The mayors of Dubbo, Narromine and Wellington maintain they can give ratepayers a better deal without the merger of their councils.
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An amalgamation of the three neighbours was one option included in a blueprint for change in local government, released this week.
The councils’ boundaries would come up for review as early as 2017, under the recommendation of the Independent Local Government Review Panel.
But with the NSW government policy of “no forced amalgamations” the panel also provided the option for Dubbo, Narromine and Wellington to work as part of a new “Joint Organisation” of eight councils in the Orana region.
Yesterday the three mayors were united in their rejection of a merger.
Instead they all favoured increased regional co-operation to help councils reduce costs, with Wellington mayor Rod Buhr declaring his council was “open-minded” to the Joint Organisation model.
As the Revitalising Local Government final report was released, panel chairman Graham Sansom said better local government was vital to NSW’s future.
The Mitchell Highway trio are in different situations as they face change.
Work by TCorp gave Dubbo City Council a financial sustainability rating (FSR) of moderate.
The smaller Narromine and Wellington councils “may be sustainable into the medium-long term” but Wellington’s FSR was “weak”, the report noted.
Cr Buhr said there were “no surprises” in the recommendations but he judged a merger was not a done deal.
“I believe we can have regional co-operation and still maintain local representation,” he said.
“Wellington Council is very open-minded on the subject of becoming part of a regional organisation that has a statutory framework to operate and that will involve looking at realistic ways of sharing services and making financial efficiencies.
“I’m certain if we can do that, Wellington Council will be able to remain a stand-alone council.”
Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson was less impressed with the concept, but said that was his own opinion and that the council had not yet made a resolution.
Despite the panel’s advice the performance of Regional Organisations of Council (ROCs) had been “patchy and uneven, especially in the delivery of shared services”, Cr Dickerson remained convinced of their potential.
He baulked at the concept of statutory regional bodies - the basis of the Joint Organisations - and warned mergers could result in a “dilution of democracy” and Dubbo ratepayers subsidising outlying areas.
I believe we can have regional co-operation and still maintain local representation
- Wellington mayor Rod Buhr
“The disappointment was there are no innovative ideas (in the report),” he said.
Narromine Shire mayor Bill McAnally said they were “great advocates” for regional co-operation but remained opposed to amalgamations.
A merger with Dubbo would not overcome Narromine’s financial challenges, he said.
“Whether big is better, I’ve very dubious about that,” he said.
