IN response to the Bates family’s letter to the editor in last week’s edition (‘Grinch coming early,’ 4/4/24), I would like to stress that I am not intending to take away the Mayor’s Christmas card competition whatsoever.
I think it is a great initiative that gets younger people in our community involved and recognised in their local government at Christmas time.
However, the point I was making is that council has budgeted $5100 for the delivery of this competition, which I believe is just way too much.
Taking a closer look, much of the budget has previously gone towards getting all the card entries professionally bound into a book.
What I was suggesting is that instead of having this huge expense, as an alternative, we receive the entries and bind them ourselves in-house.
This is not for one minute saying the service delivered is wrong – but given the current cost-of-living crisis we are in, and the importance I place on keeping rates as low as feasibly possible, I cannot justify spending over $5000 on something I calculated I can deliver myself for less than $100.
I would encourage the Bates family to please reach out to me directly if you would like to discuss this further.
My contact details are on the Town of Gawler’s website, and please note, the views in this letter are my own.
Ethan White, Councillor for the Town of Gawler
