A poll conducted by the Twin Town Times has found readers overwhelming support any move to de-merge the three forcibly merged councils that make up the Hilltops Council. Readers were asked to respond yes or no to the question
“Would you like to see your Council returned to its former area and forcibly merged Councils removed by the NSW State Government?”
88 per cent of respondents said they would welcome a move to reverse the NSW government’s decision, with just 12 per cent wanting to maintain the new status quo.
202 people responded to the poll.
A number of readers provided written feedback to the poll, with fears expressed regarding the debts that any de-merged council would be forced to incur as a result of the merger process. Hilltops Council was formed out of the former Young, Boorowa and Harden Shire Councils in May 2016 following a consultation process with the state government.
Premier Mike Baird famously claimed during the process that no council would be forcibly merged. This claim was proven false, when Harden and Cootamundra’s merger proposal was rejected, and the former was forced to merge with Boorowa and Young, while the latter was forced to unite with Gundagai.
The process has been plagued by issues, including a blow out in costs associated with the merger, primarily related to the unification of technology systems, as well as problems surrounding the harmonisation of rates across the three former council areas. The council has also seen issues arising from lack of suitably qualified staff and with Councillors preparing to send off their second General Manager in just 2 and a half years, the direction of Hilltops Council is unclear.
