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If it’s not budgeted for, you better believe Peter O’Donohue won’t budge for it.
An ex-councillor, not one project on Armidale Regional Council without a line in the finance report got his vote, but now, he’s asking for yours.
The self-confessed greenie will stand second on the election ticket, behind Dorothy Robinson.
Botanist Tim Collins, youth refuge manager Pat Schultz, newcomer Johanna Garnett and hard line grassroots democrat Dora Koops will also stand on the ticket.
“Running a Council is a lot like a household budget,” Mr O’Donohue said.
“You look after your money, if you go into debt you find ways to deal with that and get onto the next project.
“I adopted a stance which became accepted over time, if it’s not budgeted for, I’m not going to vote for it.”
In the last 18 months the merger has seen millions of dollars in Council coffers, but Mr O’Donohue said the new councillors need to think carefully about spending.
“The next three years will see us going back to a limited, defined budget and for me that is one of the most important things,” he said.
“I think Council have a community responsibility to stick to the budget.”
Despite being a Nationals electorate, Mr O’Donohue believes people in Armidale are quite progressive.
“We have a very strong sustainability focus, I just think people may not realise that what they’re talking about is sustainability,” he said.
Among sustainability projects, the Malpas Dam pipeline in Guyra, Dumaresq Dam and the airport are big ticket items for the Greens.