“There is nothing in the preferred proposal for the ratepayers of Armidale Dumaresq.
– Mayor Jim Maher.
ARMIDALE Dumaresq Council (ADC) ratepayers could be slugged with significant rate increases if the amalgamation recommendation by the NSW Local Government Review Panel’s Future Directions paper is implemented.
The Future Directions paper has recommended that the councils of Armidale Dumaresq, Guyra Shire, Uralla Shire and Walcha amalgamate.
A second option provided for the councils is to be part of a County Council, where the smaller councils, with a population under 5000, become local boards.
In its submission, ADC has raised major concerns about the proposed amalgamation due to a lack of details from the State Government in addressing the current underlying issue of the sustainability of the smaller councils.
An independent assessment by NSW Treasury Corporation of the sustainability of the smaller councils paints a grave picture of their future.
ADC is particularly concerned about the problem of picking up the major asset backlogs, including roads and infrastructure maintenance, from the smaller councils, and amalgamating with councils that manage very small rate bases – items which challenge financial sustainability.
“Should this amalgamation occur, former ADC ratepayers would inherit the bulk of significant backlog problems currently within the smaller councils and be burdened with rate increases under a larger new council,” ADC Mayor Jim Maher said.
“There is nothing in the preferred proposal for the ratepayers of Armidale Dumaresq,” Cr Maher said.
“We only have to look down the road to Tamworth Regional Council, where it is no secret that in the amalgamation they picked up huge backlogs from the smaller councils, resulting in significant rate increases. And the problem still exists.”
Cr Maher called on the NSW State Government to show good governance and address the asset backlogs of councils before enacting any radical reform.
To amalgamate a moderate, sustainable council, such as ADC, with three smaller unsustainable councils, resulting in one large unsustainable council, is poor decision-making and poor governance on the part of the NSW Government.
ADC concedes that an amalgamation in the medium to longer term will result in savings from duplication, but these savings are miniscule compared to the asset backlogs.
“Armidale Dumaresq Council was also concerned about the County Council model because it failed to take into account the need for proportional representation – this needs to be addressed,” Cr Maher said.
“Potentially, we could have a situation where council members of a County Council from smaller councils of lower overall population end up with the majority of votes in the County Council.
“This creates the potential of decisions made against the interests of the majority of the Local Government Area’s population, which is represented by only one councillor.”
The NSW Independent Local Government Review Panel will be holding a public meeting tonight, 12 June at the Armidale Town Hall from 5pm-7pm to listen to councils and the communities responses to the paper Future Directions for NSW Local Government: Twenty Essential Steps.
