[Forum] Upon learning we could be considering deamalgamating, I just shook my head.
We have been through the amalgamation process. It has not been through the first term of a full council and our elected representatives are now wanting to dismantle it. We were not asked if we wanted to amalgamate. It was dropped on us without consultation.
So now it has been done and our elected representatives for this amalgamated council should roll up their sleeves and make it work. Then also to say that the ward system needs changing is also a dumb in my opinion. If you reduce the number of wards, you will have to increase the numbers of elected representatives per ward.
This will increase the number of party candidates elected to the council thus reducing the very small independent representation the council now has. The council has at present the mayor elected by the councillors.
If this was to go to popular vote, we will always have a mayor who is a political party member, never to see an independent again. That is not to say that all the socalled independents in this current council are true independents, not aligned to any political organisations.
Email, 25 Nov 2019 Carl Veugen, Umina