IF Orange, Cabonne and Blayney councils amalgamated, the super council they formed would be given $11 million cash to do with as it pleased as part of the state government’s Fit for the Future funding program to entice councils to merge.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The package was outlined by Local Government Minister Paul Toole at the annual Local Government Conference on Monday and Tuesday.
However, the funding is a short-term “sweetener” and will do little to secure the future of Blayney and Cabonne’s rural villages, according to Blayney mayor Scott Ferguson.
“I’m not criticising the government but the money on the table is a one-off,” he said.
“Mr Toole was adamant there would be changes and the proposals we need to consider seriously, or the state government might consider enacting the recommendations of the review panel. Everyone is certainly nervous about the future”.
The state government had previously said it would not force councils to merge, however, Mr Toole would not rule it out, nor would he rule out introducing disincentives for councils that refused to merge.
“It was the local government sector who asked for financial incentives and we’ve done that, now it is up to councils,” he said.
Mr Toole served as a councillor in Evans shire before it was forced to amalgamate with Bathurst in 2005 and he said the way the merge was handled was disgraceful.
“A fax came through and all of a sudden the council was dissolved,” he said.
There was no consultation and no financial support for the council at the time and as a result, from personal experience, Mr Toole says the proposal put forward by his government was a vast improvement.
For example, the government will fund half of a study commissioned by councils into a possible merger.
Cabonne Council deputy mayor Lachie MacSmith said the matter would be discussed at an upcoming council meeting, but he had not changed his mind that Cabonne should remain as is.
However, he said he was suspicious the government would backflip on its position of no forced amalgamations.
“[Paul Toole] is not saying it won’t happen ... we’ll see what happens after the state election,” he said.
“We’re so diverse, we’re not the same as Orange, we have a mine and a canola mill and farming. We’re very rural, we’d prefer to stay rural.”
Orange councillors Reg Kidd and Kevin Duffy said it was clear mergers were on the cards and councils in the region needed to come to the table to negotiate the future.
“There’s millions of dollars there and councils need to start talking to each other ... the opportunity is there,” Cr Duffy said.
All councils have been asked to write a submission to the government that shows they are financially viable and can meet the communities’ needs for the future.
Mayor John Davis was unable to be reached for an interview but, in a statement, said if the NSW government decided amalgamation was its preferred option, the question of how the government and councils would deal with the infrastructure backlog would be a crucial step.
nicole.kuter@fairfaxmedia.com.au