Council charges rates but does not deliver services

In your story on Council spending (Peninsula News, September 21), you fail to mention that Central Coast Council charges rates even when they’re not delivering services.
In Ettalong and Umina, there are very few streetlights in the streets and no kerb and gutters unless the homeowner pays for this themselves.
There are also no paths either unless the homeowner is prepared to pay for this themselves.
Very little work has been undertaken in our street and other streets around us except for some main roads.
Council doesn’t deliver but still charges the ratepayer.
Were we not advised by the Government that by merging Councils the ratepayer would get more services and pay less rates?
Well I have yet to see any of this and our land values go up due to a flawed methodology used by the Valuer-General that only works one way, and that is up.
Think about the community.

SOURCE:
Email, 29 Sep 2020
Andy Walker, Ettalong Beach