refused to apologise for breaching the Shire Code of Conduct in the April 2018 Toodyay Community Newsletter.

Question 6: When will a public apology be given by the CEO and Shire President?

If that is not forthcoming, Cr Bell ought not to be pressured into any kind of an apology.

The ‘flip-flop’ concerning the CEO is right up there.

Council makes decisions but the rationale behind such decisions should be available to the electorate.

Trust in institutions is at a low ebb and Toodyay Shire Council’s modus operandi is not helping.

The Herald is essential reading for me (unlike our now debased West Australian).

The letter also said “mistakes are sometimes made but may be remedied at subsequent meetings”.

Will the silent majority please explain how councillors voted 5-4 at their April meeting not to offer the CEO a new contract, then voted 6-2 a month later to keep him on for another year?

Then they voted 6-1 in June to give him a 2.5 per cent pay rise.

As this was all done behind closed doors will the silent majority please tell the silent minority how this happened?

And while they work that out, can they please also tell the silent minority why $20,800 was added to the CEO’s base salary as an incentive to stay in Toodyay?

The silent minority cannot understand why somebody already being paid nearly $1000 a day needs an extra financial incentive to live in Toodyay.

Is it any wonder that – as stated in last month’s letter – the CEO has put his roots down here?

I am positive that anybody having their mortgage paid by ratepayers would be more than happy to live anywhere.

Will the silent majority also please inform the silent minority what has been the Shire CEO’s biggest achievement in the seven years he has been in the job?

Please don’t mention the new swimming pool because that has been on the drawing board for more than 40 years.

If it wasn’t for last year’s Canberra cash splash to help get local Liberal member and Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter re-elected, we might still be waiting.

All the silent minority have seen is shire staff increases year-in year-out, and nothing concrete to show for where ratepayers’ money is going except on legal fees and employment agency costs.

I am sure the silent majority will say that is OK and that the silent minority is just being negative again.

Someone asked me who were the so-called ‘disaffected minority’ referred to in one of last month’s letters, which also said the paper doesn’t represent the silent majority.

Then that person asked me who the 2000 petitioners were regarding last year’s rates hike, saying that didn’t leave too many other people to be called a silent majority.

The icing on the cake for Toodyay is to have one of the last locally-owned, not-for-profit proper newspapers left in Australia to give us comprehensive and fearless reporting at a very professional level about the good and bad around us.

Talking of good things, I have a close friend involved with the Alzheimer’s community who came up from Perth especially to visit our new Memory Café at the Cola Café.

We were impressed by the organisation, atmosphere, staff attitude and genuine pleasure that everyone seemed to get from the occasion, and I should note the generosity of the Toodyay Music Society which volunteered the services of a singer and guitarist who really added to the atmosphere.

I’m sorry I didn’t get their names but it was a terrific gesture and at times there was some real sing-along happening.

I even met some fans of my 2J2AIR radio program Swooners and Crooners.

An advertiser in last month’s Herald said we have a great editor, a great CEO and council, and great shire officers.

Well, I partly agree.

Yes to the editor and definitely yes to the officers of the shire who I have always found friendly and helpful.

I do have concerns about the council and CEO, and the way they go about their business.

When they start taking a community-spirited, open approach to communicating their plans and the challenges facing the town, and once they learn to cop criticism with good grace, we may all have good things to say about them too.

They seem to forget that we put them there.

I must add that it’s not all bad news.

The shire eventually did a good job on the Charcoal Lane toilet block mural which has really cheered up that part of town, and their persistence in saving the Duke Street footbridge has brought about a good outcome, so well done those who made it happen.

Let me finish on a positive note by saying moving here as a retiree seven years ago has proved to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I’m sure it’s adding a few years to my life.

My involvement with a number of community organisations has enriched my life and, to put it simply, I love living here.