A push to cut the number of councillors from 12 to nine was shot down in council on Tuesday.
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Seven out of 11 councillors opposed the motion to hold a referendum on the matter during the next by-election.
The news comes to the disappointment of deputy mayor Doug Curran, who has been leading the push to reduce councillor numbers.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t give the community an opportunity to voice their opinion,” Councillor Curran said.
Cr Curran said he hadn’t given up yet, and that he was thinking about bringing up the issue again at the next election.
“The community reaction I received from the notice of motion was quite positive, and if there’s enough will in the community then maybe we’ll revisit it in 2020,” he said.
This time around only three other councillors supported the idea of a referendum: Mike Neville, Brian Simpson, and Eddy Mardon.
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Cr Curran argued that cutting councillors would save ratepayers around $100,000 per year and make it easier to get things done in council.
He also pointed to other larger councils such as Wagga Wagga and Albury which function better with nine councillors in his view.
Councillor Anne Napoli was one of the councillors who opposed the motion on the grounds that council have already held a referendum on the matter twice before, and both times they were voted down.
“To go to a referendum again is a little disrespectful to the community, as we’re saying ‘you got it wrong the last two times, let’s see if you’re smart enough this time to give us a different opinion,” Cr Napoli said.
She said all councillors at Griffith City Council were providing good value for money.
“If we go by the last election, if we had gone to nine we would have missed out on three great councillors, and they all bring valuable expertise in this chamber,” she said.
“The three are councillors Mardon, Mercurie, and Longhurst, and I feel they contribute so much to the community.”
Having voted down the proposal, the next by-election will continue as normal without the referendum.
Council was forced into a by-election when former councillor Paul Snaidero was disqualified from office for an assault conviction.
A date has not yet been decided for the by-election, but it will take place early next year.
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
