More than 100 people attended a public consultation meeting to discuss council amalgamations on Sunday.
The meeting was convened by the Walgett Shire Council for the purpose of gauging public opinion in regards to a directive from the local government minister Tony Kelly.
Walgett Shire Council mayor Peter Waterford explained to the ratepayers that this directive could mean a number of different things.
o Firstly Walgett shire could opt to amalgamate with another shire.
"If we have to amalgamate," Cr Waterford said, "there are four options. Coonamble, Brewarrina, Moree or Narrabri."
Walgett Shire Council has contacted each of these councils but only Moree has expressed an interest.
Cr Waterford also stated that in his opinion the minister would respond well to the idea of a super council formed between Walgett and Moree.
o Secondly, that Walgett shire could continue to stand alone but would resource share with other shires in the region.
There would be, according to Cr Waterford, many benefits to resource sharing with, for example, Moree.
Centralising the financial accounting system could cut costs.
Problems with attracting professional staff to the Walgett shire could be circumnavigated by accessing those available in Moree.
The councils could share the cost of equipment, such as a road-patching machine and possibly even make a little extra money by hiring out to other councils.
o The third option is that Walgett shire continue to stand alone and operate as it is.
However, Cr Waterford's confident opinion that despite recent reports of dysfunction Walgett shire is actually in better shape than many other NSW shires.
This statement was greeted with scepticism by many of the ratepayers in the room and, as the meeting progressed a number of people supported a fourth option.
o That, as many ratepayers feel that the town is not being dealt with fairly by the council, Lightning Ridge should split away from Walgett entirely.
Lightning Ridge resident Barbara Moritz urged people to look towards the future and declared that the town had often taken care of it's own needs with very little help from Walgett.
Ms Moritz also pointed out that as an outback town, the Ridge had a lot more in common with other towns west of the Barwon River and she believes that much more could be achieved for the town by dealing with like-minded communities.
Mayor Waterford also reported the results of the meetings already held in Burren Junction and Collarenebri.
He said both communities had indicated their wish for Walgett Shire Council to stand alone, though Collarenebri was willing to explore the possibility of resource sharing.
Ratepayer Jan Cooper then moved that "Lightning Ridge should split with Walgett and that areas west of the Barwon River should all amalgamate with Brewarrina."
Eventually, the motion was put to a vote and defeated, though many people seem to believe that this result was due to a lack of solid information and confusion rather than a vote of confidence in Walgett Shire Council.
After a lot of debate another motion was put to the meeting stating that the ratepayers of Lightning Ridge wanted to:
1. Actively pursue resource sharing with other councils.
2. Investigate and indicate to the department of local government that as a last resort Walgett shire is prepared to look at amalgamation so long as it is the best deal for ratepayers.
This motion was was passed by a majority.
Towards the end of the meeting, Cr Waterford was pressed for a definite answer on what council would put in its report regarding amalgamation.
Cr Waterford indicated the report would show that Walgett shire was strong enough to stand alone and that its willingness to resource share would only strengthen their case.
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