An independent report which formed the basis of Maitland City Council’s rejection of a merger with Dungog Shire Council could become a defence for the city against future forced amalgamations, Maitland mayor Peter Blackmore says.
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Maitland councillors unanimously voted against a merger with Dungog at an extraordinary meeting on Monday night.
Dungog councillors also voted against a merger earlier in the day.
The decision was based on an independent business case prepared by consultancy firm Morrison Low, which found that a merger between Maitland and Dungog would not be viable.
Scale, funding shortfalls, disparity in rates and councillor representation were among several major issues that made a merger undesirable, according to the report.
Maitland has the capacity to remain a stand alone council.
But the Independent Local Government Review Panel recommended a merger because of Dungog’s financial problems, as part of the state government’s Fit for the Future reforms.
At last night’s meeting, the Cr Blackmore said the Morrison Low report would provide a defence for Maitland if a future government decided to force mergers between councils.
“This process was part of a legal requirement for self assessment,” he said. “It’s a very good report and a lot of that can be attributed to the decisions made by council and, most importantly, the work of staff.
“Should any future government decide that it wishes to enforce amalgamations, we have a report we can show that substantiates our decision in the best interests of the people of this city.”
Cr Ken Wethered said Maitland was full of people who would help their neighbours if they could.
But he said a merger with Dungog would be a grave mistake for Maitland.
“We are about keeping local local,” Cr Wethered said.
Cr Arch Humphery said he was concerned that the state government would still prefer a merger between the councils because Dungog would not be deemed fit for the future.
Cr Philip Penfold said the report noted that a merger would cost significantly more than the amount of financial support the government had offered.
He also said increasing the population and geographical size of a council through a merger would potentially dilute representation of the community.
“From any way you look at it, [a merger] is not in Maitland’s best interest,” Cr Penfold said.
Cr Henry Meskauskas said there had been concern in the community that a merger could mean another rate hike, only a year after Maitland introduced a seven-year annual rate rise.
Cr Bob Geoghegan said the independent report confirmed that Maitland council was lean and gave ratepayers good value for their money.
Maitland and Dungog will each send their Fit for the Future proposals to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, which will determine whether the councils meet the criteria to remain stand-alone entities.
