Have Your Say on Council Amalgamations

1.

Why are we talking about council amalgamations?
Local government in NSW is currently undergoing a period of reform. The NSW Government established the Independent Local Government Review Panel to review how local governments operate and are structured. In April, the Panel published a report with its recommendations on the future directions of NSW Local Government.

A key recommendation of the report is the amalgamation (or merger) of councils. This recommendation would see a reduction in the number of councils in the Sydney basin from 41 to around 15, and to create major new cities of Sydney, Parramatta and Liverpool.

What does this mean for Ku-ring-gai?
For our area, the report recommends the amalgamation of Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby Council's.

You can learn more about the recommendations and find a copy of the report at http://www.localgovernmentreview.nsw.gov.au

We need your feedback!
Council is preparing a submission on the Panel's recommendations and is seeking input from the community. This submission will be considered at the Council meeting of 25 June.

Below is a short survey to help us better understand the community's opinion on amalgamation and the options available to Council.
The survey will take approximately five minutes to complete.

Question Title

* 1. Are you aware of the reforms recommended for local government?

Yes

Unsure

Question Title

* 2. How supportive are you of Ku-ring-gai Council being amalgamated?

Rate from 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest level of support

1 - Not at all supportive

10 - Very supportive

1 - Not at all supportive

10 - Very supportive

Question Title

* 3. Which preference for amalgamation do you support?

You may select multiple options.

Oppose any amalgamations (status quo)

Amalgamate with Hornsby Council (as recommended by Panel)

Amalgamate with three or more bordering Councils to create a large regional Northern Sydney Council

A shared services model (instead of amalgamations) - sharing council functions such as maintenance, waste and general administrative functions with other councils

Other / Propose idea

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* 4. Why did you choose that option/s?

Question Title

* 5. How important is it to retain local representation in Ku-ring-gai Council?

1 - Not at all important

10 - Extremely important

1 - Not at all important

10 - Extremely important

Question Title

* 6. We are interested to understand our community's perceptions and opinions on the outcomes from council amalgamations.

Based on your knowledge about the local government reforms, how likely do you believe that amalgamation will...

	Very unlikely	Unlikely	Somewhat likely	Likely	Very likely	Unsure
reduce the amount of rates I pay	reduce the amount of rates I pay Very unlikely	reduce the amount of rates I pay Unlikely	reduce the amount of rates I pay Somewhat likely	reduce the amount of rates I pay Likely	reduce the amount of rates I pay Very likely	reduce the amount of rates I pay Unsure
reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors)	reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors) Very unlikely	reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors) Unlikely	reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors) Somewhat likely	reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors) Likely	reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors) Very likely	reduce and/or remove local representation from the area (i.e. ward councillors) Unsure
increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government	increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government Very unlikely	increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government Unlikely	increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government Somewhat likely	increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government Likely	increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government Very likely	increase efficiencies and reduce waste in local government Unsure
result in my rates not being used locally	result in my rates not being used locally Very unlikely	result in my rates not being used locally Unlikely	result in my rates not being used locally Somewhat likely	result in my rates not being used locally Likely	result in my rates not being used locally Very likely	result in my rates not being used locally Unsure
result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area	result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area Very unlikely	result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area Unlikely	result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area Somewhat likely	result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area Likely	result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area Very likely	result in a loss of identity and connection to my local area Unsure
result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb)	result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb) Very unlikely	result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb) Unlikely	result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb) Somewhat likely	result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb) Likely	result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb) Very likely	result in increased services and maintenance for my local area (e.g. fixing roads and new assets in your suburb) Unsure
result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area	result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area Very unlikely	result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area Unlikely	result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area Somewhat likely	result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area Likely	result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area Very likely	result in decreased services and maintenance for my local area Unsure

Question Title

* 7. Do you believe a bigger local government will equal a bigger voice and greater influence when dealing with state and federal governments?

Yes

Maybe / Somewhat

About the same

No / May hinder

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* 8. Do you believe there is enough information to answer the above questions?

Yes

Unsure

Question Title

* 9. How important is it to be informed and consulted on the following proposed local government reforms?

	Not at all important	Not important	Somewhat important	Important	Very important
Amalgamations (e.g. council mergers)	Amalgamations (e.g. council mergers) Not at all important	Amalgamations (e.g. council mergers) Not important	Amalgamations (e.g. council mergers) Somewhat important	Amalgamations (e.g. council mergers) Important	Amalgamations (e.g. council mergers) Very important
Planning reform (e.g. White Paper reforms)	Planning reform (e.g. White Paper reforms) Not at all important	Planning reform (e.g. White Paper reforms) Not important	Planning reform (e.g. White Paper reforms) Somewhat important	Planning reform (e.g. White Paper reforms) Important	Planning reform (e.g. White Paper reforms) Very important
Governance reform (e.g. roles of Mayors and councillors)	Governance reform (e.g. roles of Mayors and councillors) Not at all important	Governance reform (e.g. roles of Mayors and councillors) Not important	Governance reform (e.g. roles of Mayors and councillors) Somewhat important	Governance reform (e.g. roles of Mayors and councillors) Important	Governance reform (e.g. roles of Mayors and councillors) Very important

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* 10. How would you like to be kept informed? What are the best methods of communicating information?

Question Title

* 11. What is your postcode?

2069

2070

2071

2072

2073

2074

2075

2076

Other

Question Title

* 1. Are you aware of the reforms recommended for local government?

Question Title

* 2. How supportive are you of Ku-ring-gai Council being amalgamated?Rate from 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest level of support

Question Title

* 3. Which preference for amalgamation do you support?You may select multiple options.

Question Title

* 4. Why did you choose that option/s?

Question Title

* 5. How important is it to retain local representation in Ku-ring-gai Council?

Question Title

* 6. We are interested to understand our community's perceptions and opinions on the outcomes from council amalgamations.Based on your knowledge about the local government reforms, how likely do you believe that amalgamation will...

Question Title

* 7. Do you believe a bigger local government will equal a bigger voice and greater influence when dealing with state and federal governments?

Question Title

* 8. Do you believe there is enough information to answer the above questions?

Question Title

* 9. How important is it to be informed and consulted on the following proposed local government reforms?

Question Title

* 10. How would you like to be kept informed? What are the best methods of communicating information?

Question Title

* 11. What is your postcode?

* 2. How supportive are you of Ku-ring-gai Council being amalgamated?

Rate from 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest level of support

* 3. Which preference for amalgamation do you support?

You may select multiple options.

* 6. We are interested to understand our community's perceptions and opinions on the outcomes from council amalgamations.

Based on your knowledge about the local government reforms, how likely do you believe that amalgamation will...