Toowoomba amalgamation - all 8 CEO's to remain ...

More and more the amalgamation of Toowoomba and its neighbouring shires is looking like just a name change on the stationery and nothing more.

With all the CEO's to remain to run the former shire areas, it appears that the main change will be an added level of bureaucracy in Toowoomba.

So much for streamlining local government and cost savings.

One concern is the reduction in the number of Councillors in the region and the accompanying reduction in Council oversight. The new Toowoomba Regional Council Councillors will have their work cut out for them keeping an eye on the bureaucrats and their personal agenda ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Amalgamation committee to call for Toowoomba employment of CEOs

11 December 2007

The committee steering the largest council amalgamation in Queensland will take the unprecedented step of recommending that all eight current chief executive officers (CEOs)be offered positions with the new Toowoomba Regional Council, in the state's south.

Under the state's local government reforms, CEOs are the only local government staff members not guaranteed employment for three years.

Transition committee chairman Peter Taylor says the eight have a wealth of local knowledge which would otherwise be lost, and their retention is part of a plan to establish a service centre in each current council area.

See - How many CEO's does it take to run Toowoomba Regional Council?