I recently moved in to a place in Uralla Shire and I know this is an unpopular sentiment, but I think our Council is too small and we should merge. There’s a lack of professionalism and an acceptance of poor services, particularly in the villages and localities that aren’t in Uralla itself, and it’s something I think any commercial manager knows can be addressed with economies of scale. The idea that a village will lose its character or whatever just doesn’t wash with me, and there are plenty of structures like wards and local action committees that can be used to get the benefits of local leadership without the insane cost of a tiny council. I’d certainly rather see a merger proposal than a rates increase proposal that doesn’t get better services for where I live.
QW: Our councils are too small
Jamie, Uralla Shire
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I can sense a rumble in the Guyra jungle with this one…
As someone who grew up overseas, I cannot believe the tiny size of our local councils. To me it is simple economics – if each council has a chief executive on 100k ( I suspect we’ll short of their actual wage) and only 5000 rate payers (not residents but just those who pay so is probaby way a big over estimate) then it is $200 each just for 1 council employee. As stated this number is probably very conservative but illustrates why big councils with economies of scale are logical.
A larger council is in no better position. Many are pulling back.
Snowy Monaro puts bins in villages instead of a collection now. They get abused.
Still cheaper than a collection.
You want subsidies, not economies of scale.
We were in a small council down here at Murrurundi pre 2005, then bob car as premier merged us in with Scone Shire council & it has frankly been not pretty ever since, better since the last round of local govt elections, but it’s been a long time coming and a dam long way to go to be good.
They tell me Armidale council is well not good from what I hear and saw as an ex Armidale university student, who lived on campus.
Hi Jamie if you are comparing a regional shire to an urban or city council, then yes, there are some different levels of service due to dispersed populations. As someone who has lived in both Uralla and Armidale Regional LGAs, I don’t think you would find it much different, if say, Uralla merged with ARC. Uralla Shire Council punches above its weight in a lot of ways. It might be helpful for you to get involved and see where you might be able to make a difference.