Sydney Councils should be merged into one super council, according the Independent Local Government Review
Vikki Campion •
The Daily Telegraph •
April 24, 2013 1:38PM
SYDNEY’S councils should be merged, with one super council from the eastern beaches to Botany, the Independent Local Government Review has found.
Among it’s wish list, the panel wants mergers of councils in the inner west, north shore, northern beaches and south.
It ruled out forced amalgamations, but offers the ability to hike rates as a financial incentive.
It proposes 20 county councils for the regions, as well as mergers of Gosford and Wyong, and Newscastle and Lake Macquarie.
Panel chair Graham Sansom said the super Sydney council encompassing the coast, CBD and Botany would create a “global city”.
It seeks to expand Parramatta and Liverpool to give them more clout, while merging the inner west councils, north shore and northern beaches councils.
Mr Sansom said many of the boundaries were out of date and did not prepare for the future, let alone cope with the $7.6 billion infrastructure backlog and maintenance gap.
The panel will now visit 29 regional cities and towns, and eight metropolitan areas for consultation and community hearings.
It seeks to group Manly, Pittwater and Warringah, merge Hornsby and Kurringgai, take Sydney, Woollahra, Waverely, Randwick and Botany Bay as one.
Canada Bay would be merged with Strathfield, Burwood, and Ashfield, with Leichhardt to join either the Sydney group or the inner west group.
Marrickville can join the Sydney councils, or merge with Canterbury. Canterbury can merge with Bankstown or a new proposed St George group, or can be split between the two.
The larger councils in Sydney’s fringe are largely unchanged but for boundary reviews. It will reduce the number of Sydney councils to 15, with Sydney, Liverpool and Parramatta expanded to have populations between 600,000 to 800,000.
Under the plan, ‘early movers’ to amalgamation will be given higher levels of support to encourage amalgamations. It seeks to stream line rate pegging, allowing councils to increase rates 3 per cent above IPART recommendations, and redistribute grant funding to give more assistance to rural and remote councils.
To implement the reform, the panel seeks to set up a new development board, and also looks to strengthen local government in the NSW constitution.
It also seeks to set up a special council financing agency to bring down interest costs and allow councils to make better use of borrowings.
Councils with the most severe financial problems will get more attention, with a new fund to be set up to address crumbling roads and rotting bridges.
Mayors will have strengthened authority, and “round-robin” mayors will be banned, with all councils with a population of 20,000 forced to be popularly elected.
Local boards will be brought in to ensure ‘local identity’ in very large urban councils.
It seeks to amalgamate small rural councils to improve their sustainability, and convert councils with a population under 5000 to local boards.
A western region authority will be set up for struggling rural councils, based on a partnership between local, State, Federal and Aboriginal communities.
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