Mayor Report December 2018

My formal report to council lists some events from

my calendar but does not allow pictures to be

presented. The pictures in this report  on the opening

of the Rosefield Community Shed at Wayville shows

projects completed and the people involved. Maybe 

you would like to join this group and learn new skills
 and build.

2018 Election Result details and thankyou

On Monday  the 12th of November I was delighted to be able to send the following to the 1700 people on my four times only per year email group. They receive my quarterly newsletter and if you wish to  receive the quarterly newsletter please click on the link  Mayor Michael Hewitson email 

By scrolling down this blog you can find the quarterly seasonal newsletter.

"Dear Friends and Owners of Unley,

                                Thank you for your help, support and trust.. 

Please find attached the results just released a few minutes ago onto the ECSA website for the 2018 election. Congratulations to all the successful candidates and my sincere thanks to all who ran. Some very good people missed out. We have seven totally new councillors, all women. I am really looking forward to working with our new Council. "

I have listed the results of the three highest scoring candidates 

Mayor	1	2	3
	Michael Hewitson	Dario Centrella	Robert Schnell	Quota
	Over quota			4179
Primary Vote	4220	2465	1672	total vote
% Primary Vote	50.5%	29.5%	20.0%	8357
Parkside
	Kay Anastassiadis	Mike Hudson	Alex Keynes	Quota
After preferences	357	329	309	359
Primary Vote	229	227	171	total vote
% Primary Vote	21.3%	21.1%	15.9%	1074
Goodwood
	Emma Wright	Nicola Sheehan	Adeline Tran	Quota
After preferences	511 quota	457	396	490
Primary Vote	327	285	191	total vote
% Primary Vote	22.3%	19.4%	13.0%	1468
Clarence Park
	Jennifer Boisvert	Don Palmer	Tamsin Anspach	Quota
After preferences	Over Quota	491	373	448
Primary Vote	474	410	256	total vote
% Primary Vote	35.3%	30.5%	19.1%	1343
Unley
	Jane Russo	Sue Dewing	Jennifer Bonham	Quota
After preferences	467	478	381	489
Primary Vote	268	347	208	total vote
% Primary Vote	18.3%	23.7%	14.2%	1466
Fullarton	elected unapposed	Unley Park	elected unapposed
	Jordon Dodd		Michael Rabbitt
	Peter Hughes		Monica BRONIECKI

Voting

Voting:

The quality of candidates for ward elections is high and as a result I am not preferencing. Please vote for all the candidates you would like elected, not just the first two. The preferences will decide many of those elected.

It has been a privilege to serve as Councillor and now Deputy Mayor. I seek your support to be able to serve you as Mayor.

With my best wishes,

Michael 
                                                               Authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley

Corflute recycling

Corflute recycling

Some plastic bottles are recycled - which is great! But there are plenty that aren't ... which is why I want to see more than 100 water fountains installed across the City of Unley! 💦

If I'm elected mayor - this is exactly what I intend to do.

So what about the plastic that we're using in the election campaign? 💁‍♂️

My plastic corflute election signs (that you'll see up on stobie poles around Unley) are all going to YCA Recycling, a proudly SA specialist sorting and processing plant ♻️

What do you think of recycled plastic products?
Have you got any great re-use ideas? 💡

https://www.ycarecycling.com      YCA plastic recycling Adelaide 

authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley

Stop Trips for Safe Walking

Safe Footpaths 

Tree roots lift the pavers so why not some prevention rather than a cure.

We need to accelerate our tree well program. I proposed these in my 2009 newsletter to save water costs and to increase the resilience of our trees. Now so many of our trees do not have wells drawing the tree roots away from our pavers! We want safe footpaths and trip free footpaths so when we plant a new tree we need to ensure deep water to draw tree roots down.... improving safety and saving money.

Authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley

Spring News

Water on Tap

This slogan is about saving your money, about the health of our children and about reducing plastic waste.  My spring news below has two stories... "Spring water on tap?" and "Why have bottled water when filtered water is closer?" Councillors could lead by example.

I moved a motion to encourage the use of the filtered tap water already available on tap in the council building rather than bottled water paid for by ratepayers in bottles with very limited recyclability. Little did I know that the homework on the safety and recyclability of bottled water were serious issues we need to address. In 2016 The children pictured in 2016 wrote to me to have a drinking fountain in their park that would enable them to fill their water bottles or drink direct would be the start of a change across the world.

Real Cost of bottled water Queensland University

If I am elected Mayor of Unley I will be seeking a report from staff followed by action to enable our children and community to also have access to water for drinking or to refill safe reusable water bottles. 

Authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley

Rate Capping Support but make Councils responsible.

Rate Cap but make Councils responsible.

The evidence from Unley council is that the State Government is correct to ensure councils operate with a program of rate capping. 

However to remove from Councils the responsibility and authority to set their own rates is to the disadvantage of rate payers. Councils can, and some will just blame government for poor services or over borrowing leaving future ratepayers in debt.

Unlimited money is unlimited waste. I support each Council being required to set a rate cap and cut their costs to fit the income. Unley Council in this term set a target rate and the cost of rate increases fell over the full four years. The June 2016 motion to ignore the rate cap against which the 2017 budget drafted was defeated and rate capping in this council term held.

