Councils want refund on abortive local government referendum Victorian councils are seeking Federal Government reimbursement for about $400,000 they contributed to promote the yes case for the referendum on constitutional recognition of local government. LOCAL councils which poured ratepayers' funds into a doomed referendum campaign now want taxpayers to bail them out. The referendum had been scheduled to coincide with a September 14 election, but was derailed when Kevin Rudd became prime minister again and called an earlier poll. In a motion to be debated at the Municipal Association of Victoria state council next week, the City of Maroondah said councils had expended considerable time, energy and funds in good faith in anticipation of a September 14 referendum. Councils spent about $3 million across the nation while the former Gillard government pledged to match the municipal funding for an amount up to $10 million. MAV president Bill McArthur said it was only right for councils to be reimbursed because they had donated the money in good faith. "It was the Commonwealth Government's doing that the referendum didn't proceed," he said. Cr McArthur said that the Abbott Government should renegotiate the campaign funding agreement that the Australian Local Government Association had made with Labor. But Tim Wilson, from the Citizens' No Campaign, said taxpayers shouldn't foot the bill for councils that spent millions on consultants and advertising for a failed bid to boost their status in the Constitution. The council lobby has millions in assets. They should foot the bill when they knowingly commissioned high-priced consultants for a referendum that was never guaranteed to go ahead. Councils spent millions trying to con Australians into thinking services were at risk, but cancelling the referendum proved it was always misleading and wrong. Cr McArthur said the referendum was still necessary because of continuing High Court challenges against federal funding of local government. "The problem hasn't gone away," he said. On Friday, the ALGA is due to meet the deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, to discuss the referendum issue.