The third meeting of the Local Implementation Committee (LIC) for the City of Armadale, Shire of Murray and Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale, was held at the City of Armadale on Tuesday 25 March 2014.
Chairperson of the LIC, Mayor Henry Zelones said “The position of Project Officer to support the work on Local Government reform has been advertised by the City of Armadale.
“The Local Government Advisory Board (LGAB) have requested the LIC reach an agreed position on Wards and Councillor representation by 30 April 2014. This will be a priority for the Governance Working Group.
“It was agreed that an early priority for the Human Resources Working Group will be to establish the principles (perhaps through a Memorandum of Understanding) governing how Serpentine Jarrahdale staff would be transferred to the two expanded Armadale and Murray local governments.
“The City of Armadale and Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale are two of the fastest growing local governments in the metropolitan area, and we are already dealing with enormous growth, the added pressure of reform matters is affecting customer service and overall service delivery.
“We are seeking an early commitment from the Government that it will fund the extra staff needed to expedite and guide the change process. Growth Councils can’t ‘park’ projects and allocate staff to the process, they need extra resources to deal with the process, while maintaining growth and development,” said Mayor Zelones.
The Chief Executive Officers and the Human Resource and Governance working groups will meet next week to consider matters such as Wards and Councillor representation; staff matters; and the appointment of a Project Coordinator.
The next LIC meeting will be held at the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale.
The Local Implementation Committee (LIC) was created on the recommendation of the State Government, to aide in planning for the potential changes.
