Jim Slattery was a councillor for 16 years and was the last person elected as mayor of Cootamundra Shire Council  before the merger.

“A lot of people don’t realise, the rates don’t cover the cost of wages of employees,” Mr Slattery said.

He said regional councils relied on Commonwealth Government funding like Federal Assistance Grants and Roads to Recovery funding to supplement their income as they didn’t have other revenue streams.

Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council requested to continue a special rate variation beyond the 2017-2018 financial year but was rejected.

The variation was to pay for maintenance and it’s valued at $263,000 annually and will lead to service cuts.

That special rate variation was only for properties in the former Gundagai Shire Council area and was first levied in 2008.

It effectively means Gundagai residents will get a rate cut while the rest of the council area including Cootamundra residents, face service cuts.

“Council has to get that $263,000 from somewhere, it means cutting services,” Mr Slattery said.

“All that money you’ve got to find – it will be a nightmare.”

One of the reasons the special rate variation was denied was due to the government’s rate path protection commitment.

That stipulates amalgamated councils can’t raise rates beyond the rate peg until July 2020.

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke defended the policy and said the government had provided additional funding to council in the wake of the merger.

“There have been some challenges around the merger but the new council is thriving because of goodwill, teamwork and a desire to make things work,” Ms Cooke said.

“The council has been doing a fantastic job and they’ve been so helpful to me while I play my part in making the transition work.

“As part of a package of measures to protect ratepayers, the NSW Government announced a four-year freeze on rates for all new councils.”

She said council had received $15 million to cover the costs of merging and to build infrastructure.

“This funding has provided new and upgraded community facilities including footpaths, roads, pools and netball courts as well as water supply infrastructure.”

However, Mr Slattery argues the rate freeze and extra funding from the government hadn't been thought through.

He argued that infrastructure money was used in covering merger costs before even touching new projects.

“Merging costs means harmonising computer systems and a lot of it is used in that way before services can be paid for,” Mr Slattery said.

“A lot of people don’t realise Gundagai and Cootamundra had different computer systems, you’ve got to spend big money, it’s not a case of pushing a button.”

Those systems manage employee wages, supplies, rates and more.

“It makes a mockery of the merging process,” Mr Slattery said.

“I don’t think the government looked into the costs councils face.”