WAKOOL Shire Council is aiming to put a tumultuous three months behind it in what is being described as a “new era” for the organisation.
Mayor, Cr Neil Gorey’s opening statement at the first official council meeting of 2016 on Wednesday focused on moving forward following the loss of two councillors and the sacking of a general manager.
Former representatives, Anthony Jackson and Colin Membrey recently resigned from their roles and the remaining councillors deciding to terminate general manager, Bruce Graham’s contract by the end of the month.
“For a period of time, this council has not been able to wholly fulfil its function and attend community concerns,” Cr Gorey said.
“The current council had been aware for a long time that the interests of the community were not being met, and that the council was not functioning in a way that those needs could be met.
“We are pleased to put these issues behind us.”
Adding to the past pressures has been the New South Wales Government-supported merger proposal that would see the Murray and Wakool shires merge.
Cr Gorey, speaking on behalf of fellow councillors Ann Crowe, Katarni Lipp, Lois Lockhart and recently-elected representative, David Landini, urged the merger process to be halted to enable KPMG data used to support the amalgamation to be assessed.
“The merger process is fundamentally flawed, as it is based on factual errors and outdated information,” he said.
“The KPMG figures quote the 2013/2014 financial statements for a backlog of capital expenditure for infrastructure of $53 million, whereas the correct figure should be $157,000 as per the 2014/2015 financial statement. This is a vast difference.
“In fact, the merger should not go ahead in the first instance considering that an outcome of the NSW Government’s Fit for the Future process found Wakool Shire Council to be ‘fit’ to stand alone as a ‘Rural Council’ by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.”
