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Mayors, CEOs meet on subsidiary

Denise S. CahillWestern Suburbs Weekly

Claremont chief executive Stephen Goode said Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove already had an established working relationship with each other.

"We took the view that if we create something small, we can always expand," he said.

Mayors, chief executives and finance representatives from each council have met about creating the subsidiary.

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Claremont councillors supported the concept at a meeting last week and will consider a further report on initial funding before determining its 2015-16 budget.

Mr Goode said initial planning stages would require investment from each council, so Claremont would determine an amount and seek approval from each council.

"It will take a year to get the whole thing set up before we can do much," he said.

Creating a regional subsidiary would allow each local government to retain its autonomy but create a shared administration overseen by a board. A Claremont report stated that an investment of time and finances would be needed to create and implement a subsidiary organisation.

Shared service delivery would not be possible without a business case showing financial savings, improved standards and new opportunities, the report said.

Claremont councillor Paul Kelly said he supported the proposal but was concerned about choosing "who we are getting into bed with".

"There are very close neighbours that we haven't included and when this becomes public there may be approaches from other councils," he said. "To get financial benefit out of this, we need to think bigger."

Cr Alastair Tulloch said a regional subsidiary would work in the Town's favour if amalgamations were forced in the future.