Cabonne Council will this afternoon vote for a new mayor – a role that could be for the shortest term in council history.
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With the threat of amalgamation looming over the rural council it is unclear just how long the new mayor would have in office.
Current mayor Ian Gosper, who is re-nominating for another term, said on Monday it was a strange situation to be in.
“It could be for a few hours, or a few days or it could be through to September next year. We are just waiting on our court case.”
The council has launched a legal challenge against the State Government’s proposal to merge Cabonne, Orange City Council and Blayney Shire Council and has been waiting several months for a decision.
“We think the case will be handed down shortly.”
Cr Gosper said he was not aware of any challengers to his position which he was re-seeking to offer some stability to the council in limbo.
“We’ve always said Cabonne is a country council that services small towns and villages. We have no major centre. We service 11 small towns and villages in the rural area. We are very proud of our road building expertise.”
Cr Janelle Culverson said she would not be nominating for mayor and was unaware of any challengers to Cr Gosper.
“Quite simply we are going through the motions. We are simply treading water.”
She said the instability was causing problems to the council and its community.
“It’s actually making the operation of council very challenging.”
Cr Culverson said they could not hire staff to fill vacancies.
“We have a lot of acting senior staff at the council. It’s from the top down, we have an acting general manager.”