City of Greater Geraldton council to vote on local government reform proposing reduction to eight councillors

The City of Greater Geraldton’s council will vote on a proposal to reduce its number of councillors from 12 to eight, to comply with new Statewide reforms.

The proposal follows a survey issued by the City in which 66.7 per cent of respondents said they would prefer the council to be reduced to eight members and a directly elected mayor, rather than six or four.

The reduction is necessary to meet the requirements of local government reforms announced in September last year by the State Government, which sets a limit of nine representatives including a mayor for areas with a population between 5000 and 70,000.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the proposal reflected community sentiment and would allow the council to work most effectively.

“Eight allows for workload to be shared, and ensures that the maximum number of diverse opinion can be heard,” he said.

Council will discuss the motion at the monthly agenda forum on January 24, before voting on the proposed recommendation on January 31.