Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s submission supports boundary adjustment with Coolgardie but wants debt guarantees

The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder put forward a raft of reasons for supporting a boundary adjustment with the Shire of Coolgardie in its 65-page Draft Submission to the Local Government Advisory Board — Boundary Change. However, the submission also emphasises that city residents should not be given the burden of the shire’s financially crippling debt — which reached $30.49 million at June 30, 2024, before being pegged back to $27.52m at June 30 this year. It states any inheritance of this debt would require direct State Government financial support or a formal arrangement that ensures city residents would not be financially penalised by absorbing the shire into the city. The city had kept the submission confidential at the request of Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley but this week released the document to local media ahead of making it public later this week. It should be noted that despite the statements made in the submission, Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillors have not formally voted to support — or reject — the merger of the shire and the city. The submission’s executive summary states: “ . . . the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder respectfully submits this proposal to support a boundary adjustment, incorporating the district of the Shire of Coolgardie into the CKB. “The submission is made on the proviso that CKB residents will be in a ‘no worse off’ position in terms of financial impact, service delivery standards, provision of community, sporting, cultural or community services currently provided or planned for delivery by the CKB. “The underlying principle would also apply to the Coolgardie shire community.” The submission states the city and shire share a common regional heritage founded in mining, migration and multiculturalism. “Coolgardie and Kambalda residents rely heavily on Kalgoorlie-Boulder for essential services — education, health care, transport, retail, arts and recreation,” it states. “There is substantial and regular movement from these residents to Kalgoorlie-Boulder for work, social and cultural purposes. “More than 10 per cent of SoC residents commute to Kalgoorlie-Boulder for employment. “School transport and regional sporting participation further demonstrate the extent of daily integration between the two local governments. “From a topographical and transport perspective, the towns of Coolgardie and Kambalda lie within a 25-to-45-minute drive, respectively, of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and are already connected through sealed roads, highways and digital infrastructure networks. “There are no natural barriers impeding a proposed integration.” The submission states a boundary realignment would build a more sustainable, resilient and regionally capable local government, equipped to meet the long-term economic, social, and infrastructure needs of the central Goldfields region. “The inclusion of the SoC’s area and population (about 3400 residents) will: strengthen CKB’s and SoC’s predicted economic and residential population growth; improve regional planning, co-ordination, and service delivery; eliminate duplication of infrastructure, operations and administration; reduce the reported financial instability of the SoC; and enable more effective utilisation of Commonwealth and State grants across the two local governments’ shared infrastructure,” it states. “Importantly, the CKB has the financial resources, governance capability and community infrastructure to support this growth. “It is already managing regional funding programs on behalf of the Commonwealth (valued at $22m), including employment, community wellbeing and youth services, extending across both LGAs.” The submission states the city acknowledges the importance of fair and equitable outcomes in any proposed boundary reform. “A critical consideration in this context is the financial position of SoC, including any existing liabilities or obligations which are currently unknown beyond the publicly available information,” it states. “It is important that the residents and ratepayers of CKB do not bear the burden of repaying another local government’s debt. “This would be contrary to the principles of equality, sound financial management and public accountability. “The CKB has a longstanding record of prudent fiscal stewardship, and its community has contributed to a strong financial position through responsible governance, efficient service delivery and long-term planning. “Any transfer of liability from the SoC without appropriate safeguards would compromise this position and effectively penalise ratepayers for decisions and financial practices outside of their control, ultimately undermining community confidence in the proposed boundary adjustment. “If debt or other financial liabilities are to be inherited as part of a boundary adjustment, the CKB requires assistance through direct financial support from the State Government or a clear framework for debt apportionment that protects the interests of CKB’s residents. “There will need to be a formalised arrangement to provide the level of confidence required by the residents of the CKB that they would not be financially penalised for any boundary change.” The submission states all permanent employees should be provided with a two-year guarantee of employment subject to continuing satisfactory performance from the date of creating the new local government. “The cost of the amalgamation has not been fully investigated as part of this submission primarily due to the SoC not providing the required information to allow the city to assess the financial status and any risk,” the submission states. “An indicative cost of up to $5m allows provision for a review of business processes and alignment, particularly information technology systems, creating a single rating and banking system, resolving any pay disparity, creating a new chart of accounts, training in new protocols and processes, rebranding, staffing and governance-related matters plus other contingencies.”