Welcome to REROC

The Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC) is a voluntary association of seven General Purpose Councils and one water county council located in the eastern Riverina region of NSW.

The members of REROC are the councils of: Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Greater Hume, Junee, Lockhart, Temora and Goldenfields Water.

The voluntary aspect of the Organisation encompasses every project that it undertakes. Members only participate in a REROC project if they believe that it will generate positive outcomes for their council.

Local governance is never sacrificed to achieve efficiencies, member councils are not pressured to participate in a project, it is never a case of "one in - all in". The members are committed to this stance and believe it is one of the reasons that the Organisation has been so successful over a long period of time. REROC members are committed to supporting the voluntary nature of the Organisation and believe that it is one of its greatest strengths.

Background

In 1994, a number of General Purpose councils operating in the eastern Riverina region of NSW identified a need to work more closely together to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness; not only in service delivery but also in their ability to represent the needs of their respective communities.

As a result of those meetings twelve General Purpose councils agreed to establish the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisations of Councils (REROC). The founding members of REROC were the councils of Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra, Gundagai, Holbrook, Junee, Lockhart, Temora, Tumbarumba, Tumut, Urana and Wagga Wagga.

Members were united in their vision for the Organisation, it was to be a forum where member councils could initiate and implement projects that harnessed the economies of scale and economies of scope that could be generated by pooling resources, staff and expertise.

In late 1996, the members reviewed the operations of REROC and recognised that if the Organisation were to achieve its full potential it would need a driver. While there was substantial goodwill in place to further projects, the Organisation's dependence on existing council staff to find time to implement complex projects across multiple councils resulted in constant delays.

The members committed to funding an Executive Officer, through an agreed annual fees structure. In 1997, this position was ultimately out-sourced to a local consultancy firm, an arrangement that is still continuing to underpin the day-to-day operations of the Organisation.

In the twelve years since this decision was made, Greater Hume Shire Council joined REROC as well as the two water county councils that service the REROC region, Goldenfields Water and Riverina Water. The county councils joined REROC as associate members.

REROC's Structure

REROC meets every second month; each council is represented by an elected person (usually the Mayor) and the General Manager. All members have an equal vote although decisions are normally made on a consensus basis. The County Councils are associate members and therefore dont pay full membership fees and consequently do not have voting rights. Meetings are also attended by a representative from the RDA - Riverina and the Department of Premier and Cabinet's Riverina-Murray Regional Office.

REROC is an incorporated association in NSW. It has three executive positions a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Treasurer with each position elected at the AGM held in October. The Chairs are drawn from the elected representatives.

REROC also has an Executive Committee that is elected at the AGM. This is a small group of people, Mayors and General Managers who meet between meetings to discuss issues and make recommendations to the entire membership about future directions for the Organisation.

REROC also has a number of special purpose sub-committees including an Infrastructure/Engineers' Group, Waste Forum, Regional Spatial Information Group, Youth & Community Development Network, a Planning Technical Group, Water and Wastewater Technical Group and Energy Management.