GAWLER Mayor Karen Redman has backed a number of State Government local government reform measures, but remains opposed to any form of council rate capping.

The State Government provided further details of its second attempt to reform the local government sector last week, which includes capping councils at 12 elected members, having chief executive officer salaries capped by an independent referee, and behavioural crackdowns.

Notably, a “new mechanism” to cap council rates has been included, which would see council budgets assessed by an independent panel and local government minister Stephan Knoll, and give them the power to put a ceiling on rate rises.

Rate capping policy has been met with hostility by the local government sector, and was unsuccessfully introduced by the State Government last year and blocked by Labor and the crossbench in parliament’s upper house.

Speaking to The Bunyip, Ms Redman supported many of the reform measures, but remained steadfastly opposed to rate capping.

“I think it’s a rate capping by stealth by the State Government and I think that’s a shame,” she said.

“It won’t matter what the local community has to say about their own draft budgets, the ultimate arbiter will be the State Government.

“Ultimately, local government budgets are very much couched in local communities. We’re the only layer of government that goes out with a draft budget; every other layer announces their budget.”

She added the proposed legislation would mean councils would need to confirm their budgets for the upcoming financial year before January.

Typically, councils adopt their budgets sometime in June after holding public consultation and making desired changes.

The State Government last week claimed Labor and the crossbench’s rejection of rate capping last year had cost ratepayers $19 million.

Mr Knoll said the reforms were aimed at lowering costs, improving council behaviour and transparency and reducing red tape.

“The focus is squarely on providing hip pocket relief for hardworking families and businesses,” he said.

“We’ve been working with the local government sector on these reforms for around 18 months and think we have the right formula to keep costs down and improve service delivery.

“The new rate capping mechanism strikes the right balance between keep council rates down and giving councils the freedom and flexibility to manage their own budget to deliver important services for the community.”

Mr Knoll also stated councils spend around $13 million a year on legal bills related to council infighting and behaviour breaches.

Cutting councillors gets Docherty’s approval

PLAYFORD Mayor Glenn Docherty has thrown his support behind a State Government plan to slash the number of elected members in the council chamber.

As part of a range of proposed local government reforms announced last week, the State Government has suggested capping the maximum number of elected members – including the mayor – per council to 12.

Currently, Playford Council has 16 elected members spread across five wards, a number decided upon by council administration.

Speaking to The Bunyip, Mr Docherty said while council was yet to have a formal position on the issue, he backed having fewer names in the chamber.

“Councils at the moment have the ability to set their numbers based on the current legislation, but I think a uniform approach across councils makes sense,” he said.

“It also gives some assurance to the electoral process because currently every time there’s a review, council decides on its number of councillors.

“With a state fixed cap, there’s a certainty going forward for what the number will be.”

According to local government minister Stephan Knoll, capping the number of councilors in each chamber at 12 would save ratepayers around $666,000 per year.

“Capping the number of councillors able to be elected per council and capping council CEO salaries will also help reduce cost pressures on councils that they can pass on to ratepayers,” he said.