By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A STATE Government review of Geelong’s directly elected mayor model in 2015 will include the wider council structure, South Barwon MP Andrew Katos has revealed.
Mr Katos said all parts of council structure’s would be “on the table”.
“I believe the review will look at including the deputy mayor as a ticket and look at the ward structure.
“Council ward structures have advantages and disadvantages, as there are to every form of structure. Wards offer strong local representation but not a regional focus, while the problem with regional formats is they’re not focused on nuts and bolts in local areas.
“We should go through the process and get community input into what they really want but there’s no doubt we need to change the council structure before the next municipal elections in 2016.
Former Liberal parliamentarian Petro Georgiou is chairing a separate municipal review “to take a fresh look at the system of local democracy and to explore ways to enable more people to participate as a voter or candidate”.
