Council merger delay 'disappointing', Maitland and Dungog mayors say

Councils earmarked for a possible merger will have to wait until at least March, 2018, for an election if pending legal action between some councils and the state government is not resolved by the end of November.

The Office of Local Government sent a letter to affected councils, including Dungog Shire and Maitland City, last week after advice from the NSW Electoral Commissioner.

It means the fates of Maitland, Dungog, Port Stephens and Newcastle – which all have pending merger proposals – could remain uncertain for years.

Cr Harold Johnston and Cr Blackmore, the respective mayors of Dungog and Maitland, criticised the government on Wednesday for keeping their councils in an uncertain position.

“It’s very unfair on staff, it’s very unfair on the community and it’s very unfair on councillors,” Cr Johnston said.

“Just get on with it. We are not doing much because we can’t be doing much. Other councils have been allowed to get on with life.

“This is like being in the twilight zone.”

Cr Blackmore said he was “very disappointed” at news that an election in Maitland could be in 2018 at the earliest.

He said he supported the reduction in the number of councils across the state.

But when asked if the process had taken longer than he expected, Cr Blackmore replied: “absolutely”.

“The amount of time shows this hasn’t been thought out sufficiently,” he said.

“We are still sitting there.”

In a statement released after news of the letters broke on Tuesday, Local Government Minister Paul Toole said the government was “keen for elections for new councils to occur as soon as possible”.

“This is not ideal, but councils that have had cases heard in the Land and Environment Court have elected to exercise their entitlement to appeal,” he said.

“It is my preference that councillors be elected to the newly created councils sooner rather than later.”