Willoughby Council has endorsed a draft submission to the New South Wales Council Boundary Review proposing a merger between Willoughby Council and North Sydney Council.
Last June, Council launched a business case to remain a stand-alone council, however it was found “unfit” by IPART’s Fit for the Future assessment criteria on the basis of scale and capacity, despite meeting financial criteria.
Council subsequently nominated a voluntary merger proposal with North Sydney Council to achieve that scale and capacity.
The submission, prepared by Delegate, Ian Reynolds, examines the projected pros and cons of a merger, following extensive community feedback.
A major concern addressed was that larger wards and local government areas will increase the cost of campaigning and inhibit opportunities for independent candidates – cited as a tradition in both Willoughby and North Sydney Councils.
Options were presented for a number of Wards to address further community concerns regarding local representation.
Also included in the report is commentary on the veracity of estimated savings and a recommendation of due diligence for the merging entities to independently establish their financial, liability, risk and asset baselines at the time of the merger.
The submission was approved by Council last night and has now been forwarded to Council’s General Manager to finalise.
Submissions from all NSW Councils are due this Sunday 28 February.
