There has been a mixed reaction to two year terms for mayors elected by councillors after the September 10 local government poll.
The practice has been for mayors elected by other councillors to hold office for just one year.
Amendments enabling two year mayoral terms and other council reforms were passed in the NSW Parliament this week.
The leaders of the major parties in Campbelltown both think there’s pluses and minuses in the change.
Councillor George Greiss, the leading local Liberal, told the Voice in Macarthur this morning that the change would make deals for the mayoralty “a lot harder’’.
“It’s obviously a compromise between four years and one year, and to be honest I don’t have a strong view on it,’’ he said.
“Whoever does the deal has to be selective as to who they do the deal with, and that makes it a little bit more tricky if you put them in there for two years instead of one.
“It does create stability and it is a great idea if you get the right person in the chair – I mean if you’ve got a good mayor leave them there as long as possible.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“But on the other hand if you have a bad mayor you could survive the one year, but two years…’’[/social_quote]
A day earlier the Labor leader, Councillor George Brticevic said pretty much the same thing.
“Two years gives stability and continuity, which is good from the general manager’s point of view,’’ he said.
“But it will certainly make it harder to do a deal when it’s for two years,’’ Cr Brticevic said.
In other changes, all mayors and councillors will now be required to take an oath or affirmation of office before they can perform their functions and duties.
