There has been speculation about the council’s future since the Independent Local Government Review Panel recommended that Maitland and Dungog should merge.

The recommendation was part of Fit for the Future, the state ­government’s local government reform program. 

The results of an independent ­merger business case presented to Maitland and Dungog last week found that an amalgamation would leave Maitland worse off and wouldn’t fix Dungog’s financial problems. 

So Maitland councillors rejected the possibility of a merger last night.

If Maitland could have helped Dungog, while maintaining or improving its own position, it might have been a different story.

But a merger would have only given Maitland a part to play in solving Dungog’s problems, which would have been hard to swallow given the seven-year annual rate rise that was introduced in Maitland last year.

The bottom line is that Dungog council has kept its rates too low for too long.

Now the task for Dungog councillors will be to work out a way forward.

The state government has made it clear that unsustainable councils would have to change to become fit for the future.

Dungog will lodge a proposal to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal outlining how it will improve and a significant rate rise is on the cards for their community. 

IPART rejected the council’s request for an extended deadline, despite Dungog having been hit by a natural disaster in April.

While Maitland’s decision not to merge leaves Dungog in a hole, the job of Maitland councillors is to look after the ratepayers of this city first. In this case, that’s exactly what they’ve done.

City rejects Dungog merger

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