According to the Manly Daily, Mayor Michael Regan has flagged it will look at working with pro-merger councils The Hills and Hornsby to achieve discounts for services like waste management.
He said if Manly, Pittwater and Mosman were not interested in local government reform, Warringah could get bigger discounts by partnering with other bigger councils.
Yesterday, Hornsby Mayor Steve Russell said his council had also asked for a report on whether to continue membership with its Northern Sydney ROC.
"A lot of smaller councils are anti-amalgamation, but most want shared services," Cr Russell said.
read the full story
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/large-councils-to-work-together-as-smaller-councils-reject-amalgamation-options/story-fngr8hax-1226723793808
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Warringah At Odds With Manly and Pittwater Councils
Manly and Pittwater Councils have release a report by Professor Brian Dollery from the University of New England rebutting Warringah Council's 2011 Local Government Structural Change report, which recommended amalgamating the three Northern Beaches local councils and an even wider merger with Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby and Mosman Councils.
According to Manly Council website, their Dollery report found that the proposed model of a northern beaches council, advocated by Warringah Council, was not viable for several key reasons.
- There is no 'community of interest' between Manly, Warringah and Pittwater Councils considered essential for amalgamation to occur successfully
- Local boards are both expensive and inappropriate for NSW
- Amalgamation options proposed do not improve financial sustainability and in the short-term increase costs to ratepayers substantially
- No economies of scale are present in the amalgamation options proposed by Warringah Council.
 Professor Brian Dollery Report 'AN ASSESSMENT OF SGS REPORT LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURAL CHANGE OPTIONS ANALYSIS' (1.28 MB)
In 2011 Warringah Council commissioned a discussion paper that made a strong argument for council amalgamation and shared services.
The paper by internationally-recognised expert in local government reform, Peter McKinlay, recommended several ways that local councils can share resources to improve services and be able to better deal with the complex issues now facing local government. The paper was peer-reviewed by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government.
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Sunday, 25 August 2013
Amalgamation Tensions - Hornsby May Opt Out Of NSROC
The Telegraph on line has a report that Hornsby Council is seeking to opt out of NSROC, Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils, which is currently comprised Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, North Sydney, Ryde, Willoughby and Hornsby Council.
http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/hornsby-council-examines-opting-out-of-northern-sydney-councils-group/story-fngr8i1f-1226702982954
"If we can get a better outcome for Hornsby (by opting out), I think we need to look at that," Hornsby Mayor Steve Russell said.
"If we can get a better outcome for Hornsby (by opting out), I think we need to look at that," Hornsby Mayor Steve Russell said.
Hornsby's views on amalgamation are largely at odds with the other NSROC councils and Cr Russell said the issue was a significant contributor to the council's decision to a review of the merits of ongoing membership.
"Why would we want to be part of an organisation that doesn't fairly represent our views?" Cr Russell said.
He said speakers at a recent NSROC conference "insulted my intelligence."
"Why would we want to be part of an organisation that doesn't fairly represent our views?" Cr Russell said.
He said speakers at a recent NSROC conference "insulted my intelligence."
Mosman Council along with other north side councils are looking at the option of combining NSROC and SHOROC. The SHOROC councils are also divided on the issue of amalgamation with the largest member Warringah being in favour and the other smaller councils opposed.
Sunday, 4 August 2013
HISTORY will prove he is right on controversial council mergers declares WA Premier Colin Barnett
perthnow.com.au has published this view on council amalgamations from WA Premier Colin Barnett.
Like the the NSW Government, WA Government had a promise of no forced amalgamations. The policy recently changed.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-premier-colin-barnett-why-im-right-on-council-amalgamations/story-fnhocxo3-1226690712710
HISTORY will prove he is right on controversial council mergers, Premier Colin Barnett has declared.
The Premier is prepared to wear heavy flak from opponents of the plan, but said people would look back in five years time and wonder what all the fuss was about.
"I realise it's not necessarily going to make the Government or myself popular but it is the right thing to do," he said.
The Premier said the moves to reduce the number of Perth councils from 30 to 14 made sense on so many levels that councillors privately admit the changes had to occur.
"Privately, as I travel around WA, councillors say to me, 'We know it's got to be fixed', 'You've got to fix it up'. They won't say it publicly, they'll say it privately," he said.
Mr Barnett said much of the heat this week came from "vested interests".
He said it was ludicrous that there were 320 councillors in Perth, with 69 looking after the western suburbs alone.
"You've got more people managing the western suburbs than you do managing Western Australia in the State Parliament Lower House," Mr Barnett said.
The system was unable to deal with the problems of a growing city and was deeply flawed.
He said many people would be surprised to learn that 13 council chief executives were paid more than himself and 23 earned more than a state minister.
"It really does beg the question: Is running a local authority more significant than being the Premier or a senior minister," Mr Barnett said.
His changes would also address the unbalanced level of amenities in many local government areas.
