MAYOR John Rosenbaum has expressed fears for the future of the Gloucester Shire after the NSW government announced its response to a three-year review into local government in the State.
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Premier Mike Baird and Local Government Minister Paul Toole last week announced councils would be offered more than a quarter of a billion dollars in incentives to merge as part of the government’s Fit for the Future package.
The package includes $105 million for regional councils that decide to merge.
Former Premier Barry O’Farrell made a 2011 election pledge of no forced council amalgamations, so none of the mergers would be forced.
But the State’s 152 councils will be given financial and governance incentives to merge under the new plan.
Councils will have until June 30 next year to submit a proposal on how they plan to be Fit for the Future.
Cr Rosenbaum said he was unsure what that would mean for Gloucester Shire Council’s proposed special rate variation, which the mayor and general manager have spent the past 12 months spruiking to ratepayers.
He said it also did not bode well for the future independence of the shire, with a merger or forced amalgamation now looking an increasingly likely scenario.
The NSW government has hinted that it will reassess its position on forced amalgamations after next year’s State election.
The State government will offer $5 million to any two regional councils that choose to merge under its Fit for the Future package.
That figure will increase to $11 million if there are three councils involved in the merger and $13.5 million for any four councils that merge.
An analysis by the Department of Local Government showed last year that two-thirds of NSW councils were running combined deficits exceeding $400 million.
Gloucester Shire Council has moved a motion to apply for a special rate variation of 18 per cent, cumulative over five years from the start of the 2015-16 financial year.
The council is struggling to overcome a $74 million backlog of capital works.
The proposed special rate variation would generate $36.3 million in additional income for the council, which would be spent on improving local roads.