YOUR SAY: The demise of 'a flash in the pan gimmick' hardly a surprise

Bonza airlines, with a trade name like that, waving purple foam Bonza hands in a manipulated promo shoot and offering $45 flights to the Gold Coast from Albury, who would have dreamed it was a flash in the pan gimmick? Not me.

I could barely do a round trip from Rutherglen to Benalla for a lazy $45 bucks on my Vespa scooter.

Time for Albury Council to rapidly grow some corporate street smarts as opposed to throwing ratepayers ... yes, ratepayers' ... monies away like a drunken sailor and his soon to be departed pay on a Saturday night.

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Federation Council's proposed long term financial plan cumulative special rates variation totals 112 per cent.

IPART rejected the council request in 2023 of 74.24 per cent over four years because council did not adequately inform the people about the change and why.

The draft 2024-25 turnover is $51.7 million with operating cost $54.8 million, leaving $3.1 million debt.

Former councils before amalgamation are blamed by some current councillors for leaving a legacy of current problems.

The former Corowa Council had bottom line draft budgets that never caused the anxiety to ratepayers like is happening now, except for a rate rise of 7 per cent over four years cumulative in 2014.

The local newspaper editorial of September 21, 2011, quoted that the public harmony and unity displayed by Corowa Council must be the envy of many other shire ratepayers who only get to hear agenda items moved or declined without genuine debate between councillors with most of the negotiation and detailed information trapped behind closed doors.

It also paid tribute to the open and transparent monthly meetings.