Shire of Waroona takes full control of rangers as shared services contract with Murray shire comes to an end

Two Peel shires are taking back full control of their ranger services as a resource sharing arrangement between them comes to an end. The Shires of Waroona and Murray have been sharing the key council service between them for many years, but the arrangement will end later this week. Waroona shire president Mike Walmsley said it is timely the shire has its own rangers back. “I think the community will be happy with having a dedicated ranger service in our own patch,” he said. Cr Walmsley said having rangers living in the area would result in a reduced callout time and improved ranger availability, which has been an issue in the past. Alongside rangers, the two councils have been sharing IT and health services. The IT services have already been split, with the councils still sharing a health inspector on a contract basis. Cr Walmsley said he was looking forward to having the rangers back in-house. “It has worked well for a long time, but given the growth of Murray, trying to help provide us with a competent service was starting to become a challenge,” he said. Two rangers have been employed by the Shire of Waroona, compared to the single ranger historically employed by the council. Cr Walmsley said the changes would not impact the Preston Beach volunteer rangers, with the new shire-dedicated rangers expected to improve services to the community. Preston Beach volunteer ranger Noel Dew said he was extremely happy with the change and sees it only as a positive. “I’m looking forward to working alongside the new ranger service,” he said. Residents can contact 9733 7800 for ranger inquiries from June 26.