Published on Friday, 2 December 2022 at 11:59:20 AM
Reforms to the Local Government Act 1995 are underway which include changing the size of councils based on population and the introduction of optional preferential voting.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn invites members of the community to be part of the representation review by having their say on how many Councillors there should be.
“Under the Local Government Reform proposals, municipalities with a population between 5,000 and 75,000 are required to reduce their number of councillors to between five and nine which includes a mayor,” he said.
“Our City region has a population of approximately 40,000 therefore the maximum number of Councillors we can have is set at nine, including the Mayor, which is four less than the 12 Councillors we currently have.
“Given Councillor representation could potentially drop to four, or a quarter of what it currently is, I urge community members to read the City of Greater Geraldton Review of Representation Discussion Paper outlining all the pros and cons regarding a reduced number of Councillors before they have their say.”
Some of the potential advantages to reducing the number of Councillors include a more efficient decision making process and cost reductions whereas some of the disadvantages include less views represented in decision making and the possibility that a particular interest group may become dominant within Council.
The discussion paper is available online here or in hard copy at the Civic Centre at 63 Cathedral Avenue or at the Mullewa District Office at the corner of Thomas and Padbury Streets.
There are a number of ways to have your say in the representation review which include:
The deadline to submit feedback is 4.00pm Wednesday 18 January 2023.
More information on the Councillor Representation Review id available on the City’s website here
Picture Caption: City of Greater Geraldton Council Chambers
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