City of Merri-bek
The City of Merri-bek (/ˈmɛriː bɛk/) is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers 51 km2 (20 sq mi), and in June 2018, it had a population of 181,725.
| Merri-bek City Council Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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Location within Melbourne metropolitan area | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°44′S 144°57′E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 181,725 (2018) (33rd) | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 3,560/km2 (9,230/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 51 km2 (19.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Adam Pulford (Greens) | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Coburg | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Greater Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Website | Merri-bek City Council | ||||||||||||||
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The local government area was created as City of Moreland in 1994 during the amalgamations of local governments by the state government, being created from the former local government areas of the City of Brunswick, the City of Coburg and the southern part of the City of Broadmeadows. It was renamed to Merri-bek in September 2022.
In 2004 the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), an independent authority created under Victorian state legislation, conducted a representation review of the council's electoral structure, resulting in a recommendation that the 10 single councillor wards be replaced by three multi-councillor wards. A consequence of the change from single-councillor to multi-councillor wards was a change in election method from Instant runoff voting to proportional representation via Single transferable vote. Elections are held every four years.