Agenda of Demerger Transition Committee Meeting

Demerger Transition Committee Meeting Agenda

24 February 2026

NOTICE OF MEETING

A Meeting of The Demerger Transition Committee will be held in the Alby Schultz meeting Centre, Cootamundra on:

Tuesday, 24th February, 2026 at 4pm

The agenda for the meeting is enclosed.

Roger Bailey

Interim General Manager

Live Streaming of Meetings Statement

This meeting is streamed live via the internet and an audio-visual recording of the meeting will be publicly available on Council's website.

By attending this meeting, you consent to your image and, or, voice being live streamed and publicly available. Please refrain from making any defamatory statements.

Statement of Ethical Obligations

The Mayor and Councillors are bound by the Oath/Affirmation of Office made at the start of the Council term to undertake their civic duties in the best interests of the people of Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council and to faithfully and impartially carry out the functions, powers, authorities and discretions vested in them under the Local Government Act or any other Act, to the best of their skill and judgement.

It is also a requirement that the Mayor and Councillors disclose conflicts of interest in relation to items listed for consideration on the Agenda or which are considered at this meeting in accordance with Council’s Code of Conduct and Code of Meeting Practice.

Demerger Transition Committee Meeting Agenda

24 February 2026

4 Confirmation of Minutes

4.1 Minutes of the Demerger Transition Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 27 January 2026

REPORTING OFFICER	Peter Bascomb, Demerger Transition Manager
AUTHORISING OFFICER	Roger Bailey, Interim General Manager
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS	There are no Financial implications associated with this report.
LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS	There are no Legislative implications associated with this report.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS	There are no Policy implications associated with this report.
ATTACHMENTS	1. Minutes of the Demerger Transition Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 27 January 2026

Recommendation

That the Minutes of the Demerger Transition Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 27 January 2026 be confirmed as a true and correct record of the meeting.

Demerger Transition Committee Meeting Minutes

27 January 2026

MINUTES OF Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council
Demerger Transition Committee Meeting
HELD AT THE Council Chambers, Gundagai
ON Tuesday, 27 January 2026 AT 2pm

PRESENT: Cr Abb McAlister (Mayor), Cr Rosalind Wight (Deputy Mayor), Cr David Graham, Cr Penny Nicholson, Cr Gil Kelly, Cr Les Cooper

IN ATTENDANCE: Peter Bascomb (Demerger Transition Manager), Roger Bailey (Interim General Manager)

1 Acknowledgement of Country

The Chairperson acknowledged the Wiradjuri people who are the Traditional Custodians of the Land at which the meeting was held and paid his respects to Elders, both past and present, of the Wiradjuri Nation and extended that respect to other Aboriginal people who were present.

2 Apologies, Leave of Absence, and AUDIO-VISUAL attendance requests

2.1 Apologies

That the apology received from Cr Ryan be accepted.

2.2 Leave of Absence

Nil

2.3 Audio-visual attendance requests

Nil

3 Disclosures of Interest

Nil

4 General Manager’s Report

4.1 General Manager Office

4.1.1 Consolidating Expectations for the Demerger Transition

Committee Resolution

Moved: Cr Penny Nicholson

Seconded: Cr Rosalind Wight

The Committee recommends that Council:

1. Confirms 1 July 2027 as the target date for the commencement of the two successor councils.

2. Confirms that the primary objectives of the Demerger Transition Project are:

(a) By 31 December 2026, 6-months ahead of the commencement date for the new Councils, the project must have prepared documentation sufficient for the OLG to prepare the required Proclamation

(b) To enable the two successor councils to effectively commence operations the project must develop two separate suites of IP&R documents and other governance arrangements, including policies and organisational structure, that clearly demonstrate that the two councils will be operationally and financially sustainable in the long term.

Carried

4.1.2 Demerger Dispute Resolution Process

Committee Resolution

Moved: Cr David Graham

Seconded: Cr Gil Kelly

That the Committee recommends that Council:

1. Adopts the dispute resolution process as outlined in the report.

2. Updates the Terms of Reference for the Demerger Transition Committee to include the dispute resolution process.

3. Confirms that decisions of the Demerger Transition Dispute Resolution Panel (DTDRP) will be accepted and implemented by Council.

