A state government review of the local government sector has proposed significant reform to how a council's mayor and deputy mayor are elected.
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Under the proposed reforms, a popular vote for the mayor and deputy mayor position could be scrapped and that decision made around the table by elected representatives of a council.
Another option is to have the candidate elected first in a popularly elected ballot be automatically elected as mayor.
There are about 50 proposed changes to the Local Government Act as part of the government's review.
The review has proposed only Australian citizens should be allowed to vote in council elections and that a person can only vote once in an election.
At the moment, a person that owns both a business and property in a particular municipal area can vote twice.
It has been proposed that a nomination fee be applied to candidates who wished to run for a council position in an election which would be refunded should the candidate receive a certain number of votes.
A directions paper for the review has raised the subject of alternative voting methods and suggested electronic voting should be explored.
Voluntary council amalgamations requested by two or more councils would no longer need to be reviewed and approved by the Local Government Board under proposed council reforms.
The board would also no longer need to review the operations of a particular council as has been the case in the past and would instead be carried out by the Local Government Director.
The board would still be responsible to undertake a review of councillor numbers and allowances every eight years, however.