There are too many councillors who are not providing ratepayers value for money, according to some within Griffith City Council.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There is an internal push led by deputy mayor Doug Curran to reduce the council from 12 to nine, which he believes would save money and make it easier to get things done.
Others on the council are not happy with the idea, saying that it would make it harder to represent their community and give a handful of councillors too much power.
The two sides will clash on Tuesday when they debate whether or not to hold a referendum on the matter during the next by-election.
Whether or not the motion will pass seems to be anyone’s guess; many of the councillors The Area News spoke to said they were still undecided.
Those who are opposed to the idea of fewer councillors include Dino Zappacosta, who said he rejected the idea that some councillors weren’t providing value for money.
RELATED
“I’m anxious to know why Doug Curran feels there’s some councillors who are not pulling their weight,” Councillor Zappacosta said.
“He’s very keen to see certain councillors out of council.”
Councillor Simon Croce agreed, saying that all the councillors were doing vital work representing their community.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t pull their weight. They all put in the hard yards, and a lot of people don’t recognise the work they do,” Cr Croce said.
Councillor Curran denied that he was targeting councillors for not pulling their weight.
“No one is a target here,” Cr Curran said.
“We’re not voting on the basis of whether we should be keeping our jobs, we should be voting to get the best outcome for the community.”
One of the councillors who supports the idea of fewer councillors is Mike Neville, who thinks Griffith would get better value for money with fewer councillors.
“It think it stands to reason; if you benchmark us to councils with a similar size and large populations they manage better with smaller numbers,” Councillor Neville said.
Mayor John Dal Broi did not tell The Area News which way he was leaning.
“I’m a little disappointed it’s been out in the media before council had the opportunity to discuss it,” he said.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.