Council
24 October, 2026
Time to consider popularly elected mayor: Culhane
Upper Lachlan councillor Paul Culhane isn’t happy about the way he was ousted as mayor at council’s September meeting.
Upper Lachlan councillor Paul Culhane isn’t happy about the way he was ousted as mayor at council’s September meeting.
He says he has nothing against new mayor Gregory Harris and nothing was done illegally “but it was a shoddy process and the shire has been used as a political plaything."
Cr Culhane told council’s October meeting that he had been ‘overwhelmed’ by the number of people who had contacted him sharing their dismay.
He now wants to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again.
Cr Culhane moved a Notice of Motion at the October 15 meeting that council look at adopting a publicly elected mayor and that it also look at reducing the number of elected councillors from nine to seven.
Council resolved that a report be prepared “on both the mechanisms as well as the pros vs cons” of a popularly elected mayor and a reduction in councillor numbers as well as the introduction of electoral wards.
The decision to look at wards as well came on the suggestion of deputy mayor Rob Cameron who told councillors he had been “thinking about these measures at great length”.
In his Notice of Motion, Cr Culhane said a popularly elected mayor could provide “greater continuity in civic leadership” and provide the incumbent with more time in which to pursue council’s strategic priorities.
He acknowledged that there “may also be disadvantages associated with this model that should be properly considered as part of any review”.
Cr Culhane said a feature of many regional councils was the prevalence of independent councillors without formal party affiliations or established voting blocs.
He said this could contribute positively to local representation but could also result in changes to leadership during a council term.
“Recent mayor elections, both within the Upper Lachlan and elsewhere, demonstrate that the person elected mayor by councillors may not necessarily reflect the relative level of electoral support received by individual councillors at the general election,” he said.
Cr Culhane said the number of councillors in the Upper Lachlan reflected historical arrangements arising out of the amalgamation of the former Crookwell, Gunning and Mulwaree shires more than 20 years ago.
He said given the “financial and administrative implications” of having nine councillors it was ‘timely’ to consider whether those historical arrangements were still appropriate.
Cr Culhane said there were relatively few councils with more than one councillor per 1000 ratepayers.
The Upper Lachlan has approximately 6669 ratepayers – or one councillor for every 741 ratepayers.
A number of councillors expressed concern about diminished representation through a reduction in councillor numbers.
Cr Terry Yallouris said the shire’s smaller communities, in particular, would be at risk of missing out.
Cr Alexandra Meggit argued against the Notice of Motion.
She said staff were already over-challenged and another report would add to their burden.
Cr Meggit said she wasn’t convinced there was a genuine problem with the current structure that warranted such a review.
She said nine councillors provided “modest representation” and any move the number to seven ignored the realities of the shire.
“There’s life outside of Crookwell,” she said.
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