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Collapse Issue 393 - 16 May 2016Issue 393 - 16 May 2016
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Peninsula comes under Central Coast Council
Ettalong Diggers starts tourism information centre
Surprise celebration for Rod Radford
Woy Woy GP pleads not guilty to mother's murder
Resident starts flood action group
No news on start to underpass repairs
Councillors condemn rail project uncertainty
Community land could become memorial to battle
Chamber welcomes council proclamation
No stopping signs for commuter overflow carpark
Playgroup visits Woy Woy waterfront
Land sale campaign receives eco-garden support
Expensive yacht rescued from grounding
Council proceeds with Railway St refuge
Surf club receives money for beautification
Parking restrictions near Empire Bay cafe
Traffic flow at Ettalong intersection to be studied
Ettalong man dies in crash
Bernie the Butcher dies
Bridge building finished
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Is underpass going to be worthwhile?
We don't need another makeshift exercise
Disappointed with Anzac Day service
Thanks to those who work for peaceful democracy
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Aged care facility receives generator funding
Morning tea held to thank volunteer
'Mama' turns 100
Women explore their boundaries
Registered club wins health award
Drug and alcohol seminars to be held at Club
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Concerts to be held at Pearl Beach
Exhibition to raise funds for literacy
Classical symphonies at Pearl Beach on long weekend
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Children's author to visit Umina
Scouts and Guides donate war stories
Chime bars and drum set installed
Umina wins Woy Woy Cup
Dance groups at eisteddfod
Literacy taught using State program
Naplan testing starts
School contributes to poppy display
Great effort at rugby cup
Knockout softball
Stewart House day
Netball win
Vandalism at Umina
Local teacher starts tutoring service
Build connections between schools and conservatorium
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Young Lions strut their stuff
Third in round three of junior speedway
Named female competitor of the carnival
Fishing club hosts fundraiser
Major singles
Bowling club monthly carnival
School for Seniors visits the trots
Women's major singles

Peninsula comes under Central Coast Council

The Peninsula is now under the Central Coast Council.

Gosford Council no longer exists.

The change took place on Thursday, May 12, with a proclaimation by NSW Governor General David Hurley.

The new council will be run under administration by Mr Ian Reynolds.

The interim general manager is Mr Rob Noble, acting CEO of Wyong Council.

Gosford Council chief Mr Paul Anderson has been named his deputy.

The Peninsula will become part of the Gosford West Ward which will remain unrepresented until elections in September next year.

The Gosford West Ward covers the area from the northern side of the Hawkesbury River in the south to Buckety in the north-west.

It includes communities as diverse as Mangrove Mountain, Gunderman, Peats Ridge and the Gosford CBD.

The three councillors who will eventually represent the Gosford West Ward will be required to live in the Ward.

Areas to the north of the Rip Bridge will be included in the Gosford East Ward as the southern shore of Brisbane Water is the boundary for Gosford West.

The Gosford West Ward is, geographically, the largest of the five wards that will make up the new Central Coast Council.

Under the Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016, Gosford City Council ceased to exist and Gosford with Wyong Shire Council areas were amalgamated to form the Central Coast Council.

Elected councillors reported different interpretations of whether they had been stood aside or sacked.

Former Gosford deputy mayor, Mr Craig Doyle, said he believed all councillors, including the former Gosford mayor, Mr Lawrie McKinna, had been sacked.

"I can't even say I received a bluey in the mail," Mr Doyle said.

"The information we have received from the Minister and the government has been scant," he said.

"I received an email from the mayor," he said.

The proclamation said that it didn't apply to rates in the 2016-17 rating year but it did not specify a three-year rate freeze, as promised by the NSW Government prior to Gosford councillors making their decision about whether to vote in favour of, or against, amalgamation.

Mr Doyle said he was part of a joint delegation that met with NSW Premier Mr Mike Baird and Local Government Minister Mr Paul Toole late last year.

"It wasn't until I eyeballed the Minister face-to-face and received a couple of assurances that I voted for amalgamation," he said.

"One of those assurances was a three-year rates freeze and when I went to school 2017-18 wasn't three years away from 2016," he said.

"Rate equalisation is going to be a very provocative thing when it happens," he said.

The proclamation said the rating structure is to be reviewed within the first term of the new council following the first election of the council.

Mr Ian Reynolds has been appointed as the administrator of the newly-formed Central Coast Council.

Mr Reynolds is a local government consultant based in Castle Hill.

He established Ian Reynolds and Associates in 2012 after working in the government sector for 30 years.

Since 1994 he has held a range of senior executive roles in local and state government with responsibility for urban planning, public infrastructure and financing, public policy development, rezonings and land development processes.

The new council will be run under administration until September 2017, when the first local government election for the new local government area will be held.

The number of councillors to be elected at that time will be 15 and the first mayor will be elected by councillors.

The code of meeting practice to be adopted by the new Central Coast Council is to be the Wyong Shire Council code "until it is amended or replaced in accordance with the Local Government Act".

The proclamation gives the NSW Minister for Local Government discretion to determine "any matter or thing requiring determination" referred by the administrator.

In turn, a wide range of matters can be referred to the NSW Office of Local Government for determination, according to the proclamation.

After the initial period the new council will, in accordance with the Local Government Act, be able to make changes to matters such as how the new mayor is elected, changes to wards or changes to councillor numbers.

Joint Regional Regional Planning Panel appointments have been scrapped.

The proclamation gives the Local Government Minister power to hire and fire administrators up until the September 2017 election.

In turn, it gives the administrator has the power to hire and fire the general manager and deputy general manager, should the need arise and within the terms of their employment contracts.

Staff members transferred from Gosford Council to the Central Coast Council were transferred under the same employment contract of employment.

There will be no onus on the first elected Central Coast Council to stick with the staff organisational structure set out in the proclamation.

Anything commenced but not completed by Gosford Council may or may not be completed by the new council.

The codes, plans, strategies and policies of the new council are to be, as far as practicable, a composite of the corresponding codes, plans, strategies and polices of each of the former councils.

The code of conduct for a new council is to be the model code in the Act (within the meaning of section 440 of the Act) until a code of conduct is adopted by the council in accordance with the Act.





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