A radical reform of local government is to be proposed to give councils a new lease of life, Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera said today.

Speaking during the councillors’ annual general meeting, he said the reforms, would deal with local enforcement, regions and shared taxation. They would be carried out in consultation with the opposition.

A white paper on local enforcement had recently been approved by cabinet, he said and clarified that the shared taxation plan would not enable councils to introduce new taxes but would give them greater fiscal autonomy.

Dr Herrera said that the consultation period would take about four months. He said that the Opposition’s idea that councils should have their own ombudsman was a good one and he would be working on it.

The Parliamentary Secretary also said that a committee which was to carry out an exercise on the financing of councils met for the first time last week. This committee would be presenting concrete proposals on council financing by the middle of next year.