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Is it time to form one Northern Beaches Council?

12/11/2014

10 Comments

 
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The debate has started in earnest:  Should Manly, Warringah and Pittwater merge into one Northern Beaches Council?

Size matters. That's the message from the State Government which is pushing for councils across NSW to merge into bigger, "stronger" groupings. The government report on the matter, from the Independent Local Government Review Panel, has recommended huge cuts to the number of councils operating in Sydney and across the state. Instead of the existing 41 Sydney councils, the reports says we should have less than 20.

And instead of our current three Northern Beaches councils ­ Manly, Warringah and Pittwater ­ the report says we should have just one.

But it's not that easy. While Warringah Council supports the amalgamation scheme, both Manly and Pittwater are opposed.

What Does Future Hold for Manly Council?
The first preference for Manly and Pittwater councils is to stay as they are. But if that's not possible, the two councils want to split Warringah and take half each, something Warringah Mayor Michael Regan describes as "laughable".  Cr Regan says Warringah Council is the best performing council in the Northern Beaches region, so it should be the last one on the chopping block.

It's also the heavy­weight of the group, with a population of 140,000, compared with 40,000 in Manly and 57,000 in Pittwater.

However a division of Warringah, using Warringah Rd as the boundary, would mean local council areas would be more in line with State and Federal government electoral divisions. And should an area the size of the Northern Beaches, which supports two Federal Government and two State Government seats, have only one local government body?

Supporters of Manly Council's bid to remain independent, also point to the 8 million tourists that visit Manly every year, massively boosting our nominal 40,000 population.

Current Financial Position Strong
As well, Manly's financial situation is strong. An independent audit of Manly's finances, presented to Council this week (10/11/14) gave the council a clean bill of health. The report from accounting firm Hill Rogers Spencer Steer said Council's books and records were well kept and up to date. It had an operating surplus of $4.6 million, and has good liquidity with available working capital of $1 million and $2.75 available for every $1 of debt.

Manly Mayor Jean Hay said only 32, out of the 152 councils in NSW, were endorsed as financially sustainable, and Manly was one of those. "Small councils can be just as strong financially as big councils," Cr Hay said.

And while the State Government has so far ruled out forced amalgamation, it is ramping up the pressure. Each council has until the end of June next year, to come up with a plan for "future co­operation with neighbouring councils". If not, they risk losing access to subsidised loans and government grants.

Would bigger councils mean more efficient government and greater political clout? Or less access to local representation and a weaker sense of local identity?  What do you think?

10 Comments
John
13/11/2014 11:41:42 pm

The current financial position may be strong but for Manly council to be viable it is the FUTURE cash flows re the debt etc that is critical and the funding of the debt.
I also estimate that there would be over 400,000 tones to be moved out of Manly Oval thats 20,000 truckloads up sydney Rd .Jean has to think outside the circle

Reply
Mike
14/11/2014 12:04:34 am

I cannot understand why the Premier Mike Baird is allowing the Manly Plan 2015 & The Manly underground oval to proceed prior to the council amalgamations .The costs for these projects will easily blow out by 30 % in excess of $50 million and if there is an amalgamation of Manly Council with Mosman, Warringah or a segment of Warringah Council their ratepayers will be stuck with the major items of capital expenditure , a crippling debt and the blow out of costs incurred by Manly Council .Premier Mike Baird should put on hold and freeze the two major projects until the subsequent council amalgamations and then the ratepayers that will carry the burden shall have the opportunity to vote on the projects .That’s what a democracy is all about .

Reply
Edmund link
14/11/2014 01:00:15 am

Totally agree with Mike in his comments on the Manly 2015 plan. Jean Hay has a fixation on getting this plan through despite our residential vocal objections - the borrowings are huge and we ratepayers (who are already being stung for excessive amounts) would be totally unable to bear the 'failure 'costs of the project which we object to anyway

Reply
David
14/11/2014 01:19:14 am

Manly Council Councillors and employees have a major conflict of interest in not actively moving towards a merge of three. It is so obvious that it should occur. A merge would be great and hopefully we would get rid of all the deadwood and incompetence at manly council.

Reply
Robert
14/11/2014 02:42:59 am

Merging the 3 beaches councils is not going far enough. All the councils north of the harbour & east of the Pacific highway should be merged into one council. With that size & power, real things can be achieved.
One can see the results of a big council at work when one visits Brisbane. They get big infrastructure projects done efficiently & in a timely manner..

Reply
Mike A
14/11/2014 03:39:02 am

If a major council is formed Warringah Council should be the management council as they have strategically positioned themselves for growth , their administration ,finances are efficient & sustainable .
David Hay and the liberals commenced management at Manly Council in 1967 therefore it has taken them 45 years to realise what the problems are yet alone have a viable cost effective solution

Reply
Judi LeVine
14/11/2014 09:09:14 am

For any merger plan I would be concerned about opportunities for local input and local integrity. I am concerned that Manly, the smallest of the Councils and the most impacted by tourism already, could become a "sacrificial lamb" to tourism without due consideration of the residents who wish to maintain the amenity of their homes. How could we be sure that our local interests would be considered in a large merged Council?

Reply
Roger Dawson
17/11/2014 06:33:39 am

A 'Northern Beaches Council' could be a good thing considering the possibility of economies of scale. It would be a good opportunity to have a spill of permanent positions in each council and hold a competitive, merit selection process, which is well over due.

Reply
Rosi
12/11/2015 03:34:32 pm

I believe that it's time that all 3 northern beaches merge. I lived in the Sutherland Shire Council area - which looks after a huge area & population with no problems. We need to spend our rates on services & infrastructure not on council staff salaries. We just need to make sure that whatever the council structure looks like, it's not controlled by property developers.

Reply
Terisa Haman
5/5/2016 11:31:22 am

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Reply



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    Candy Bingham, Manly Ward Councillor on Northern Beaches Council posts what's making news and issues relevant to Manly on this blog. 

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