The former Corowa and Urana shires were brought together without the hostility displayed in other parts of NSW and left the Coalition government considering abandoning any remaining forced mergers.

The two parties successfully rallied against a three-way merger with Lockhart and when Federation Council was proclaimed in May last year it had the potential to be one of the real success stories of local government reform.

Corowa and Urana were stable organisations with plenty of community interest given their largely rural settings.

Albury-based lawyer Mike Eden was appointed the administrator after having the job of bringing the parties together during the “Fit For The Future” examination period.

The NSW Government saw fit to only appoint single administrators which was in stark contrast to the Victorian experience from the 1990s when three commissioners were in charge when Premier Jeff Kennett slashed the number of councils from 210 to just 78.

Mr Eden's tenure has also coincided with two divisive issues inherited from the former Corowa council – the Howlong compost dump proposal and Corowa's future aquatics needs.

A final decision on whether or not the compost plant goes ahead won't be made by Mr Eden but his public support for the project has put him at odds with a large section of the Howlong community.

Also, his backing of a 25-metre indoor pool for Corowa, which goes against a community survey showing strong support for a replacement 50-metre pool, has led to plenty of detractors.

Crucially Mr Eden has lost the support of some former mayors and councillors from his local representation committee.

Their major grievance is the decision to appoint general manager Chris Gillard for a further four years and not wait for the return of elected councillors in September to make a call on their most senior staffer.

The clear discontent has coincided with the sudden departure of NSW Premier Mike Baird, who drove the amalgamation agenda.

Perhaps his replacement, Gladys Berijiklian, can short-circuit the grief and bring forward the election to the one-year anniversary of the council being formed.