ARMIDALE Regional Council’s 15-month long administration period is a “bit of a pity” according to one former mayor, as the state opposition calls for merged councils to go to the polls in 2016.
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The comment from the last mayor of Armidale Dumaresq Council, Herman Beyersdorf, comes as the NSW opposition heaped pressure on the government to bring forward amalgamated council elections from the proclaimed September 2017 date.
“Personally, while I have been a supporter of mergers in the area, I do think that such a long period of administration is a little bit of a pity,” Mr Beyersdorf said.
The former councillor said an election date around March 2017 had been suggested during the process, which he said would be more “pragmatic”.
“In the lead up, we were ready for March 2017 which was mentioned in some releases,” he said.
“There’s enough time to get the two former councils together.”
However, former Guyra councillor Dot Vickery argued that the administration process should be longer.
“It should be two years, so they have enough time to get it sorted,” she said. “Everyone was against amalgamation. “We’ve come to this position and the administration should be given enough time to do it.”
Opposition spokesman for local government Peter Primrose said the government’s amalgamation program had been a “dog’s breakfast” and called for elections to be held at the same time across the state.
“There is absolutely no reason why a mayor and local councillors in a merged council cannot be elected at the same time as non-merged councils,” Mr Primrose said.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said the elections had been proclaimed for September 2017 and didn’t see a mechanism for bringing them forward.
Mr Marshall said the first term of the new council will be just three years in order to bring it back in sync with the rest of the state by 2020.