Vote to be held on success of Northern Beaches Council four years after merger
A heated debate on whether Northern Beaches Council has been successful since the amalgamation is expected tonight, with one one councillor saying the merger is “substantially flawed”.
Manly
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The issue on whether the new Northern Beaches Council has been a success since it formed four years ago is expected to spark fierce debate tonight.
The amalgamation of Manly, Warringah and Pittwater councils four years ago initiated under former Liberal Premier Mike Baird was controversial, especially among Pittwater residents.
Councillors will tonight vote on its own report which boasts that the merger has been a success.
It found that the Northern Beaches Council “is recognised as a strong government partner with a strategic outlook, confidently representing and progressing matters of local and regional significance”.
The report states that the council is on track to more than double the State Government’s $76.3m estimated savings from amalgamation, with a projected $161.6 million over 10 years.
This is despite a blip in the budget due to a loss in revenue and increased support for businesses during the pandemic and the repaying of $63m in loans the new council inherited.
It found that in the last financial year some of the savings have been reinvested back into the community including the free beach parking sticker for ratepayers, as well as new footpaths and increased public place cleaning, among other things.
Large scale upcoming projects include an $11.2m upgrade to Mona Vale and Long Reef surf clubs, $10.5m to resurface 18.6km of roads, renew 8km of footpaths and build 4.7km of new ones and $5.3m for coastal paths and cycleways from Newport to Palm Beach.
The report also said a survey of 750 residents in 2019 showed 90 per cent of people were satisfied with the council, up from 86 per cent in 2018.
However, councillors have been receiving calls and emails from Pittwater residents in the run up to tonight’s meeting, calling for them not to support the report.
It is also believed that some Liberals will not be supporting it.
Liberal Cr Pat Daley told the Manly Daily he will not be voting in support of the report because he doesn’t think “we should be celebrating this merger”.
“It’s very bureaucratic, there’s a lot of waste and a lot of fat,” he said.
“It’s top heavy.
He also criticised the “latte leftie set” within the council for focusing too heavily on areas the council should not be involved in, such as climate emergencies, and not enough on the basics, such as maintaining council parks and reserves which he claimed were looking “shabby”.
When asked about the significant savings being made, Cr Daley said there was “a lot of misinformation” and he would be calling for a review of the whole of the council’s operations.
One of the most controversial changes brought in since the merger has been the new state-of-the-art waste collection service rolled out last July, which although promised to save residents money in the majority of instances, received criticism from many over the size and design of the new bins and consistency of service.
In February it was revealed the council received an average of 2,496 complaints in the two months after it launched and was still receiving more than 800 complaints a month up until January.
Cr Candy Bingham argued it was a “good report” showing how much ratepayers are saving due to the amalgamation.
And, in response to criticism from Pittwater residents, she said the new council had taken on substantial debt from the previous Pittwater Council and was investing heavily in the area, including the new coastal walk footpaths and the upgrade of Mona Vale Surf Lifesaving Club.