Councils play an important role in communities, but how many is too many?
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Tasmania's well-publicised over governance has been debated for decades and the call for amalgamation among the state's 29 local governments is a political minefield that no one has been brave enough to force.
Some Tasmanian councils are entirely dysfunctional, in bad debt and failing to deliver good governance for their constituents.
It is not a new thing for some councils to hit tough times due to unforeseen circumstances or, in most cases, irresponsible decisions making and fiscal management.
Glamorgan Spring Bay is just the latest to hit this shambolic stage.
It is without a mayor and is struggling to cover its costs and provide standard services for the region's ratepayers. It's something that's reignited calls for the council to be split and merged with Break O'Day and Sorell.
University of Tasmania management expert Professor David Adams is correct in saying that amalgamation will not fix all problems within the sector and there is a need for reforming the role and brand of councils away for rates, roads and rubbish.
Some may disagree, but as the pandemic has shown, councils are a lot more than that these days and they must play an active role in supporting and shaping their communities for the future.
All councils can still provide the 'three Rs', but they must also focus and rebrand themselves as think tanks for their communities and devise long-term visions to ensure the needs of constituents are met.
To do that they must attract the right personnel, however, smaller councils are not in a position to employ the necessary talent - their budgets aren't big enough.
Yet there are 12 councils in Tasmania responsible for less than 10,000 ratepayers. Many of those are a case in point for boundary adjustments and amalgamations to ensure they have the power to shift focus.
Councils have seen increased resource sharing in the past decade, which is good but in some instances, it is not enough.
Slightly bigger councils can still be in touch with their communities and be the first port of call in a crisis, but the structure is key.
There has never been a more important time for government to take local reform seriously.
A set of key standards for councils and a redistribution of council boundaries based on population is needed.
All councils must have the capacity to employ leading professionals to help build "community resilience, enhancing local economies, building and retaining population growth".
It is after all why we pay rates and taxes.