Armidale Dumaresq Council dropped a bombshell into the Fit for the Future amalgamation debate late yesterday with a call for the state government to reconsider a four-way merger amalgamating Armidale with Uralla, Guyra and Walcha.
Armidale Dumaresq Council said the current proposal to merge with Guyra would not provide any substantial value above the current shared services model currently undertaken.
In a surprise move the Armidale mayor said he’d asked local government minister Paul Toole to reconsider their desire for a four-way amalgamation.
“Council acknowledges the government’s position on mergers, but strongly believes a merger proposal that includes Uralla and Walcha will strengthen the New England Region and will have a higher level of community support into the future,” Armidale Dumaresq mayor Herman Beyersdorf said.
Cr Beyersdorf told The Leader he thought a merger solely with Guyra was the wrong way to go and was a job half done.
The Armidale mayor also said the four-way merger would get the region to around 40,000 residents, which he saw as a critical mass in terms of financial benefit.
Cr Beyersdorf is set to speak at the boundary commission’s public inquiry in Armidale tomorrow but said he did not anticipate a big turnout from the Armidale public. “I might be wrong, but I think there would be less than 60,” he said.
Meanwhile, Guyra mayor Hans Hietbrink is expecting a very big turnout for their public inquiry tomorrow morning.
“We have in excess of 30 people registered to speak,” he said.
“I understand the two sessions in Armidale have very few people registered to speak.”
The Guyra mayor said the speakers would be sending a “very clear message” about where the shire stands on amalgamation.
Cr Hietbrink said Guyra remains opposed to any merger and wanted to continue as an autonomous council.
“I will be putting forward a strong case as to why Guyra should remain independent,” he said.
Financial inaccuracies in the proposal were the biggest concern for Cr Hietbrink who said some figures were taken from 2013-14 data.
The Guyra mayor said the shire’s infrastructure backlog was listed at $18 million but he said it was audited at $7 million in 2014-15 data.
Cr Hietbrink cast doubt over a number of facts and figures saying they were “very, very spurious”.
“The report was cobbled together to show that Guyra and Armidale would be better off together,” he said.
He was aware of a few businesses closing down to ensure the inquiry was well attended, but also said a number of employers were allowing staff to go along.