THE administrator for the newly-merged Armidale Dumaresq and Guyra councils, Dr Ian Tiley met with staff in Armidale and Guyra on Tuesday as the first steps in their 15-month transition to a new local government body.
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What that council might ultimately be called is one of the first issues, with MP Adam Marshall pushing for the new body to be called New England Regional Council rather than the gazetted Armidale Regional.
Dr Tiley, appointed by the minister to head up the new merged councils, is a former shire clerk and mayor and an academic with long ties to the UNE in its local government school.
Dr Tiley said his brief from the government was to “get on with it.”
The first meeting of the new council will be next Monday in Armidale and Dr Tiley will consider issues and agenda items from both former councils.
It is likely he will decide and announce then the form and makeup of future council meetings, including who attends, what advisory groups he will liaise with, how council business will be run and administered, and how community consultations can be continued.
Dr Tiley said one of the first jobs was to review all of the current council committees, looking to streamline the committees where possible.
The administrator met with the former councillors of Guyra Shire on Tuesday, who he said were “hurting” with the decision.
The Inverell-backed move to take in the community of Tingha is also high on Dr Tiley’s agenda with plans for a public meeting in the community to gauge the feelings of the residents.
MP Adam Marshall put his case to change the name of the new council to the New England Regional Council, when he met with Dr Tiley recently.
“I don’t believe the gazetted name is the most appropriate for the new council,” he said.
“New England Regional Council is easily identifiable, but importantly location neutral, which is essential for a new council looking to start afresh with a broader focus than just one city.”