As part of the Fit For The Future agenda, the Government has requested that the State’s councils meet benchmarks based around measures for Scale and Capacity; Sustainability; Infrastructure and Service Management, and Efficiency.
Holroyd City Mayor Greg Cummings said Holroyd’s Submission for the Fit For The Future agenda will show that the Council meets this criteria.
"Part of the Government’s rationale for mergers is that councils are losing money, but we continue to show the Government that Holroyd is in a very different financial position, having maintained a balanced budget for several decades," Mayor Cummings said.
"We have $1 billion in new developments projected for the City alone this year, which is underpinning the growth in local employment and the revitalisation of our town centres in Merrylands and Wentworthville.
"Holroyd also continues to meet strategic Government targets such as housing approvals, and over the next 10 years, we will be one of only five councils to record a housing surplus."
Mayor Cummings reiterated that Holroyd is willing to work in partnership with neighbouring councils to deliver shared services to their communities and is also exploring possible boundary changes to current local government areas as part of this new initiative.
But whilst Holroyd fully support the Government’s objectives for councils to be financially sustainable, Mayor Cummings said there is no evidence to show that the forced amalgamation of Holroyd with Auburn, Parramatta and parts of The Hills and Ryde Councils will actually deliver any economic benefits to local communities.
"We are concerned that under a mega-Council, Holroyd’s ratepayers and businesses will be left with diminished representation in local decision-making," Mayor Cummings said.
"This could mean a reduction in the quality and quantity of local government services and the loss of more than 450 jobs from the area, 150 from childcare services alone.
Independent analysis from Professor Brian Dollery from the University of New England Business School shows that forced council mergers are not only expensive to carry out, but have seldom achieved their objectives.
"The failure of council mergers in Queensland, Western Australia and in Auckland, prove that forced mergers simply don’t work.
"The Government still hasn’t provided ratepayers with any empirical evidence that the community will be any better off in terms of cost savings or in other ways, if Holroyd is forced to merge."
Mayor Cummings said Council is heartened by the Holroyd’s community ongoing fight against any forced merger.
More than 500 people attended council’s two Hands off Holroyd public meetings and polls have shown that 71% of ratepayers oppose any merger.
Almost 10,000 people have signed the Hands off Holroyd petition in a bid to have the matter tabled in Parliament.
"We're also being supported by our local MPs, the new Member for Granville Julia Finn, the Member for Fairfield Guy Zangari and the new Member for Prospect Hugh McDermott, who are all continuing to oppose Holroyd's forced merger," Mayor Cummings said.
"At our second Hands off Holroyd Public Meeting on March 19, the Liberal Member for Parramatta, Dr Geoff Lee stated that the Government's policy is no forced mergers."
Holroyd’s Fit For The Future Submission will be lodged in June and assessed by an Expert Panel which will then make its recommendations on the future of the councils to the Minister for Local Government Paul Toole.
"We continue to ask Minister Toole to explain to our ratepayers why Holroyd is under threat of being forcibly merged when we have demonstrated we are financially sustainable and have a proven track record of providing our community with a wide range of more than 200 services," Mayor Cummings said.
"We have also written to Premier Mike Baird asking that he come to Holroyd to talk to members of our local community and hear why a forced merger is bad news for the people who live and work here.
"After a proud 142-year history, we won’t sit back and watch Holroyd be wiped off the map."
For more information on Holroyd's campaign, visit the Hands Off Holroyd website at www.handsoffholroyd.nsw.gov.au or call Council's Corporate and Financial Services Team via 9840 9840.
