Lithgow City Council was left to stand alone under the current round of mergers, but surely its day must be coming.

Lithgow has long been a divided council with internal wrangling too often getting in the way of community leadership.

The latest twist came last week when general manager Roger Bailey had his contract stunningly terminated by councillors.

That came just weeks after the very popular Maree Statham – who had served as mayor for four years and recorded a personal vote of around 40 per cent at Lithgow’s council elections last month – was ousted from the top job by Stephen Lesslie after his name was drawn from a hat.

Even that outcome had a touch of the bizarre as one councillor, Ray Thompson, abstained from the ballot while a second, Martin Ticehurst, was able to cast his vote despite awaiting the final penalty to be handed down by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after he had been found to be in breach of the Local Government Act.

That penalty could see Cr Ticehurst removed from council just weeks into a new four-year term – and did we mention he is also now the city’s deputy mayor?

Worse for Lithgow, the vote that dismissed Mr Bailey has done nothing to convince residents there might be calmer days ahead because the new mayor was one of just three councillors who unsuccessfully voted to retain the GM’s services.

All of that might be forgiven, though, if ratepayers looked out their windows to see a thriving community that was blossoming in spite of – rather than due to – its civic leadership. But despite Lithgow’s many advantages – proximity to Sydney, access to the CityRail network and incredible natural beauty on its doorstep – it remains a tired, struggling city in many respects.

A dysfunctional council focused more on itself than its community cannot be focused on finally turning that around.

The city’s ratepayers deserve better and it’s hard to imagine the Office of Local Government does not have its own plans for Lithgow’s future.

The people of Oberon may remain steadfastly opposed to a merger with Bathurst, but they should take comfort in the knowledge that things could be so much worse.