Call to re-mix city numbers for better links
A review of councils has found a few reforms that could help people connect with their local government.
The Victorian Government’s look into the local tier suggested that larger municipalities should allow 15 councillors, instead of the current twelve.
If such a change was made, it would see almost 200 new Victorian councillors by 2016.
The review panel led by former Liberal MP Petro Georgiou found that here are massive discrepancies in voter representation, exacerbated by surging populations in Victoria's metro areas.
For example, in West Wimmera Shire there are about 800 voters for every councillor, whereas in Melbourne’s City of Casey, councillors have an average of 15,400 voters each.
The panel proposes a system where councils would have six, nine, twelve or 15 councillors, depending on their voting population.
The Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA) estimates the reforms would see the number of councillors rise from 621 to 795 at the next election.
“While this works out to an average of only two councillors per municipality, it's highly likely that some council areas will remain unchanged, while others will see a significant increase due to uneven population growth across our state,” VLGA chief executive Andrew Hollows has told reporters.
But the panel chair Petro Georgiou warned it should be a targeted measure, and could not be instituted in all areas.
He said it would be too problematic to forever increase councillor numbers as populations grow.
Georgiou said that if voter-to-councillor ratios were installed across the state, the result would some municipalities with up to 100 councillors each, which he said “would be unmanageable as a decision-making group”.