Mayors and general managers from Northern Midlands, West Tamar and Meander Valley Councils met on 1 April to discuss Local Government reform, having had individual discussions regarding voluntary amalgamations and resource sharing with Tasmanian Treasurer and Minister for Planning and Local Government Peter Gutwein in February.
The councils agreed that the process should first commence with a benchmarking exercise of financial and service delivery measures for each council using an independent consultant with Local Government experience.
All three mayors have said it is unlikely that their Councils would support voluntary amalgamations but have agreed to enter into more formal discussions about identifying strategic, shared service opportunities.
West Tamar Council Mayor Christina Holmdahl said, “If shared service delivery is the way to proceed, benchmarking will provide us with the opportunity to set goals and determine which services should be considered.”
Meander Valley Council Mayor Craig Perkins said that changes must be in the best interests of our ratepayers and communities.
Northern Midlands Mayor David Downie said, “We are three similar sized councils, operating on a lower cost-base compared to city Councils.
“Our ratepayers have similar expectations of service delivery, making it easier to benchmark and identify resource-sharing opportunities.”
