The City of Parramatta Council will exit the Western Sydney Regional Organisations of Councils (WSROC), following a debate over the value of its membership.
City of Parramatta is not the first to question the alliance’s value for money, with Penrith City Council pulling the plug in 2017 and others such as Liverpool Council previously questioning whether or not they should do the same.
Cumberland, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Liverpool are the current participating WSROC member Councils.
Despite City of Parramatta’s decision to split, there’s no doubt that plenty of fantastic initiatives have come out of its membership, as a founding member since WSROC was first established in 1973.
Some of the most recent include the ‘Turn Down the Heat Strategy’ and ‘Western Sydney Regional Waste Strategy’.
At the December 7 Ordinary Meeting last year, an initial motion was put forward to the chamber seeking approval to withdraw its WSROC membership.
City of Parramatta’s Greens Councillor Phil Bradley, who opposed the decision, said he sees the value, particularly in environment-conscious initiatives, that have come from the partnership.
Cr Bradley noted WSROC CEO Mr Casuscelli’s presentation at the December 7 meeting, where he argued that the Council receives $17.69 in direct benefits for every $1 of membership fee.
“I’m unconvinced that if outside WSROC, City of Parramatta Council can make the same savings asserted by WSROC, as we will probably still not be part of a possible Central City ‘consortium’ for some time,” Cr Bradley told Parra News.
A rescission motion was put to the chamber recently as some Councillors felt they didn’t have enough information as to why the Council’s sudden push to exit the alliance; however this was voted down.
In the report presented to Councillors, Council Officers stated that “WSROC’s recent activities have had greater alignment with the priorities of the Western Parkland City Councils”, rather than those in the Central River City, such as Parramatta, Hills and Cumberland Councils.
Because of this, the Council sees more value for money in the prospect of developing a new Central River City Council alliance and further a ‘Central River City Deal’, like that of the ‘Wester Parkland City Deal’.
“Council Officers have participated in workshops with other Central River City Councils to identify shared priorities and options to develop further joint advocacy for the Central River City, including reviewing the merits of a ‘Central City Deal’,” the report stated.
A further report is set to be tabled early this year to seek Council’s support on a possible alliance of the Central River City Councils.
There is currently $90,000 set aside in the 2020/2021 Council budget for its WSROC membership.
Budget savings will be reallocated to Economic Development for a Central City Advocacy Program.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.