Cootamundra-Gundagai council left in 'limbo' 12 months after independence day demerger: mayor

Then-local government minister Wendy Tuckerman made the decision to demerge the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council (CGRC) on August 24 last year, but 12 months later Cootamundra-Gundagai mayor Charlie Sheahan said the progress has been slow.

CRGC councillors agreed this week to submit several motions to the November state conference, including one seeking assurances from the government it would continue the work of its predecessor in demerging the council in time for the local government elections in September 2024.

"We're in limbo," Cr Sheahan said, adding that it was "difficult on staff" while they are caught in the interim period.

"We have some roles that are in interim positions, including our general manager, because we're not in a place to offer permanent positions.

"That leaves the whole organisation a little vulnerable because a lot of these interim positions are only in place under the act for 12 months."

Despite this, the mayor said the council is "doing everything possible on the ground as an organisation to be efficient and deliver the services in the best way possible."

IN OTHER NEWS:

In some good news, the council is about to post its first surplus since the amalgamation in 2016, which Cr Sheahan believes is a great sign heading towards the split.

"It's really important we have a good financial base going into the demerger process because it's imperative that we succeed," he said.

With the change of government at this year's state election, Cr Sheahan said he appreciates the new minister for local government Ron Hoenig has inherited the demerger and expressed faith that he is working in the council's best interest.

"He doesn't want to set us up for failure," the mayor said.

"With all due respect, he has to get it right and he's not rushing anything, that's for sure."

Under an amendment to the Local Government Act, the state government is required to fund demerging councils within a 10-year period.

Meanwhile, the Snowy Valleys Council is in the final stages before it submits its business case to minister Hoenig, triggering a process that could ultimately lead to a second Riverina council demerger.

"We will be submitting our demerger [business case] in two weeks time," Snowy Valleys mayor Ian Chaffey said.

"Under the legislation, the minister will refer that to the Local Government Boundaries Commission, who will make a decision on that."

Once the Boundaries Commission has provided its report to Mr Hoenig, he will have 48 hours to publicly release the findings and 28 days to make a decision whether to support or deny the demerger.

With Cootamundra-Gundagai the first council to be granted a demerger since the forced mergings in 2016, Cr Chaffey said the Snowy Valleys may benefit from their experience.

"Cootamundra-Gundagai is still in the transition period of determining how the demerger is going to happen and what the costs will be," he said.

He hopes the Snowy Valleys will "learn a lot from the process being embarked upon by Cootamundra-Gundagai."

Speaking recently with Mr Hoenig, Cr Chaffey said the government indicated funding the council's demerger may be an issue at the moment.

"The Labor government indicated to us through Minister Hoenig that... it wasn't in a position at this point in time to provide funds for that purpose," he said.

But Tumut Community Association president Christine Webb said the demerger needs to happen as soon as possible.

Citing University of Newcastle professor Joseph Drew's business case report into a demerger, Ms Webb said "demergers should occur in a timely way, because there has been far too much heartache and disruption to the communities of the Snowy Valleys Council area."

"We believe the financial situation could possibly get worse if the de-amalgamation doesn't happen and we have already suffered from an unbelievable increase in rates," she said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: