Mayor [Peter] Blackmore is correct. 

We should not take out our frustration on Maitland City Council employees.

Blame should be directed straight at the Mayor and the other councillors who pursued this outrageous increase. 

They are the ones who approached the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to rectify the so-called disastrous situation that MCC believes it’s in. 

MCC should be rolling in money.

The rate base has substantially increased with new developments at all points of the compass. 

Ratepayers need to be concerned as this increase in revenue will soon be wasted on the $17 million The Levee, the Champs de Laneway, the gold-plated Bullocks and the Talking Posts to begin with.

Ratepayers of Maitland had the opportunity to write to IPART objecting to this exorbitant increase, but only 27 did. 

Not that it probably would have done any good. 

Correspondence with IPART after the decision, I believe, indicated that they did not take our submissions seriously into consideration. 

Part of my 1040-page submission to IPART indicated 80 per cent of written submissions presented at MCC meetings were against an increase and that there were a significant number of residents in this area who were struggling with other expenses, let alone the absurd proposal to increase rates.

IPART indicated that MCC provided the financial information regarding the capacity of residents to pay. 

I requested this evidence (capacity to pay) from IPART, about MCC’s proposal and this request was ignored.

This criteria was essential in order to determine the rate increase.

I believe its obvious that IPART is simply a remote arm of the state government. 

We blame them (IPART) and not the state government.

- John Alterator, Lorn