Last week NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Local Government Paul Toole enforced change so that the majority of Councils in NSW will be forced to amalgamate.
Fairfield was one of only a handful of Councils deemed fit to remain a stand-alone Council and will not be merging with Liverpool.
Nineteen new councils have been created under the forced amalgamations program, reducing 152 councils to 112. These Councils will go to an election in September 2017, with administrators controlling them until then.
Given that Fairfield is not merging, we will go to an election on 10 September this year, as has always been intended.
Even though Fairfield, together with the community, won the fight to stand alone, it has not changed my view that in any democracy it should be up to the community to determine the destiny of their local Council, not by bureaucrats or State MPs sitting in Macquarie Street.
Our Council proved it was Fit For the Future. Fairfield is debt free, has some of the lowest rates of any Council in Sydney, and this financial year we're expected to post another surplus.
Council is investing $70 million this financial year into new infrastructure and projects to build assets such as the Prairiewood water park and Fairfield Youth and Community Centre. We're expanding the iconic Fairfield Adventure Park, making major upgrades to our roads, beautifying our City centres and suburban parks, and improving and expanding services, such as our Open Libraries program.
Council continues to be financially responsible, which means we're better able to keep rates lower, invest in the community, maintain our vision of building a better Fairfield and continue additional investment into infrastructure.
Being able to stand alone is a big win for our community, given the potential negative financial and service implications had we amalgamated with Liverpool.
Ultimately, Fairfield City Council can stand alone because of its financial sustainability and the strong support and voice of the community, which has resulted in democracy continuing in our City at a local level.