The financial viability of NSW’s local government sector has reached the ears of the Prime Minister when three NSW mayors took the case of struggling councils to the country's top office.

The high level talks with Anthony Albanese last Thursday were initiated by the Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA), and its chairman Mayor Rick Firman OAM of Temora was accompanied by newly elected president of Local Government NSW (LGNSW) Mayor Darcy Byrne and outgoing LGNSW president Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM of Forbes.

The ability of local councils to remain financially viable has been in the headlines over the last few months but has been a problem brewing for a long time, with some councils reaching the point of “closing the doors” according to Cr Firman.

The main subject of the discussions was the restoration of the Financial Assistance Grants to one per cent of Commonwealth tax revenue, where currently it stands at .35 per cent.

Cr Firman said it was a very positive meeting and the board and members were very grateful Mr Albanese took 40 minutes out of his schedule to meet with them.

“We can only talk for NSW, we have 96 members of rural, remote and regional councils, and just that they're hurting without these financial assistance grants,” Cr Firman said.

“We need it (Financial Assistance Grants) back to that one per cent, as Mr Whitlam had introduced it back in the mid-70s.

“The Prime Minister has encouraged us to be part of the federal government inquiry that they've resumed into local government financial sustainability, so that's positive and he has granted open access to his ministers, particularly local government, and work beside them. I think that is quite unique.”

Cr Byrne said the Prime Minister was receptive to what the three mayors had to say and wanted to thank him for taking the time to meet with them.

“As a former Minister for Local Government, the Prime Minister absolutely recognises the many challenges facing the sector, as well as the need for direct engagement between federal government and our councils,” he said.

“This is our number one priority to ensure that all councils across the state - who stand at the frontline of service delivery to their communities - are appropriately resourced for what we do."

Although Mr Albanese did not make a specific commitment, he has kept the door open to discussion, according to Cr Firman.

Cr Firman said he told the Prime Minister he understood how tough budgets were but asked that he consider if the one per cent could be restored, even over a few years.

He also pointed out that getting more money to local councils is an effective way of distributing money into local communities.

“We told Mr Albanese that the CMA and LGNSW are launching a joint campaign to invest in us as councils so we can invest in them, our community and our citizens,” he said.

“It will involve social media, lobbying and various postcards that we encourage people to fill out and send to their local members, and so on.

“This is a very important first step in this journey. This is not a sprint but it is not a marathon either, because there's a lot of rural councils hurting, and when those councils are hurting and that flows to our communities, we can't stop our advocacy and lobbying. We just can't. And we won't.

“The Prime Minster wanted to learn more about the CMA and offered to speak to the CMA in the new year."

"Increased funding from the state and federal governments to these councils is desperately needed for basic infrastructure such as sewerage, water and roads,” Cr Byrne added.