RATEPAYERS will soon decide for themselves if Wakool Shire Council is financially fit to continue as a standalone municipality.
The neutral poll of all Wakool Shire ratepayers, which will be posted in early March, will give the community a voice on the proposed merger with the neighbouring Murray Shire, as part of the New South Wales Government’s Fit for the Future initiative.
But, mayor, Cr Neil Gorey, who convened an extraordinary meeting at the shire’s Moulamein offices on Monday, said council would continue to fight against the merger after it was declared fit to stand alone as a rural municipality by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal in October.
Recommendations for council to instigate a marketing campaign to engage the community on the pros and cons of the merger, to obtain specialist advice and to engage consultants in relation to council’s response to the merger proposal, at a total cost of up to $75,000, were also unanimously supported on Monday.
The proposed municipality – which would span the Murray River from Mathoura to Tooleybuc – will cater for 11,400 residents and generate a $20 million total financial benefit during its first 20 years.
Shire’s acting general manager, Lea Rosser said mounting a full legal challenge would not be in council’s best financial interest.
“One of the things that would support council quite strongly is the poll,” she said.
“What the poll would do is give a really strong indication of how the community feels from the heart; whether it agrees with the merger or not.”
Ms Rosser said a working party of senior council officers will be formed to draft a response to the Boundaries Commission for council’s consideration.
Cr Gorey said council has no option but to fight the proposed merger.
“To suddenly find ourselves merged with Murray…we don’t know where this has come from. In fact, the possibility of a merger with Murray Shire itself was never proposed to council at any point throughout the process,” he said.
“I’m certainly concerned about the loss of staff overtime, and our smaller towns of Wakool and Moulamein would suffer.”
Councillors and managers from both shires will meet at Tooleybuc next week to discuss the proposed amalgamation.
