Mayor's Report

Councillors,

It is my pleasure to present my report for September 2006 to September 2007.

I feel very privileged and honoured to have lead the Wentworth Shire Council in the role of Mayor for another year. The last year has been one of change, review, consolidation and moving on.

The mayoral role has been challenging and rewarding. It has also been demanding as reflected by my involvement in numerous meetings, openings, or invitations which averaged out to about 15 per month. Collectively the Shire’s Councillors have worked tirelessly and continually strived for the betterment of the community.

As Mayor I have continued to have an open door policy and met with ratepayers and developers on request.

As Mayor I have promoted the Shire and its activities strongly. I firmly believe that increasing Council’s profile in as many areas as possible is necessary to seize opportunities and lead from the front.

Over the twelve month period there have been many significant issues to deal with and a stronger focus on advocacy, representation and consultation.

I attended the Local Government Shires Association (NSW) conference in Sydney in June where I was pleased to see Cr. Warren Ward elected to the State Executive. I also attended the Strategic Alliance Conference in August together with the General Manager. Both conferences were important forums for councils in terms of policy development in relation to the former and progressing local government reform strategies in the latter.

The issue of water availability and its management has been critical for councils on both sides of the Murray River. It has been extremely difficult for Council to balance the expectations of the community with the directives from the State level. The General Manager and I attended two special meetings on town water availability in Albury and Deniliquin. The Murray Regional Organisation of councils (MUROC) continues to work with councils to express regional perspectives and views on this issue.

Planning and development within the Shire has continued to be a priority and as everyone is aware things have not moved as fast as we would like. I believe the Buronga/Gol Gol Structure Plan and all the associated plans are almost ready to be passed onto Planning NSW for endorsement. The Director Development & Environment, Mr Ken Ross, is to be congratulated on getting the plan to this point. The previous Strategic Planner, Ms Cindy Bright had tremendous input into the plans and has been certainly missed since she moved on for career advancement.

Council has moved positively by opening up opportunities for the development of the Aerodrome sub-division land and also the Mourquong industrial land by selling Council land. After many years the acquisition of housing land in Murray Street Wentworth appears to be nearly finalised.

The acquisition of land for the Buronga tip has taken much longer than anticipated so any future plans for that site, including recycling, have been put on hold. Recycling is often bought up in conversation with ratepayers as a high priority. I look forward to the process being finalised in coming months.

Council has endeavoured to find an equitable solution for the problem of separating the value of water from land valuations for property rating purposes. Three community consultation meetings were held to inform ratepayers of the dilemma and also to invite the community have input on other issues. Notwithstanding the effort to date, the challenge is still before us.

The Director of Corporate & Community Services, Terri Maguire has been very successful in keeping everyone in line with the budget and has put in a tremendous amount of time on endeavouring to obtain a Doctor for the Wentworth Medical Practice. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

In my report last year, I mentioned the Horticultural Task Force formed by Wentworth Shire Council and the Mildura Rural City Council which looked at strategies for our Horticultural Industries to survive into the future. Some very good ideas came out of the studies undertaken but these problems have been overshadowed by the severe shortage of water in our rivers in the past twelve months. This season is threatening to be the worst ever. Everyone will be affected by this as it has the potential to change the profile of the whole Murray Darling basin.

Last October we were fortunate enough to have Premier Morris Iemma and his Cabinet hold a meeting at Wentworth. The community had many meetings with the various Ministers. There is no doubt that the highlight of this visit was the positive hearing by the then Health Minister, the Hon. John Hatzistergos MLC on the need for a fully manned Ambulance Service in Wentworth. Clearly the collective effort of numerous representations and the delivery of a petition resulted in the Wentworth Ambulance Service commencing in March this year.

Wentworth Shire Council hosted a very successful Western Division Conference in March. This conference bought around 200 visitors to the area.

The Wentworth Shire area was again show cased when the Shire and Wentworth Regional Tourism staged the Inland tourism Awards night. This event was very well attended. It certainly lifted the profile of the Shire, not only to business operators from all over the State, but to the many State Tourism Officers who attended. The Fergie Rally was awarded a distinction as were a number of local entrants. Three local entrants won their category. Well done!

Another event assisted by the Shire was the Junction Steam Rally. During the Rally the PS Ruby finally made it to the junction under her own steam.

In the latter part of 2006 Council took an inward look at its operations by undertaking an organisational review. The outcome was 42 recommendations that will see the organisation, as a team, develop the culture and drive necessary to move forward.

The Review identified many areas for improvement. It essentially provides Council with a blueprint for the future. I congratulate all staff and Councillors for their valuable contributions and positive approach during the Review.

The General Manager, Michael Boyd resigned in November to pursue other interests. During the transition to the appointment of a new GM the Director Development & Environment, Mr Ken Ross, very ably took on the role of Acting General Manager. The staff have responded very well to the changes to date and have continued to handle the staff shortage which is likely to be with us for a few months more.

We were lucky to secure the services of John Webb who undertook the role of Director Operations until the appointment of Mr Bill Turner. Bill is proving himself to be very able. Welcome Bill!

Mr Peter Kozlowski was appointed to the position of General Manger in April. We are very lucky to have a person who is so capable to implement the necessary changes and move the organisation forward. The improvement is already evident. Welcome Peter!

Councillor Peter Crisp resigned in April to take his position of Local Member for Mildura in the Victorian Parliament. I am sure he will represent his electorate well. His resignation resulted in a By-election for the Shire. Councillor Don McKinnon was the successful candidate and his previous experience in Council will be invaluable.

My Personal Assistant Mrs Joy Neddermeyer resigned in October 2006 to take up a full time position closer to home. Her experience and organising ability was always appreciated. This work however is now being carried out very capably by Jill Davidson. Jill is always one step ahead. Thanks Jill!

My Deputy Mayor Mark King has been a great support during a difficult year. I would like to thank Mark and my fellow Councillors for their support during the year, and to those who attended functions on my behalf.

I must also acknowledge my husband Col for his continued support. He never objects about a sometimes disorganized household. Thanks Col!

Next year will be one of continued improvement and consolidation.

We are entering a most challenging time. All Councillors and staff will be tested as they have never been before. I am confident that our current team will be able to meet the challenges, forge a pathway for the future and deliver outcomes and the continued improvement that all Councillors and staff will all be proud of.