Local Government NSW forum debrief amalgamation
Councils from across the state will meet on the Central Coast today to discuss forced amalgamations three years ago including progress, challenges and the possibility of turning back.
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Would you like to see Gosford and Wyong councils demerged?
The head of Local Government NSW believes councils who wish to demerge should be allowed to.
LGNSW President Linda Scott said “she welcomed the NSW Government’s commitment to no new forced council amalgamations”, but said it should let “councils and communities who continue to wish to undertake a demerger process to do so”.
The issue of undoing amalgamations is likely to come up at a forum today when staff and councillors of the State’s compulsorily amalgamated councils gather on the Central Coast.
More than 70 mayors, councillors and general managers will attend the Local Government NSW forum hosted by Central Coast Council as they debrief over the first three years as merged organisations.
“The amalgamation process is a complex one, and includes challenges that range from merging multiple IT systems to harmonising rate structures and service levels across old council boundaries,” Cr Scott said.
“This work must be completed over and above the ongoing core business of any council: the provision and maintenance of services and community infrastructure to their communities.
“It is to the immense credit of mayors, councillors and general managers attending this forum that they have continued to deliver this core business while resolving the challenges before them.”
Cr Scott said the forum was designed to ensure amalgamated councils could share their experience and the solutions they’d developed with their peers.
“If one council’s experience can make it easier for another to achieve their objectives even more smoothly and efficiently, that’s really good news,” she said.
Central Coast Mayor Jane Smith said the common purpose of all the attendees was to represent and serve their communities.
“Central Coast Council is now the third largest council in NSW, by population, and sixth in Australia,” Cr Smith said.
“I’m looking forward to sharing our experience as a major new Council, and learning from other Councils as to how they have managed to bring their systems and procedures together,” she said.
“Everyone attending is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for their communities.
“We want to deliver essential services and infrastructure, to provide sound financial management and to deliver the best value for the ratepayer’s dollar.
“At the same time, we also need to work with our communities to develop a vision for the future and a plan on how to get there.”
Other topics to be covered at the forum include land use planning, workforce and systems, rates harmonisation, finance, local representation and community engagement.
Key guest speakers include former General Manager of Tamworth Regional Council Glenn Inglis, who will share his experience of their amalgamated Council more than a decade on, and UTS’s Adjunct Professor of Policy and Governance Graham Sansom.
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