3000 kb - Mid Western Regional Council - NSW Government

The following options exist:
Amalgamation: where Council would amalgamate its operations with those of
surrounding Councils to form a single large organisation that would serve a wider regional
area.
Advantages
• With the greater staff resources created as the result of amalgamation
there would be more relief staff available and the opportunity for further
staff developments
• The skills possessed by the larger staff resource would enable an
improvement to other Council services
• With amalgamation the infrastructure for the provision of services is already
in place.
• Potential reduction in the provision of the service due to operational
efficiencies
Disadvantages
• Conflict involved with setup of an amalgamated organisation
• Continued sectional interests in the amalgamated organisation
• The resulting larger organisation with a greater asset base would be a
bigger target for litigation
• The customer expectations from a larger organisation would be different
Mid-Western Regional Council is surrounded by 8 other Councils (Bathurst, Lithgow,
Liverpool Plains, Muswellbrook, Upper Hunter, Warrumbungle and Wellington). MWRC
has been formed recently with the amalgamation of former Mudgee Shire Council with
Rylstone and parts of Merriwa. While this has generally benefitted the community and the
Council, no further amalgamation with the surrounding Councils is expected in future.
County Council/ Business Clusters: where Council would amalgamate its water supply
and/or sewerage services divisions with those of neighbouring Councils and set these
divisions up as an independent organisation that would provide these services to a wider
region.
Advantages
As for “Amalgamation”
• A regional county Council for the provision of services would provide
access to greater financial power
Disadvantages
As for “Amalgamation”
• The formation of a County Council is an advanced option and as such the
process involved in implementing the change would be complicated.
Council does not see economies of scale and increased resource availability with this
arrangement. The view is that it would offer no obvious benefits and may be more
expensive and less effective in the long term than the existing scheme.
Page 98 Part C - Detailed Information Mid-Western Regional Council
Strategic Business Plan for Sewerage