From June 2016 Council Minutes 

My suggestion would be to recommend to Government that Councils be required to introduce rate capping and that each Council is required to set the rate cap for three years ahead. Each year Council sets the cap for the third year out. The cap would be informed by each Council’s long term financial plan. This way each Council is both responsible to set the rate and is accountable in a very public way each election because the forward rates against the long term financial plan is known.

During the four years that Unley council set a rate cap, debt was paid down and services improved. Real financial efficiencies were found now totalling over 3.5 Million per annum.

Unley Council should …….
                Advise the LGA and State Government to separate the two issues.
1.  The first is the responsibility and accountability of local Governments to set their own rate and
2.  the second is a requirement to set rate caps. If two Councillors had changed their vote in 2016 Unley council would not have capped rates.


Council Meeting Minutes June 2016

Cr Schnell seconds Cr Boisvert amendment to raise the rate by 0.5% from a 2.2% increase to 2.7% for the 2016-7 rates and the vote is lost. 4votes in favour and 7 against. “Those voting in the negative: Councillors Smolucha, Hewitson, Palmer, Hughes, Lapidge, Sangster and Rabbitt The AMENDMENT was declared LOST “

Written and authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley SA 5061

Michael Hewitson

Really thrilled to be opening my campaign for Mayor of Unley.

Thanks to my family for their support - and for helping post out the flyers which will be hitting your letterbox in the coming weeks.

Please give me a call for all things Unley!

Scooter-post with Ala

Michael 

Voting is postal late in October. We have started now so that you can contact me with your thoughts and ideas. My newsletters and actions in Council have largely been your ideas, my listening and then "getting it done". Click on the website for the opening campaign themes.

 https://www.michaelhewitsonmayor.org  Please Click on this link and visit the campaign website. I would love to receive your feedback, ideas and suggestions.

The links in the news letter are

The Highgate Primary Story

https://www.michaelhewitsonmayor.org/research-blog/naplan-online-crashes-at-highgate

The draft Parking Policy

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a54bdf_0994e387752a4e43b036f3a6608a8ab2.pdf

King William Road.... have your say

https://yoursay.unley.sa.gov.au/design-king-william

The ABC Radio with David Bevan on trees in Unley go to 1 hour 12 min

 http://www.abc.net.au/radio/adelaide/programs/mornings/mornings/9765408

/

Silencing of Councillors

Our Council staff asked for a legal opinion on what Councillors are allowed to put into their reports. The legal opinion is not allowed to be shared with the Unley Community.  

"The purpose of EM reports as part of a Council agenda is to contribute to the openness, accountability and transparency of Local Government, to provide information about the activities of Elected Members undertaken in the conduct of their office...…"   

This is the report I submitted after we were told what was legal. It is quite different to the one published in the Council May agenda which our staff helpfully prepared...… no photos allowed..... no opinions allowed.... and no reports on the opinions the small sample of traders gave on King William Road. Hence I am moving a  motion to reinstate items of interest or concern. I believe it is vital for open and transparent government that elected members are able to present matters of concern or interest..... even if I disagree.
Authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley

Dear Friends and Owners of Unley,

           

Once again five of the stories in the newsletter are initiated by you… the owners of Unley. It is a privilege to serve our Unley Community with so many great ideas coming from you, and working with me to see our community improved. Listening… getting it done…. Delivering.

AI

The world is on the cusp of a revolution greater then we have seen to date. The Heywood park story hides the dramatic impact it will have on the way we live. Artificial Intelligence, Robots that learn like Children, and the low level example of autonomous cars we dial up and the car takes us to our destination are also hints of the coming revolution. Heywood Park with smart city technology

20% Tree cover loss

We have just lost 20% of our tree canopy across Unley since 2013. We had 26% cover and now it is 22% in 2017!  Please click on the link in my website where you will find a copy of my presentation to Council to come up with real solutions…. Not just words with targets.

For Michael’s presentation to Council on saving and growing our tree canopy click the link below.

Michael's Council workshop… saving our Tree Canopy

Authorised by Michael Hewitson 10 Ramage St Unley

Autumn 2018 newsletter

Listening… getting it done…. Delivering.

Our tree canopy cover in Unley has dropped from 26% to 22% in just four years.

We know that without this cover Unley will be 3-5 degrees hotter in Summer. Council granted me the privilege of running a workshop to turn this around.

To open the presentation right click on this link

Michael's Council workshop on Saving Unley's tree canopy

•Councillor Hewitson has given notice of intention to move the following motion at the Council meeting to be held on 23 April 2018:

MOTION

•That staff develop a paper exploring options to enable Council to achieve its tree canopy objectives as set out in Council’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy, and the target defined in the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, with a particular focus on strategies related to private land.

•This paper should include, but not be limited to, ideas suggested at a Council workshop on 3 April 2018, such as:

•Mandatory percentage of tree cover for planning approvals;

•Better design rules and increased penalties (for noncompliance and/or damage to regulated/significant trees);

•Establishment of a pre-significant tree register;

•Rate remission for planting trees on private land (commercial);

•Rate reduction for properties with over 52% tree canopy cover (residential);

•Provision of free/subsidised trees for planting on private land (commercial & residential)