Wingecarribee Shire Council will seek public input on a move to cut the number of councillors from 12 to nine at the 2007 local government elections.
Council voted this week to apply to the Minister for Local Government to cut councillor numbers, taking advantage of changes to the Local Government Act, which offers councils a one-off opportunity to cut numbers without a referendum.
Moving the motion, Cr Malcolm Murray argued that a smaller council would work more efficiently to make better decisions for the community as well as saving about $60,000 a year in councillor expenses.
Cr Murray said that if a casual vacancy occurred in council before 2007, a by-election would not be required if council had already voted to reduce numbers.
Full story: SHN, Friday, May 26, 2006.
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