Teamwork between councils in the Hunter could become the benchmark for other regional areas under the state government’s proposed local government reforms.
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Hunter Councils, formed 60 years ago to unite the region’s leaders after the 1955 flood, has applied to be one of four Joint Organisations to participate in an 18-month pilot program.
Joint Organisations will be groups of neighbouring councils that share resources and plan on a regional scale.
Hunter Councils chairman, the mayor of Maitland, Cr Peter Blackmore said the organisation would be a good fit for the pilot program because it had already been doing what the government had proposed for many years.
He said that Hunter Councils, made up of 11 local governments from Lake Macquarie in the south to Great Lakes in the north, had lodged an application to be one of the pilot groups.
“I believe we have been recognised as leaders for what we have been doing here for a number of years,” Cr Blackmore said.
“This means we will be recognised by the Office of Local Government.
“It gives us a stronger voice.
“We are able to talk directly to the government, particularly the Department of Planning.”
The government plans to roll out Joint Organisations across NSW by September, 2016, but first it will run the pilot program to iron out any kinks.
Signing up to be the program will mean $300,000 to help with establishment costs and an ongoing funding agreement for Hunter Councils.
Cr Blackmore said he believed that Hunter Councils’ model of having mayors from each member council as board members was most appropriate.
“I’m very keen to see Hunter Councils become an entity in its own right as council of mayors,” he said.
“There will be financial advantages for councils of the Hunter in coming together.”
The Office of Local Government will develop guidelines for Joint Organisations based on the pilot program, which is expected to begin early next year.