A veiled threat of dismissal is likely to persuade Maitland councillors to rethink their staunch stand against a merger with Dungog Shire Council.
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Both councils will hold extraordinary meetings on Monday evening ahead of final the Fit For The Future deadline to decide whether they will continue to dig their heels in against a joint venture or go along with the state government’s recommendation that they should merge.
But growing speculation that non-compliant councils could be sacked and replaced with administrators has put Maitland City between a rock and a hard place.
A letter Local Government Minister Paul Toole sent to all mayors across the state last Wednesday stopped short of directly threatening councils into amalgamations.
However, Mr Toole wrote that if councils agreed to merge they would be allowed to “serve the community until the end of their current term”.
The mayor of Maitland, Cr Peter Blackmore, said councillors would not necessarily vote against a merger on Monday.
While he said a merger would be totally wrong, he believed it would be better to vote for the amalgamation if it meant councillors had some control over the path ahead.
Cr Blackmore said this was especially important if the government intended to force mergers regardless.
“[The government] could turn up on our doorstep and say: ‘Maitland council you are dismissed’,” he said.
“I believe it’s wrong, but I don’t want to see any of my councillors dismissed. I would much rather us be a part of the decision making process.”
Cr Blackmore said if Maitland councillors voted for a merger it would give them the chance to negotiate a condition that the city’s ratepayers should not fund the amalgamation.
He also said he believed the government should provide the money necessary to get Dungog out of its financial hole.
“I am leaning towards the opinion that the government will force a merger,” he said.
In his report to councillors, Dungog general manager Craig Deasey said the Independent Pricing and Regulartory Tribunal’s assessment of Maitland had been farcical.
Mr Deasey has not recommended a course of action, but has left it to the elected councillors to decide what Dungog’s final stance should be.
IPART deemed Maitland and Dungog councils to be unfit for the future last month.
While it was no surprise that Dungog council did not reach the required benchmarks to remain a sole entity, many were shocked that Maitland was also found to be unfit.
An independent assessment earlier this year, performed by a firm that the government had recommended, found that Maitland would meet all Fit For The Future benchmarks. Despite this, IPART ruled that Maitland met only four of five criteria and was not fit to remain solo.
The government is expected to make its final ruling next month.
