BY LIBBY BINGHAM 15 Jul, 2011 12:00 AMFRESH from a tough budget and setting rates, Burnie Mayor Alvwyn Boyd and Devonport Mayor Lynn Laycock say it was time to talk council amalgamations again.
"If we did have three councils across the region there would have to be fair representation from each area to ensure all the potholes get fixed," Ald Boyd said.
However, his view is the $1.5 million currently paid in allowances to mayors, deputy mayors and councillors across nine North-West councils is a reason to talk about mergers in itself.
Ald Laycock said she had "always been in favour of amalgamations".
Her deputy, Grant Goodwin, said if you drive from Devonport to Ulverstone to Sheffield to Shearwater and back to Devonport it's only a two-hour trip across four council areas.
"It's very clear if those four councils were one body you do away with a few general managers with a combined salary of somewhere around $600,000," he said.
Ald Goodwin favours a greater Mersey council as a first step encompassing Devonport, Latrobe and Kentish with the latter two already sharing their general manager.
Ald Goodwin felt it was demographically logical to include Ulverstone as well.
"The simple fact is we have seen how smaller councils in Tasmania do not have the rate base to maintain the services they need - and in all fairness we have finished up with water and sewerage reform because the smaller councils didn't have that ratepayer base to pay for treatment plants and infrastructure," he said.
Ald Goodwin said Burnie, Waratah-Wynyard and Circular Head could also merge into one council.
"West Coast and King Island may still stand alone ... you've got 29 councils in Tasmania and in the Cradle Coast region you could bring it down from nine to four."
Going back to the ward system would ensure the smaller councils received fair representation on a bigger council, Ald Goodwin said.
He said increasing resource sharing would not deliver the same savings to be gained from amalgamations.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
"If we did have three councils across the region there would have to be fair representation from each area to ensure all the potholes get fixed," Ald Boyd said.
However, his view is the $1.5 million currently paid in allowances to mayors, deputy mayors and councillors across nine North-West councils is a reason to talk about mergers in itself.
Ald Laycock said she had "always been in favour of amalgamations".
Her deputy, Grant Goodwin, said if you drive from Devonport to Ulverstone to Sheffield to Shearwater and back to Devonport it's only a two-hour trip across four council areas.
"It's very clear if those four councils were one body you do away with a few general managers with a combined salary of somewhere around $600,000," he said.
Ald Goodwin favours a greater Mersey council as a first step encompassing Devonport, Latrobe and Kentish with the latter two already sharing their general manager.
Ald Goodwin felt it was demographically logical to include Ulverstone as well.
"The simple fact is we have seen how smaller councils in Tasmania do not have the rate base to maintain the services they need - and in all fairness we have finished up with water and sewerage reform because the smaller councils didn't have that ratepayer base to pay for treatment plants and infrastructure," he said.
Ald Goodwin said Burnie, Waratah-Wynyard and Circular Head could also merge into one council.
"West Coast and King Island may still stand alone ... you've got 29 councils in Tasmania and in the Cradle Coast region you could bring it down from nine to four."
Going back to the ward system would ensure the smaller councils received fair representation on a bigger council, Ald Goodwin said.
He said increasing resource sharing would not deliver the same savings to be gained from amalgamations.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
- Send your letters to the editor, The Advocate, PO Box 63, Burnie, Tasmania 7320 or email letters@theadvocate.com.au
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