WAGGA City Council (WWCC) has reiterated its stance to continue as a standalone council amid the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) releasing a draft report on how it plans to assess Fit For The Future (FFTF) proposals.
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Mayor Rod Kendall confirmed both WWCC and Lockhart Shire Council resolved not to merge with one another as recommended in the independent review of local government, opting to remain as standalone councils.
However, Cr Kendall expected WWCC’s participation in a pilot Joint Organisation with the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra, Greater Hume, Gundagai, Junee, Lockhart, Temora, Tumbarumba, Tumut, Urana, Wagga Wagga, Goldenfields Water and Riverina Water) to improve regulation and strategic planning in the region.
It follows an IPART forum in Wagga yesterday, with nearly 100 people from 20 councils discussing its paper on how it proposes to assess council applications for FFTF.
Applications will be measured against four criteria: scale and capacity to engage effectively across community, industry and government; sustainability; effectively managing infrastructure and delivering services for our community; and efficiency.
“This draft paper puts out into the public sphere our proposed way of using those criteria (to determine) whether councils are fit or not fit," IPART CEO Hugo Harmstorf said. “We will just be telling the minister these councils are fit and these ones are not, what the minister chooses to do with (our) findings is not in out terms of reference."
Mr Harmstorf asked that councils look at the proposals in the independent local government review to analyse the merits of the recommendations.
“The government has announced if council proposes a merger then there will be additional financial assistance for that council,” he said. “The government has also said if a council wants to increase rates above the rate peg each year there will be a streamlined process for doing that.”
Submissions into the draft report close on May 25 and the final report will be released on June 1.
Councils then have until July 31 to make proposals and they will be assessed until the end of August ahead of the final decision in October.
