GRIFFITH City Council will remain a stand-alone council.
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Minister for Local Government Paul Toole revealed Griffith would not be forced to merge with Murrumbidgee Shire Council.
Griffith Mayor John Dal Broi welcomed the proposal.
“Griffith City Council met the seven Fit for the Future benchmarks set out by the NSW Government, and we were surprised by the initial finding by the Independent and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) that we were ‘unfit’,” he said.
“The decision to essentially leave us be cements what we have been conveying to the community all along – we are fit, we are viable, and we are sustainable.”
Griffith City Council was initially found to be ‘unfit’ as it did not meet the scale and capacity criteria.
General manager Brett Stonestreet said councillors, senior management and staff had worked very hard over the last few years to put Griffith City Council in a sound position.
“We were very surprised by the initial IPART report as we ticked all the boxes,” he said.
“Today’s (Friday) announcement by Minister Toole clearly demonstrates as a stand-alone council, Griffith City Council will continue to be financially sound.
“Most importantly for residents, council will continue to provide the local services that our community value.”
Although Murrumbidgee Shire wasn’t forced to merge with Griffith, they will be joining forces with another council.
It will instead combine with the top half of Jerilderie (Coleambally Irrigation Area with the border set for Yanco Creek). Murrumbidgee Shire Council residents were unanimous in their decision to “stand alone” in their Fit for the Future endeavours when Murrumbidgee Shire Council held a meeting on the matter last month.
Mayor Austin Evans was “comfortable” with the decision handed down. “I don’t think we’ll be protesting that decision,” he said.
“The people I have talked to so far are quite happy with the outcome.”
Councillor numbers are still up for discussion.
“There’s been a mention of having an odd number of councillors, which I quite like,” he said.
“That’s something that will have to be resolved over the next period of time.”
In regional NSW, 20 new councils were proposed, which would bring the total number of regional councils down from 109 to 87.
