TWO Parramatta property experts could prove saviours for the ailing Central Coast Council.
The two gurus from Parramatta Council advisory committee will advise Coast on selling council assets.
Michael Filo and Steve Rowe will make up the Coast’s Independent Advisory Group which is going to “provide advice to achieve the best result” in selling off council’s underperforming assets.
The sale of the assets was one of the controversial range of options Administrator Dick Persson adopted to improve council’s financial position.
He was installed after the councillors were suspended last year after it was revealed
in October that Council mistakenly had been unlawfully spending restricted funds, putting council in more debt, way beyond what it had already planned for.
Some councillors in a dominant ALP-Green independent block had gone on an unbudgetted spending free and had failed to heed warnings by more experienced councillors.
At one stage Council did not have enough money to pay its $3.6M wage bill.
It’s overall debit is in the region of $560M.
The Parramatta pair have extensive experience in the public sector providing support and oversight for property, asset and development transactions.
Their most recent relevant engagement has been as members on the Major Projects Advisory Committee for Parramatta City Council.
Council’s terms of reference for the Coast’s committee does not say how much the pair will be paid to hold their meetings but it is only the two of them and their decisions must be unanimous.
The first group of sites up for sale includes the Gosford Council offices in Mann St, Gosford, the old Broadwater Hotel site beside it; land adjacent to the airport at Warnervale and land at Hue Hue Rd, Jilliby.
By DALLAS SHERRINGHAM
Image: Central Coast Coast Council main office.
