Julia Beckett
08 September 2024, 8:30 PM
City of Victor Harbor will revisit the question of electoral wards for council elections in a three-week public consultation exercise.
The Local Government Act requires councils to conduct a representation review at least every eight years, examining issues such as the number of councillors, direct election of a mayor and ward structures.
In the last review, held eight years ago, the majority of public submissions favoured a ward system.
However the council of the day determined that wards would be too difficult to implement in Victor Harbor.
Alexandrina Council has four wards - Alexandrina North, Alexandrina South and Alexandrina West – each returning three councillors; and a directly elected mayor.
District Council of Yankalilla has two wards – urban Light returning five councillors and Rural Field returning four councillors – with the mayor elected from within.
The current Victor Harbor consultation process will include information sessions on the pros and cons of a ward system, from the perspective of the council.
This will include listening posts at Victor Central Shopping Centre on Thursday 12 September from 10am to 1pm and at Victor Harbor Farmers Market on Saturday 14 September from 8am to 12.30pm.
Feedback can be given in person at these events or at the Civic Centre on Bay Road, or submitted online.
All feedback must be lodged by the deadline of 5pm on Thursday 26 September.
The results will feed into a formal representation review, with recommendations made to the council for determination.
Any changes arising from the representation review would take effect after the 2026 local government election.