4. Undertakes an expression of interest (EoI) process to recruit suitable nominees for the proposed Demerger Transition Dispute Resolution Panel (DTDRP).

5. Confirm any costs associated with the DTDRP be met from Council’s previously budgeted demerger funding.

Carried

4.1.3 Confirmation of Previous Commitments from Council Submissions

Committee Resolution

Moved: Cr Rosalind Wight

Seconded: Cr Gil Kelly

The Committee Recommends that Council:

1. Recommits to the Objectives and Interventions used in the preparation of the Draft Demerger Transition Plan and Financial Sustainability Plan.

2. Acknowledges that adherence to the Objectives and Interventions may impact the development of CGRC’s FY27 Operational Plan.

Carried

The Meeting closed at 2:43pm.


CHAIRPERSON	GENERAL MANAGER

Demerger Transition Committee Meeting Agenda

24 February 2026

5.1 General Manager Office

5.1.1 Committee Meeting Schedule

DOCUMENT NUMBER

457955

REPORTING OFFICER

Peter Bascomb, Demerger Transition Manager

AUTHORISING OFFICER

Roger Bailey, Interim General Manager

RELEVANCE TO COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN

3. Protected and enhanced environment

3.4 Greater efficiency in the use of resources

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There may be additional Councillor travel expense claims if the recommendation is adopted.

LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS

There are no Legislative implications associated with this report.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

There are no Policy implications associated with this report.

ATTACHMENTS

Nil

Recommendation

That the Committee:

1. Alter its meeting schedule to be 3pm on the second Tuesday of the month.

2. Reschedule its next meeting to be 3pm Tuesday 10 March 2026.

Introduction

With the DTC meetings on the same day as the Council meeting, the committee recommendations are not considered by Council until the following month. This report proposes an alternate schedule to expedite consideration.

Discussion

Recommendations of the DTC technically cannot be progressed until accepted and adopted by Council. This means, for example, Committee recommendations from its January meeting are being considered by Council at the February Council meeting.

As the DTC is a Committee of Council and is subject to the requirements of Council’s Code of Meeting Practice (CoMP) it cannot modify its practices to, say, allow the approval of minutes “offline” via email as a s.355 committee might.

It is proposed that the Committee modify its meeting schedule as follows:

1. DTC meetings to be scheduled for 3pm on the second Tuesday of the month

2. Draft minutes to be circulated to Committee members no later than the Friday of the week of the meeting.

3. If, by the Friday of the subsequent week, no objections to the draft minutes are received the recommendations of the Committee will be reported to Council for consideration. This cannot take the form of receiving and noting the Committee minutes as the minutes have not been formally adopted by the Committee but will provide Council the opportunity to consider the recommendations reported in the draft minutes.

4. The Committee minutes will be formally approved at the next meeting of the Committee and reported to Council in the normal manner, but without the need for Council to adopt recommendations if they have been adopted under (3) above.

This process will reduce the time between the Committee making and recommendation and Council’s consideration of that recommendation.

Financial

Councillors that are members of the DTC may need to lodge an additional travel expense claim.

OLG 23a Guideline consideration

N/a.

Demerger Transition Committee Meeting Agenda

24 February 2026

5.1.2 Formal Approval of Software Acquisition

DOCUMENT NUMBER

458214

REPORTING OFFICER

Peter Bascomb, Demerger Transition Manager

AUTHORISING OFFICER

Roger Bailey, Interim General Manager

RELEVANCE TO COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN

4. Collaborative and progressive leadership

4.4 Recognised as a premier local government Council that represents and advocates for community needs

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no Financial implications associated with this report.

LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS

There are no Legislative implications associated with this report.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

There are no Policy implications associated with this report.

ATTACHMENTS

Nil

Recommendation

The Committee recommends that Council:

1. Formally endorses the acquisition and implementation of Civica Altitude ERP and Magiq EDMS software systems for the proposed Cootamundra and Gundagai councils.

2. Approve exemptions, under section 55(3)(i) of the Local Government Act 1993, to the tendering requirements for the reasons stated in the report.

Introduction

All demerger planning to date has assumed that the two successor Councils would continue using the software currently used by CGRC. This assumption needs to be formally agreed by Council.

