DUBBO: Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson has expressed his disappointment at the proposal to merge Dubbo with Wellington.
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"We've been told consistently that we can stay stand alone if we're fit for the future, and we are.
"We've been told outright by Troy that he was going to back us all the way. I've rang Troy's office and spoken to the staff there and we'll be having a conversation about that. I've spoke to Ann Jones and she's disappointed as well.
"I've already had people asking 'what happens to the Wellington Council? What happens to the staff there?'. I can only give them vague answers because at this point I don't really know.
"It's very early, but from a Wellington perspective there's going to be a loss of democracy. When we have elections in the Greater Dubbo Wellington Council or whatever they're going to call it, there'll probably be only two councillors from Wellington and the rest from Dubbo.
"Disbelief and disappointment is the general reaction. We had no idea that that was going to happen.
"Our council is going to grow by 120 per cent."
WELLINGTON: Mayor of Wellington Anne Jones said they couldn't really comment on the merged council until they saw the boundary maps.
"I have talked with Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson and he and I have promised to work together to achieve the best possible result for our communities.
"We did the best we could. We provided an improvement plan to show we were viable and that we could stand alone it appears the state government had a different agenda.
"We will go back to the community and have community consultations about this."
NARROMINE: Narromine mayor Bill McAnally said they still had a long way to go, but he was happy that Narromine had been left alone.
"No decision will be made until the boundary commission (release their reports) and we get the official maps and that."
"We've done an exceptional job. I take my hat off to the staff and the community. I believe it's the feed back from the community that got s over the line in the end."
"We're still stand alone."
"Next big challenge is the JOC. Through the webinar it looked like they were going luke warm on the (JOC) model."
Mayor McAnally said it was a great Christmas present for the community.
"It's been a long and hard road but I've always been confident."
NYNGAN: Nyngan mayor Ray Donald said Nyngan, Warren, Gilgandra and Coonamble all should have been deemed fit to stand alone.
"We're very relieved, thankful our good record has shown through."
"Still looking at the Rural Council models and the JOCs not finalised till the Boundary Commission (has released their reports).
"We're appreciative of what has happened and the hard work of staff."
WARRUMBUNGLES: Warrumbungle mayor Peter Shinton should be happy to hear his council will be standing alone, however Cr Shinton was unaware of the news on Friday morning.
Cr Shinton was working the land when the announcement was made, making the most of a recent inch of rain in the area.
FORBES: Forbes Shire Council will continue to stand alone, after this morning’s announcement of forced amalgamations by Local Government Minister Paul Toole and NSW Premier Mike Baird.
Mayor Phyllis Miller said this was the best news council could have hoped for.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity to continue to represent our community as a stand alone council,” Cr Miller said.
Cr Miller said the merger proposals announced this morning will go forward to the Chief Executive of Local Government who will conduct public inquiries and then refer their recommendations on to the Boundaries Commission for final determination.
TAKE PART IN OUR POLL: What do you think about the proposal for Dubbo and Wellington?
A map of the proposed mergers has been release.
It is proposed that Wellington will merge with Dubbo, while Narromine will stand alone.
In other areas around the region, a proposal has been made for Oberon to merge with Bathurst while Orange is slated to merge with Cabonne and Blayney Shire Councils.
The government also announced a $700 million package, up from the original $550 million, in incentives to help councils absorb the costs of merging.
Premier Mike Baird also announced plans for a new Local Government Act which will include a new power for the minister to appoint a financial controller to a non-performing council deemed at high financial risk.
But the amalgamations will be dealt with through the old act, which means there will need to be public hearings by the Boundaries Commission which will be re-constituted.
The process will take at least six months and may require a delay in the local government elections due in September.
Earlier: The state's mayors, lord mayors and council general managers are sitting through a 'webinar' presented by the Premier in which they will find out the future of the state's local councils.
Premier Mike Baird and Local Government Minister Paul Toole are announcing their plan for council amalgamations.
The Mayor of Dubbo, Mathew Dickerson is tweeting the Fit for the Future briefing.
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