“At times, tough decisions have to be made, just as they have been made over the past three years,” he said at the time of his promotion in April last year.

As the NSW Government pushes on with its Fit for the Future reforms to local government in the state, the time for those tough decisions is drawing closer.

Fit for the Future wants to change the way NSW councils operate, encouraging them to consider their viability and, if necessary, to amalgamate with neighbours. 

A major stage in the implementation of Fit for the Future has come and gone: the June 30 deadline for submissions from all councils as to whether they believe they can stand alone.

Bathurst, Oberon, Blayney, Orange, Cabonne and Lithgow councils have all indicated they don’t want to merge.

An independent panel came to a different conclusion, however, when it carried out extensive research into this emotive issue.

It found that Bathurst and Oberon councils should have discussions about the benefits amalgamation would bring, and Orange, Blayney and Cabonne should do the same.

Ironically, Mr Toole was a member of Evans Shire Council when it (and the former Bathurst City Council) were dismissed to become the new Bathurst Regional Council.

At the time, Mr Toole was seething, but in hindsight he said it was the best thing that could have happened.

Another former Evans councillor and former Bathurst Regional Council mayor Norm Mann agrees with Mr Toole’s assessment.

So what happens now?

Mr Toole said, at the time of his elevation last year, that he would be willing to listen to councils.

It’s a fair bet they will have plenty to say in the coming months.