Bega Valley council elections postponed again due to pandemic

Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said he found out at 2pm on Saturday afternoon that the elections - which were originally scheduled for September 2020 - were to be postponed from September 4, this year to December 4.

Council had already held an information seminar for potential candidates and this will have to be offered again given the time frame.

"We might have a whole new field of candidates," Cr Fitzpatrick said.

He said that two weeks of pre-polling had been arranged and felt that this would have worked well for Bega Valley but "the government had to look at the whole state".

BVSC acting CEO Anthony McMahon said current councillor positions and the office of the mayor will be held until the elections December 4.

BVSC will enter into caretaker mode from Friday November 5.

The postponement will mean that council will have its figures available for the 2020/21 financial year as they are expected to be presented to council in November.

This will give a clear picture of the financial situation as council looks to the future, its large list of capital works valued at over $80m and its priority projects.

The extra three months will mean business as usual for council, until November, allowing for the sign off of major projects such as the sporting master plans.

It also means any councillors who had already decided not to stand again and who were looking towards the end of council business, will need to reset their plans, and minds, for a further three months.

NSW Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock on Saturday confirmed the election date had been pushed back from September 4 to December 4 for all NSW councils except Central Coast Council, which is currently in the hands of an administrator.

Independent advocacy organisation Local Government NSW has urged the government to commit to holding "COVID safe" council elections before year's end.

"COVID safe local government elections must be held by the end of the year, to uphold democracy and ensure renewal," LGNSW president Linda Scott said.

"Public health and safety must always come first, but we do not want to reach a situation in which democracy delayed is democracy denied.

"Delaying elections further is a risk to democracy," Ms Scott said.