There’s never a dull moment in local government, but the past few weeks have been a whirlwind after travelling to Canberra for the 2018 National General Assembly of Local Government, back to Sydney for a day of meetings and attending the first Hunter Joint Organisation meeting following the Local Government NSW Summit in Maitland.
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It’s been a great opportunity to meet and talk with people from councils from across Australia and, unsurprisingly, a common theme was having to do more with less – reinforcing the ever-growing importance of funding opportunities from other sources to deliver the range of services and infrastructure to support vibrant and prosperous communities. Residents of the Singleton LGA tell us they want a diverse local economy and all the modern services they need without having to sacrifice the country lifestyle they covet.
But we also know our community expects sensible financial management from their local Council. That means making difficult decisions and putting some projects on hold until we can find other sources of funding. Singleton’s 2018/2019 Operational Plan sets out an $86.9million operational budget, including $31.45million in capital works. Actions include the development of a future plan for Singleton in the areas of the arts, culture and recreation; condition assessments on all critical road, drainage, building, open space and transportation assets; commission of a new animal shelter; and the ongoing commitment to reviewing the efficiency of our services.
And that isn’t just limited to multi-million dollar projects. We saw last week the launch of our LABrary, where a library collection of a different kind was unveiled with virtual reality, 3D printers and “droids”, delivered thanks to a State Library of NSW, Public Infrastructure Grant. We will soon see work commence on the next stages of the Rose Point Park all-abilities playground and expansion of the SES headquarters courtesy of the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund. Thanks must go to Member for Upper Hunter Michael Johnsen for his involvement in these outcomes.
With reports the “bigger-than-expected” $3.9billion NSW Budget surplus announced last month was partly the result of mining royalties derived here and with a State election looming, I’ll be continuing conversations with both the NSW Government and the Opposition to see more of that money being spent in Singleton.
