The City of Armadale Council adopted a proposed new ward and Councillor representation structure, ahead of a Local Government Reform decision, at a Special Council Meeting on Monday 5 May 2014.
The proposed ward and Councillor structure responds to the request from the Local Government Advisory Board (LGAB) to provide details of how the proposed boundary realignment would be implemented should the change be recommended by them as part of the metropolitan reform process.
City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones said, "If the LGAB supports the Minister’s proposed boundary realignment, for Armadale to take in the northern part of Serpentine Jarrahdale, the proposed ward and Councillor representation model will come into play.
"The proposed ward layout involves all wards in Armadale and Serpentine Jarrahdale being abolished and seven new wards being created across the new larger local government area. The seven new wards would each have two Councillors elected to represent them, totalling 14 Councillors. The Councillors would then elect the Mayor from within the Council.
"Every elector will have equal representation in the new proposal. There will be one Councillor for every 3700 electors, up from the 2700 represented by each Councillor today, or a total of 7400 electors per ward.
"Some allowance has also been made for those communities expecting rapid growth.
"The alignment of the proposed ward boundaries considers communities of interest, physical and topographical features, demographic trends and economic factors.
"The City and Council prepared the proposed ward boundary structure to ensure that we are prepared in advance of a decision being announced by the Minister for Local Government," said Mayor Zelones.
The adopted proposed ward boundaries and Councillor representation model will be forwarded to the LGAB for consideration as part of their deliberations on amalgamations and boundary realignments in the metropolitan area.