Concerns vary, and it may be that it is not actually the council that is responsible in relation to some of the issues raised. 

Nevertheless, some of the issues concern transport, including local traffic, parking, and train service and timetables. Others are about council planning – everything from the generally very slow and cumbersome planning approvals process, through to issues such as I have written about, for example, the threat to close the Bowral pool with the land to be sold for residential development, and the decline of Bowral retail.

Beyond these, there are the bigger concerns about Hume Coal’s mining aspirations, plans for the development of tourism and other industries, the provision of health and aged care services, and so on. 

Concern has also been expressed about the financial management of the council, especially with the memories of the debacle at the time of the Global Financial Crisis, when the council’s trust monies were managed by Lehman Brothers and heavily invested in collateralised debt obligations that imploded with the crisis, resulting in significant initial losses, necessitating expensive legal action in the hope of recovering those losses. 

Traffic and road issues have become particularly topical in Bowral, given the plans for the revamp of Station Street, and the disruption caused by the installation of the traffic light to replace a roundabout, at the intersection of Merrigang and Bong Bong Streets.

Not only does this traffic light not seem to coordinate with the nearby light at the intersection of Bong Bong and Station Streets, but it has prevented the “loop” that was possible previously to those running up and down Bong Bong Street looking for a park.

Traffic concerns in Moss Vale relate mostly to the difficulty in understanding just how Argyle Street often gets so congested, again raising concerns about the management of traffic lights.

Beyond traffic, there are the usual concerns about the condition of certain roads, potholes, and the like.

Parking is a particular concern in Bowral, especially as times are strictly policed and enforced. Many believe that a one-hour limit in the main street is particularly restrictive, especially for tourists. But, how to deal with this? Could parking meters be introduced?

It also seems that one consequence of the tight Bowral parking, even with the additional spaces created with the Coles redevelopment, has been a shift in regular shopping to the Mittagong Market Place.

Concern about these and other issues have been compounded by reports, from time to time, of “shenanigans” by councillors, and of dysfunctional council meetings.

Overall, these and other issues have lead to a call for more transparency and accountability by the council, to keep the community more completely and more accurately informed. Nevertheless, I am sure the council would want to argue that they do this already.

However, at a time when electorates, here and globally, have generally lost confidence and trust in their elected officials and politicians, questioning just how well they are actually delivering against the expectations of voters and the community, councils can expect to be subjected to considerably more scrutiny, seeking even greater transparency and accountability.