The fate of this city has been under a cloud since a merger with Dungog Shire Council was first touted as part of the government’s Fit for the Future local government reform package a couple of years ago.

It’s been widely accepted that Maitland City, which is in the middle of a seven-year-rate increase, is able to thrive on its own into the future.

But Dungog Shire appears to have been a spanner in the government’s works.

Dungog needs to merge with another local government area, but the decision of which council it should amalgamate with is proving to be a tricky one.

The merger was taken off the table, officially, last December, only for the government to revive the plan less than three months later.

Gloucester was briefly considered as a merger partner, but it quickly found other friends in Greater Taree and Great Lakes, which have since formed Mid Coast Council.

Port Stephens Council wants to merge with Dungog, but while this would get Maitland off the hook, the state government originally wanted it to merge with Newcastle City.

It’s obviously a complicated situation.

But communities across the Hunter have been through public consultations, changes to plans, public forums and uncertainty for long enough.

It’s reached the point that, as the Mercury reported today, Maitland councillors appear to be losing their enthusiasm for the job.

And who could blame them? Their are reaching the end of a long four-year term with their hands tied – unable to bring anything to the table other than ordinary, day-to-day items.

While a couple of big projects like The Levee upgrade will continue, the representatives are ham-strung from starting anything new until the government decides this city’s fate.

And as their colleagues in Cessnock and other council areas, which are not being considered for amalgamations, prepare for elections later this month, most Hunter area councillors don't know when the will be running for their positions again.

A decision needs to be made so the wheels of democracy can regain some traction rather than digging further into the ground.