Forbes Councillor Phyllis Miller has stepped up to the Board of Local Government NSW again, and was in February elected to the board’s senior executive.
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This is her third term on the board, and Cr Miller is excited about what’s to come in the next two years.
The mood of their first meeting in February was good, with new ideas from a fresh mix of people and a strong focus on rural areas.
“There was a real excitement in the air,” Cr Miller said.
“We have an energetic new board and everyone is so keen to get out there and advocate.”
The board has an important role to play in representing local government to state and federal governments, and Cr Miller feels it brings her much greater knowledge to bring back to Forbes.
“If legislation is coming forward, we lead the way with councils’ response to that,” she explained.
Some of the big issues on the table at present are getting decisions on joint organisations following local government reform and Fit For The Future and changes to environmental planning and assessment.
“Our policy positions are set at the conference, member councils put them forward,” Cr Miller said.
“We work our way through those and try to deliver outcomes before the next conference.”
Forbes’ submissions to the last conference called for changes to the process required to update Council’s Local Environmental Plan as well as a look at chain of responsibility legislation that affects Council as the owner of the Central West Livestock Exchange.
Cr Miller is excited about continuing with the board, believing it provides her with the knowledge to navigate legislation and ensure Forbes gets the best from it.
“I love local government and what it stands for,” Cr Miller said.
“Having been president of the Shires Association gave me a taste for state-wide representation.”
