Geelong council will shift to single councillor wards under a major electoral shakeup brought by the state government.
A minister appointed panel has developed three electoral models for the local government area that include either 11 or 12 individual wards with new names and electoral boundaries.
Council is yet to adopt a formal position on the preferred structure, however acting CEO David Greaves is encouraging people to look at the proposals that were released by the Victorian Electoral Commission yesterday.
“The review is an important chance for the community to offer their thoughts about what electoral structure would best represent them,” he said.
Each of three models contain altering suggestions for electoral boundaries and ward localities, but only one suggests an increase from the current number of councillors from 11 to 12.
“The panel decided to include a model with 12 councillors as such an increase would be justified and appropriate for the council’s large and growing population,” the report states.
“In light of this and given population forecasts indicating relatively high rates of population growth to continue, the panel considers it appropriate for the total number of councillors to either remain at 11 or increase to 12.”
Suggested names for the new wards include You Yangs, Swan Bay, Seagrass, Corio, Connewarre, Buckley, Barwon and Deakin.
Feedback on the proposals is open via the Victorian Electoral Commission website until July 26.
To view the electoral structure review visit: https://vec.vic.gov.au/greater-geelong
Image: Geelong City Hall councillors are shifting to single ward representation (City of Greater Geelong)