Discussion

The Software

Council currently utilises Civica Authority as its main enterprise resource planning (ERP) system covering rates, payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, assets, general ledger and other modules. Council is currently completing a project to move to a new, entirely cloud-based version of Civica, called Altitude, which is expected to “go-live” next month.

Council has commissioned Civica to undertake a scoping study to prepare a project plan and costing to split the CRGC data. The scoping study will commence in April. It is critical that the project plan and costing are available prior to December 2026 as they will help inform the financial sustainability plan (FSP) and may be referred to in the proclamation establishing the two successor councils.

Prior to the 2016 merger, both Cootamundra and Gundagai councils were using Civica.

It is recommended that Council approve the acquisition of Civica Altitude ERP for the proposed Cootamundra and Gundagai councils.

Magiq is Council’s electronic document management system (EDMS). Council has commissioned Magiq to move from an on-premise system to a cloud-based system, with the transfer of the data from Council’s file-server to the cloud based system scheduled for the October 2026 long-weekend.

Prior to the 2016 merger, Cootamundra was using Magiq while Gundagai retained a paper-based records management system. While it remains possible for Gundagai to return to a paper-based system, it is not recommended. With so much of today’s communication being electronic, the capture and retrieval of information – both for operational effectiveness and to meet statutory requirements – it is far more efficient and cost-effective using an EDMS that integrates with Council’s electronic systems such as emails.

It is recommended that Council approve the acquisition of Magiq EDMS for the proposed Cootamundra and Gundagai councils.

The Exemption

There are multiple other vendors that can provide either an ERP, an EDMS or both. The normal process for a Council seeking new systems would be to undertake a public tender process.

In this instance, however, this is not recommended for the following reasons:

1. Resources: CGRC does not currently have the resources to develop the tender documentation and to complete the evaluation of submitted tenders to meet the timeframe to complete the FSP.

2. Data: While it is possible to transfer data from one system to another, it will be far easier, and presumably cheaper, to do it from one version of Civica / Magiq to another than to transfer the data to an entirely different system.

3. Training: Existing CGRC staff are already familiar with both systems and will transfer their skills to the successor councils. If it was decided to move to alternate systems then the staff would need to be trained before 1 July 2027, placing an additional burden on them in the lead-up to the demerger. This would be particularly difficult if different systems were chosen for each of the successor councils.

It is therefore recommended that Council approve an exemption from normal procurement practice for the acquisition and implementation of Civica Altitude ERP and Magiq EDMS for the proposed Cootamundra and Gundagai councils.

Financial

The known costs are already included in Council’s budget. The unknown cost of acquiring and implementing Civica Altitude for the successor Councils will be met from the allocated demerger budget.

OLG 23a Guideline consideration

N/a

Demerger Transition Committee Meeting Agenda

24 February 2026

5.1.3 Dispute Resolution Panel Membership Expression of Interest

DOCUMENT NUMBER

458631

REPORTING OFFICER

Peter Bascomb, Demerger Transition Manager

AUTHORISING OFFICER

Roger Bailey, Interim General Manager

RELEVANCE TO COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN

4. Collaborative and progressive leadership

4.2 Proactive, practical Council leaders who are aligned with community needs and values

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The financial implications will be determined by the number of disputes referred to the panel.

LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS

There are no Legislative implications associated with this report.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

There are no Policy implications associated with this report.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Draft DTDRP Chair & Member EoI ⇩

Recommendation

That the Committee approves the Expression of Interest documentation for the Chair and Members of the Demerger Transition Dispute Resolution Panel attached to this report.

Introduction

This report seeks the Committee’s approval of the attached documentation.

Discussion

At its January meeting the Committee recommended the establishment of a Demerger Transition Dispute Committee (DTDRP). If Council, at is February meeting, adopts the Committee’s recommendation Council will seek expressions of interest (EoI) from suitably qualified people to be Chair and Members of the panel.

The attached EoI documentation seeks to explain the role of the DTDRP and the eligibility criteria for potential members and will be used in conjunction with the advertising of the positions.

Financial

In addition to the sitting fees outlined in the January report, the attached documentation anticipates that Council will undertake background checks similar to those for ARIC members. This will incur an additional cost to be drawn from Council’s allocated demerger budget.

OLG 23a Guideline consideration

N/a