The Latrobe and Kentish Councils have told the Local Government Review Board they are willing to merge if that’s what their local communities want to happen, in what could be seen as a pre-emptive move to stop them being gobbled up by a Greater Mersey Council based in Devonport.
In a joint submission to the board, the two councils point out they have been resource sharing for the past 13 years, with one combined workforce and a single general manager.
Only last month, the Circular Head Council proposed a merger with neighbouring Waratah-Wynyard Council, which has since said it’s open to the idea, under the right circumstances.
Submissions on the review board’s interim report closed last week.
One of the scenarios proposed by the interim report was an amalgamation between Latrobe and Kentish, which the joint submission points out has the least negative impact for both municipalities and ensures local representation would be maintained.
It says if as merger goes ahead, the new entity would have the North-West Coast’s fourth largest population, not far behind Burnie
