Casey faces up to splitBy Jim Mynard

CASEY councillors have called for a report on options for the future splitting of the municipality.
Myuna Ward councillor Brian Oates successfully moved for the report at the Tuesday 20 September council meeting held at Cranbourne.
Cr Oates said in his motion that the report would provide the council with information needed to develop a preferred position in creating a proposal for two sustainable municipalities.
He said the report should also include economic and social impacts and a proposal for equitable distribution of value of physical assets and contract implications.
He said that since the local government restructure that formed the City of Casey there had been substantial growth.
“Growth has been the highest in Victoria and the second highest in Australia,” Cr Oates said.
“The time is right for the council to be proactive on this issue in order to have a proposal that can be put before the State Government. The way the city is going we will soon need fully paid councillors because it is not a voluntary position representing 30,000 people in a ward. It is a new ball game and we need to look at the best proposal.”
Springfield Ward councillor Ben Clissold said the council needed to look for land that could be set aside for a new civic centre.
Mayfield Ward councillor Kevin Bradford said that once the municipality reached 320,000 people any State Government would look at having it split.
He said to make the split now would bankrupt the municipality.
“However, we need to be ready for a split because it will come,” he said.
Casey mayor Neil Lucas said the original restructure report predicted that the population of Casey would go beyond 300,000 or 340,000.
“This is a long way in the future, but is inevitable and we should look at the implications for both new areas. My view is that it is not time now because it would be a recipe for bankrupting the southern part of the city,” he said.
Balla Balla Ward councillor Colin Butler said he was opposed to a split now because a lot of growth was needed in the Cranbourne area. “We have 800 staff now so how many will be needed when we are at full capacity?”
Araluen Ward councillor Rob Wilson said the piper had piped and the council was dancing. He said later the piper was a candidate for Balla Balla in the last election, Chris Kelly, who had a policy of splitting the council. “He failed dismally on that,” Cr Wilson said.
Cr Oates said he wasn’t talking about a northsouth split because that may not be the outcome.
Cr Lucas said after the meeting that a ward with 30,000 residents was too large for a councillor to service.
In answer to a question that wards would have two councillors that reduced the number to 15,000, he said the problem was that residents with issues would contact both councillors.