Minister for Local Government Paul Toole this week sent 35 council merger proposals to the Office of Local Government for examination.

Under the plans, a joint Wollongong/Shellharbour council would be responsible for infrastructure and service delivery to about 276,000 residents. However, that figure is forecast to reach 316,000 by 2031. 

Wollongong City Council currently has 13 councillors covering an area of 684 square kilometres, while Shellharbour’s 147sq km is represented by 7 councillors.

A combined council would have 13 councillors – a ratio of one to every 21,197 residents.

Further south, Kiama residents are likely to be feeling shortchanged by the plan to join their 258sq km council with the much-larger Shoalhaven City Council (4567sq km). 

The new Kiama/Shoalhaven council – with a population of about 120,000 – would be served by 13 councillors, or one for every 9200 residents.  

Currently, Kiama has nine councillors (one per 2368 residents) and Shoalhaven has 13 (one per 7,617 residents). 

“While the proposed merger will increase the ratio of residents to elected councillors, the ratio, based on councillor numbers in the existing councils, is likely to be similar to those currently experienced in other NSW councils, such as Blacktown City Council,” the merger proposal said.

The government says the community can have their say on the structure of merged council via a public consultation process.

“There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and we have recognised that each community area in NSW is unique,” Mr Toole said. 

The proposals also spruik “common characteristics and connections” in each merged council.

Delegates will be assigned to examine and report on each proposal.

The reports, which include “the attitude of residents and ratepayers”, will be sent to Mr Toole and the independent Boundaries Commission for determination.

Written submissions will be accepted until February 28 at councilboundaryreview.nsw.gov.au. 

Shellharbour mayor Marianne Saliba has expressed further outrage over a mooted merger with Wollongong, saying the state government is “absolutely ripping the guts out” of her community.  

Three weeks have now passed since the amalgamation plan, dubbed at the time as a “nasty Christmas present”, was delivered on December 18.

However, time hasn’t helped heal the pain felt by Cr Saliba or her colleagues – and more detail about the merger, like the potential make-up of a new council, hasn’t either.

“Right now Shellharbour has seven councillors that live in our city, making decisions for the people of Shellharbour,” she said.

“If this merger proposal goes ahead  … we might get three councillors for our area. Three out of (the proposed) 13 leaves Shellharbour as a minority; this isn’t a merger, this is a takeover.

“The state government are just absolutely ripping the guts out of the people of Shellharbour … they haven’t provided any genuine evidence to say what the benefits of this are going to be.”

Under the NSW Local Government Act, a maximum of 15 elected councillors is permitted.

“If it [the government] was going to go down that path of merging, then I would want to see an increased number of councillors to adequately represent an increased population,” Wollongong lord mayor Gordon Bradbery said.

General managers and senior staff from affected councils met with government officials in Sydney on Thursday to talk through the changes. 

Wollongong councillors are expected to be briefed at a meeting on Monday night. 

Cr Bradbery said the make-up of a new council was “fine detail” at this stage and his priority was determining the implications of a merger on residents.

“I’ve been elected by the people of Wollongong to defend their best interests,” he said. 

“I want to work with my fellow councillors in looking at what are the advantages and disadvantages, what liabilities and what opportunities are in this. 

“I’m yet to get across that detail. I’m not saying yay or nay ... I want to be clear that it is to the advantage of the merging councils before I go anywhere near it.”

THERE are fears the Kiama municipality could be “appallingly” under-represented on the proposed Kiama/Shoalhaven merged council.

Following the release of the state government’s merger proposal on Wednesday, Kiama Mayor Brian Petschler expressed concerns Kiama could have little representation compared to the Shoalhaven with respect to number of councillors. 

“With less than 20 per cent of the population of the amalgamated area, we would expect to have one or two councillors at most,” he said. 

Cr Petschler said Kiama had a “special character”, distinct from adjoining council areas, and that service quality within the municipality would suffer under a merger.  

“To suddenly see that character lost would be a tragedy for the Kiama municipality,” he said.

The parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast still isn’t sold on his government’s move to merge the regions’ councils.

Despite the release of detailed proposals this week, Gareth Ward has maintained his opposition to the plan “without equivocation”.

“I’m yet to be convinced that this [a merger] is in the interest of our community,” Mr Ward said. 

The Kiama MP indicated he, too, was concerned about councillor-to-resident ratios outlined for the merged local government bodies, saying strong representation was key for residents who had contacted him. 

“These are the very points that people need to consider when they’re framing their responses,” he said.

“We need rational, sensible and responsible debate ... and the issue around local representation is certainly poignant.”