Northern Midlands mayor Mary Knowles says council remains prepared to go it alone

Northern Midlands Council mayor Mary Knowles said the status quo, where councils cooperate on some matters but go their own way on others, remained the best option for regional Tasmanians.

Councillors ratified their submission to the Local Government Board at a special council meeting and, much like their Meander Valley counterparts, rejected all merger options.

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The submission says the council remained open to discussion on further resource and service sharing as it was a means of achieving "more with less" and reducing duplication across councils.

Cr Knowles said a strong tradition of cooperation between councils existed, as they already shared some resources and lobbied as a group with others through the Northern Tasmania Development Corporation.

"We've been in situations where we do believe there are benefits, and we work together particularly well with other councils," she said.

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"In the past, we've gone as a group to Canberra to lobby for projects.

"Individual councils don't do particularly well when lobbying for federal funds."

Examples of successful lobbying and cooperation included funding commitments for the Bell Bay Industrial Precinct and TRANSLink secured by the NTDC and the creation of the Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group.

There are also existing protocols to share legal services among councils. As Cr Knowles said, they "all deal with similar issues", but fully amalgamating did not make economic nor "common sense".

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Cr Knowles said service sharing should not become service centralisation as it could lead to unmet local needs.

"There was a proposal that back-office tasks could be done through a central hub," she said.

"I know for a fact that particularly the older folks in the community do not like ringing up and speaking to a robot.

"As a local person living in the community, you need to feel that your needs are being heard, even if they're not completely being met."

The Northern Midlands Council submission also claims that multiple merger scenarios would result in at least one municipality taking on declining or more rural population bases, which Cr Knowles said would lead to higher rates as the organisation sought financial sustainability.

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Cr Knowles said even if councils worked well together, there were better solutions than amalgamation because while it would reduce the number of executive roles, it would not translate to cost savings for ratepayers.

"You will have fewer general managers, you will have fewer mayors, and you will have fewer councillors," she said.

"But, because they will be in a bigger municipality, their allowances will be greater.

"As far as the outdoor services go, it doesn't matter what size municipality you've got. You still need the same workforce; you need the same number of footpaths being fixed, and the same roads need to be looked after."

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