Ratepayers in some council areas were subsidising facilities for residents in neighbouring areas, he said.
"You might find one council builds a recreational sporting facility and you might find that half of all people using it might come from outside that local government area," he said. "I don't think that that's fair."
Though there was no guarantee mergers would reduce rates, Mr Barnett pointed to several bigger councils that had lower rates and equivalent services to their smaller neighbours. East Fremantle had rates of about $1681 last year and bigger Melville had rates of just $1233, he said.
"That's about $450 and I would have thought Melville and East Fremantle were much the same," the Premier said.
Though vested interests were generating some noise, Mr Barnett said he had not detected any public backlash.
"I don't see any great groundswell (of opposition) from the population," he said. "The only people who have come up to me in the street so far have supported it.
"That's not a general sample, but I think what it's showing is that if people aren't directly involved in local government, most people don't really care all that much."
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-premier-colin-barnett-why-im-right-on-council-amalgamations/story-fnhocxo3-1226690712710
HISTORY will prove he is right on controversial council mergers, Premier Colin Barnett has declared.
The Premier is prepared to wear heavy flak from opponents of the plan, but said people would look back in five years time and wonder what all the fuss was about.
"I realise it's not necessarily going to make the Government or myself popular but it is the right thing to do," he said.
The Premier said the moves to reduce the number of Perth councils from 30 to 14 made sense on so many levels that councillors privately admit the changes had to occur.
"Privately, as I travel around WA, councillors say to me, 'We know it's got to be fixed', 'You've got to fix it up'. They won't say it publicly, they'll say it privately," he said.
Mr Barnett said much of the heat this week came from "vested interests".
He said it was ludicrous that there were 320 councillors in Perth, with 69 looking after the western suburbs alone.
"You've got more people managing the western suburbs than you do managing Western Australia in the State Parliament Lower House," Mr Barnett said.
The system was unable to deal with the problems of a growing city and was deeply flawed.
He said many people would be surprised to learn that 13 council chief executives were paid more than himself and 23 earned more than a state minister.
"It really does beg the question: Is running a local authority more significant than being the Premier or a senior minister," Mr Barnett said.
His changes would also address the unbalanced level of amenities in many local government areas.
Ratepayers in some council areas were subsidising facilities for residents in neighbouring areas, he said.
"You might find one council builds a recreational sporting facility and you might find that half of all people using it might come from outside that local government area," he said. "I don't think that that's fair."
Though there was no guarantee mergers would reduce rates, Mr Barnett pointed to several bigger councils that had lower rates and equivalent services to their smaller neighbours. East Fremantle had rates of about $1681 last year and bigger Melville had rates of just $1233, he said.
"That's about $450 and I would have thought Melville and East Fremantle were much the same," the Premier said.
Though vested interests were generating some noise, Mr Barnett said he had not detected any public backlash.
"I don't see any great groundswell (of opposition) from the population," he said. "The only people who have come up to me in the street so far have supported it.
"That's not a general sample, but I think what it's showing is that if people aren't directly involved in local government, most people don't really care all that much."
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
New Sydney Metro Mayors Group
A new grouping of councils has recently formed. Calling themselves the Sydney Metropolitan Mayor Group, they were pulled together by Canterbury Mayor Brian Robson. Currently representing 22 Councils across Sydney they include some northern Sydney councils - Pittwater, Manly, Mosman, Hunters Hill and Ryde. Notably absent is Warringah, North Sydney, Willougby, Kuring-gai, and Hornsby.
"We brought together a group of Mayors representing 22 Councils from across Sydney and have now formalised these passionate, community focused individuals into an incorporated association. I look forward to working together with all my Mayoral colleagues to promote Local Government and to ensure our residents continue to have access to their own democratically elected councils," Robson said.
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| In amongst the Save Pittwater protest at Warringah ILGRP consultation |
While the Mayor Robson's anouncement does not mention amalgamations they appear to be a grouping of vehemently anti amalgamation councils.
(media release http://www.canterbury.nsw.gov.au/www/html/16-news.asp?n=2280)
Robson is quoted at keepitlocal.net.au “It’s no secret that I’ve been unhappy with our representation through Local Government NSW.” “This is not a bureaucratic organisation, it’s basically to provide a voice which we feel has been lacking,”
Meanwhile, Local Government NSW, the organisation representing all councils has commented on the ILGRP report.
No surprise that LGNSW supported the revenue raising reform proposals on rate pegging, cheaper finance and removing rate exemptions for schools and government businesses.
(media release http://www.canterbury.nsw.gov.au/www/html/16-news.asp?n=2280)
Robson is quoted at keepitlocal.net.au “It’s no secret that I’ve been unhappy with our representation through Local Government NSW.” “This is not a bureaucratic organisation, it’s basically to provide a voice which we feel has been lacking,”
Meanwhile, Local Government NSW, the organisation representing all councils has commented on the ILGRP report.
