BATHURST'S new mayor wants the strength in numbers that would come from a more formalised connection with the mayors of surrounding councils.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Councillor Ian North says his first meeting with the mayors of Oberon, Lithgow and Blayney will be in the coming weeks and he hopes it will be a regular occurrence.
"I want to get a connection between us because a lot of the issues we have are similar: health, roads," he said.
"And when you look at it, the four councils - Bathurst, Blayney, Oberon and Lithgow - are all part of the state electorate and they're all part of the electorate with Mr Gee [federal member Andrew Gee] as well."
IN OTHER NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
There's expertise among particular councils that can be used by others, he said.
"I would like to create a relationship unlike we've ever done in the past," he said.
He said Oberon mayor Kathy Sajowitz visited his office last week and he spoke with Blayney mayor Scott Ferguson and Lithgow mayor Ray Thompson last week.
"They all said 'great idea, love to get involved, and when are we going to do it'," Cr North said.
"The idea, initially, is to meet at Bathurst, hopefully in a couple of weeks, and from that, we'll meet regularly, whether monthly or probably bi-monthly, to talk."
Cr North said some of the councils in the group of four might choose to put in a combined request for a grant rather than seeking funding individually.
He also said there is a lot of movement among residents of the four councils for work.
"One of the things I told the GM [of Bathurst Regional Council] when I got the job is that I want to have this [mayoral connection] going," Cr North said.