A CONTENTIOUS trial involving council customer service hubs being installed across the Mornington Peninsula Shire will continue despite costing ratepayers about $389 per customer visit. The hubs, also called “Your Local Connection Points”, are part of a 12-month pilot involving the shire’s “Tier 3 Facilities” with the aim of enhancing accessibility to in-person council services in smaller townships across the region.
Councillors narrowly approved a motion at their 22 April meeting to keep the hubs operating at Mornington, Hastings, Rosebud, Dromana, and Somerville, while exploring a more affordable option at Red Hill. This will occur at least until the end of the pilot which is scheduled to end on 27 June. Some of the hubs only operate one day of the week with fewer than two visits per day while costing the shire $250,000 to keep running.
The move comes after councillors unanimously passed a three per cent rate increase this month because of “unprecedented pressures” including an estimated $8m to deal with the McCrae landslide recovery, which would see at least $75 from every household needed to help cover the enormous cost.
In considering the future of the customer service hubs, shire offices had put forward a recommendation at the council meeting to continue operating the hubs at Somerville Library while closing those at Dromana, Red Hill and Sorrento because of higher operating costs.
But Cr David Gill argued that the shire should not get rid of the hubs as it was an “opportunity to include outposts of our community” that did not have access to public transport or nearby in-person council customer services. He instead put forward a motion calling for the shire to continue operating all hubs while exploring a less expensive location at Red Hill – which was approved by councillors in a narrow 6-5 vote.
“It comes down to the same arguments all the time; it’s too expensive to have services in the remote areas, and you hang your hats on that. I think that’s shameful. I think that’s wrong,” Gill said, noting that community organisations were prepared to offer sites for “little to no cost” for the shire to use. “I think that we should be providing some services in those areas [that are remote].”
Gill also noted that the whole idea of the three-tiered system under the shire’s Future Workplace model, which included in-person services, and a flexible workspace for staff, was about “increasing its connection with the community”. According to Gill, the “trade-off” in having the customer service hubs was that the shire would be “saving a lot of money” by looking to repurpose or sell one if it’s shire buildings in Mornington and Rosebud after councillors voted in March to consolidate its offices, with the “preferred location” being the shire’s Hastings Marine Parade site. This option would fall under “Tier 1” while “Tier 2” would explore co-located library and customer support services.
Deputy mayor Cr Paul Pingiaro said the pilot had cost $250,000, with a total of 655 customers, which equated to about $389 per visit. While he also supported the concept, he said the council was facing a “massive cost expense” with the hubs not being financially viable. “If we’re going to collect $63 for pet registration off these people, we shouldn’t be paying $389 for their visit. It makes no sense,” he said.
Mayor Cr Anthony Marsh said while he too backed the idea, he could not support it going forward as it would be a “gross misuse” of council funds. “It’s pretty clear to me that this trial has failed in terms of engaging people to show up,” he said. He added that the motion was “effectively saying double down what we’ve done with that slight change on Red Hill”.
Confusingly, the motion failed to specify whether the actions it was seeking would only apply within the trial period or be a permanent measure, with The News unable to seek clarification. But Cr Kate Roper supported Gill’s motion, noting “it’s about connecting the whole community, not leaving people behind”. “All ratepayers on Western Port are putting a hell of a lot into the bayside community and infrastructure and new pavilions and we’re not getting much back. So let’s share it around and make everybody part of this community.”
First published in the Mornington News – 29 April 2025