"After consulting with Mayors, councillors and General Managers at a Forum on 28 June, Local Government NSW (LGNSW) has now submitted its response to the Future Directions paper, strongly opposing its proposals on mass council amalgamations and its County Council model."
“While LGNSW supports voluntary council amalgamations, it does not believe there is anything in the Future Directions paper that would entice the vast majority of councils and their communities to merge with their neighbours,” said Cr Donald.'(media release http://www.lgnsw.org.au/)
So it will be interesting to see what carrots and sticks the Government will find to "entice" councils and their communities to merge with their neighbours.
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Metro Strategy - Mosman argues for subregion - Mosman, North Sydney, Ryde, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill
Mosman Council have just publicly released two submissions one on the Sydney Metro Strategy and the other on the Planning White Paper. These are not on Mosman Council main webpage but on a seperate web http://mosmanplanning.net/.
These are Mosman Councils well concidered arguments, which in another context might be considered good reasons to form a high capacity council for the Inner North, indeed there is a bit of a teaser in their conclusion "more adaptable to any potential future changes in the form of local government."
Extract from Mosman Council Submission
"Council considers a significantly more effective arrangement is to establish a new Inner-North Subregion which includes Mosman, North Sydney, Ryde, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill councils. Key reasons are:
It would create aconsiderably better opportunity for stronger integration of land-use and
transport planning, a key priority of the Metropolitan Strategy, and greater flexibility to plan
employment and housing growth along priority transport corridors and major centres across
northern Sydney to improve containment.
It would enable the Inner-north and North Subregions to collaborate to integrate planning
land-use, transport, health, education and other services on a broader scale, which would
be very difficult if the inner-north councils were included in the Central Subregion. The
potential creation of a ROC covering both these Subregions would also enable this ROC to
facilitate or lead this coordination process.
It would increase capacity for much stronger integration with other NSW Government service delivery and infrastructure planning, including alignment with NSW Health, NSW Education, and NSW2021 Regional Action Plan boundaries.
It would provide clear connections and communities of interest, making consultation more feasible. The North Shore and Northern Beaches, while distinct communities (and sub- communities) are strongly connected in regard to employment, housing, sport, recreation, education, health, and other aspects of people’s daily lives. This increases significantly the likelihood of meaningful engagement for the significant consultation planned on a Sub- regional level.
It would utilise good existing working relationships between the councils and bodies such as SHOROC and NSROC to facilitate collaboration and coordinate sub-regional planning. Also more adaptable to any potential future changes in the form of local government. "
Interesting Maps
- Mosman Council submission on draft Sydney Metropolitan Strategy
- Mosman Council submission on Planning White Paper
These are Mosman Councils well concidered arguments, which in another context might be considered good reasons to form a high capacity council for the Inner North, indeed there is a bit of a teaser in their conclusion "more adaptable to any potential future changes in the form of local government."
Extract from Mosman Council Submission
"Council considers a significantly more effective arrangement is to establish a new Inner-North Subregion which includes Mosman, North Sydney, Ryde, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill councils. Key reasons are:
It would create aconsiderably better opportunity for stronger integration of land-use and
transport planning, a key priority of the Metropolitan Strategy, and greater flexibility to plan
employment and housing growth along priority transport corridors and major centres across
northern Sydney to improve containment.
It would enable the Inner-north and North Subregions to collaborate to integrate planning
land-use, transport, health, education and other services on a broader scale, which would
be very difficult if the inner-north councils were included in the Central Subregion. The
potential creation of a ROC covering both these Subregions would also enable this ROC to
facilitate or lead this coordination process.
It would increase capacity for much stronger integration with other NSW Government service delivery and infrastructure planning, including alignment with NSW Health, NSW Education, and NSW2021 Regional Action Plan boundaries.
It would provide clear connections and communities of interest, making consultation more feasible. The North Shore and Northern Beaches, while distinct communities (and sub- communities) are strongly connected in regard to employment, housing, sport, recreation, education, health, and other aspects of people’s daily lives. This increases significantly the likelihood of meaningful engagement for the significant consultation planned on a Sub- regional level.
It would utilise good existing working relationships between the councils and bodies such as SHOROC and NSROC to facilitate collaboration and coordinate sub-regional planning. Also more adaptable to any potential future changes in the form of local government. "
Interesting Maps
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| ILGRP proposed council amalgamations Mosman, North Sydney, parts of Ryde, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill |
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| Mosman Council argues to retain existing subregion - Mosman, North Sydney, Ryde, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill |
Sunday, 9 June 2013
ILGRP Community Hearings 14 June 2013 Chatswood
The Independent Local Government Review Panel is holding a Community Hearing at Chatswood on Friday 14 June 2013.This is an opportunity for us to hear directly from the panel and for community representatives to put forward their views on the proposed options in the paper.
Its worth coming just to see the architecture in the new Chatswood Concourse Civic Pavilion.
Time 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Date 14 June 2013
Place The Concourse Civic Pavilion, 409 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
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