The State Electoral Commission will charge council $386,500 to manage the election – almost three times the $140,000 it cost to ratepayers at the last local government election in 2004 which council conducted itself. This year the Iemma Government has taken over the elections through its Department of Local Government and is billing councils in advance.

“It (the extra cost) is a waste of nearly $190,000 to $200,000 that we could be spending on something else for the community,” said deputy mayor Chris Van der Kley.

“It’s appalling that they’ve taken it away from council who could run it much better than they could . . . This is again the State Government trying to take control of local government.”

But an electoral commission spokesperson said it was “disingenuous for councils to compare the cost of the 2008 election with 2004 due to historical, ad hoc arrangements where councils provided some election services in kind, for example by paying the wages of election officials, providing an office, clerical support and printing the ballot papers”.

“Councils have never known the true cost of these elections because we have not known ourselves,” said the spokesperson.

He went on to say it was “regrettable that the deputy mayor sees the cost of the democratic process a waste of money. What is important is that all electors who are eligible to vote are given the opportunity to vote”.

“In relation to councils running their own elections, only today we discovered one council was unable to get the date of the close of nominations correct in a bulletin they sent to ratepayers. Candidates would have been two days late nominating. This is an example of the problems that could arise if 148 councils were handed back responsibility for running their own elections.”

The electoral commission has arranged for the Blue Mountains and Lithgow to share a returning officer but a council spokesperson said the commission’s latest cost estimate “does not reflect a reduction in cost from sharing (this position)” .

Council will reduce the number of election pre-poll facilities to one as a result of the cost increase. This will be located at the old RTA building at 34 Parke Street, Katoomba.

Council’s general manager Phil Pinyon said “ratepayers and potential candidates should ensure that they direct all enquiries to the State Electoral Commission as requested by that office.

“The commission has requested that the council do not become involved in the election management processes other than to conduct the non-residential roll”.