Inner West Council: De-merger could cost up to $34 million

Documents reveal a move to split up a Sydney council could leave ratepayers picking up a huge bill - depite the deputy mayor claiming the State Government will pay it.

Documents have revealed the cost of splitting up the Inner West Council could blow out to $34 million in just one year.

Councillors are tonight deciding whether to revert back to the Marrickville, Ashfield and Leichhardt councils of before they were merged in 2016 in a move its deputy mayor says would see the State Government foot the bill and no ratepayer money touched.

According to a document prepared ahead of the meeting, based on figures from a similar situation at the Sunshine Coast town of Noosa in Queensland, the move would cost up to $34 million in the first year and up to $15 million every year after.

The same report details legislation forcing the State Government to foot that bill, which has passed both the upper and lower house, has not been “assented to” yet by the Governor of NSW.

Cr Macri, the deputy mayor, is adamant the state government will pick up the bill.

Governors have rarely not assented a bill in the mostly ceremonial part of the role.

Another document, which has not been made public, says the cost of making staff redundant at Inner West Council in the scenario of a split is $13.7 million.

“That’s fine the state government will pay it,” Deputy Mayor Vic Macri said.

Cr Macri is pushing for the split after previously describing Marrickville as the council’s “cash cow”.

One of the several times Clr Passas walked out of the meeting of Inner West Council on Tuesday evening.

“It’s actually quite cheap when you think about it, it’s the perfect time to make the move,” he added.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said he contacted local government minister Shelly Hancock about whether the government would pick up the huge bill in the event the council split but had not heard back.

“I’m very wary of leaving ratepayers on the hook if the government doesn’t come through.

“The $10 million they gave us to amalgamate was less than a third of the cost - the rest was worn by ratepayer.”

The mega-council is one of three in Sydney that were amalgamated by the State Government in 2016 and five years later still has not managed to harmonise its rates.

Its latest budget is expecting an operating loss of $7.4 million and it has been beset by issues ranging from delays to opening the Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain to several general managers quitting in dramatic fashion.

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