Association chair Colleen Graham said she thought it was a very positive meeting that answered the many questions the 80 or so people turned up with.

“The general manager, Paul Henry, introduced himself and gave an opening address, and I think in explaining how council administers to other outlying villages in their area that that allayed a lot of fears,” Mrs Graham said.

“Everyone I know has been running scared of what the rates are going to be. Paul Henry gave a comparison for a residential block at Gilgai to Tingha and in actual fact Tingha was higher.

“I think there was a concern that the Tingha landfill would close, but that’s not a decision for council to make, it’s the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Mr Henry said seven councillors including the mayor attended the meeting held at the Sport and Recreation Club on Monday, July 11, which was not about making promises and offering any inducements.  

“It was only a statement about how Inverell shire operates in terms of its interaction with villages, the specific funding programs that it has that only villages and village community groups can apply for.

“Those two programs in particular are the village vote and the village sporting and recreational vote.”

Mr Henry said assurances were given that the council depot at Tingha would stay and the residents who worked there would keep their jobs with Inverell council on the same terms and conditions.

On the matter of Tingha retaining its tip, Mr Henry said Inverell shire did not profess to have any understanding of the state of Tingha’s assets.

“We certainly sought to engage Guyra shire through this Fit for the Future process on many occasions and they just rebuffed any dialogue with us,” Mr Henry said.

“They were focussed on being a stand alone council and to do that they needed to retain the Tingha area.”