Gunnedah Shire Council has again opted to wear any risks and run its own local government election next year.
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Gunnedah was the only local NSW council to successfully run its own show at the last local government elections in 2012.
A report to council this month estimated there would be savings of more than $30,000 if council chose to run the elections.
The alternative option was to enter an arrangement with the NSW Electoral Commission to run the election.
Council also sought a quote from the Australian Electoral Company which was more than $150,000 – significantly above the electoral commission estimate of $91,037.
In the report, council staff advised councillors to enter into an arrangement with the electoral commission.
“Whilst potentially there are significant savings that could be made by conducting the 2016 local government election in-house, there are a number of risks to take into account when considering this option,” the report by council’s business systems and governance executive manager Colin Formann said.
“Forming a recommendation in this matter has been challenging with very evenly balanced arguments for both options.
“When making my recommendation, I have been swayed against conducting an in-house election primarily by the risks presented as a result of the reliance on key individuals, perceptions of independence and the potential reputational and financial cost to council should things go wrong.”
The local government election in Gunnedah in 2012 was conducted by returning officers Ian Horwood and Terry Curran, who have again said they would do the job.
Deputy Mayor Gae Swain said Mr Horwood and Mr Curran had done a “very effective and efficient” job, but she was concerned council would be “up the creek” should either of them prove to be unavailable.
“We could be in serious trouble if we end up close to the election and have to ask the electoral commission for assistance,” Cr Swain said.
“That is going to cost us an enormous amount.
“I am torn between trying to save money on one hand, and on the other hand, looking at the effect on council if we make a meal of it.”
Cr Hans Allgayer said even if either of the men was unavailable at the last minute, he believed there were other people in the community who could step in.
Cr Steve Smith said he believed the election should be conducted in-house because the election before 2012 conducted by the electoral commission had been “an absolute shambles”.
“In my book, it was a second grade election, the way it was run,” he said.
Council voted to run the election in-house with council staff at a cost of about $59,000.
Cr Gwen Griffen joked “with all the hypotheticals, we should wrap these two [Mr Horwood and Mr Curran] in cotton wool.”
Crs Quince and Swain voted against the motion.