Council awarded highest accolade in Local Government
Published on 27 October 2022
Mid-Western Regional Council has won the state’s top local government award - the 2022 AR Bluett Award.
Council was named the winner in the Regional/Rural category at the Local Government NSW Annual Conference on Sunday.
Awarded annually since 1945, the AR Bluett Award is the greatest accolade a council can receive and is recognised as the pinnacle of local government achievement.
Mayor Des Kennedy and Councillors said this is an achievement for all Council’s staff, from the teams who work on roads right up to an executive level.
“We’re thrilled to receive this award which recognises our efforts as an organisation to deliver for our community,” Mayor Des Kennedy said.
“Council’s staff are to be commended on their efforts and hard work, day in and day out. This award comes at a particularly difficult time as staff work around the clock to protect our community and repair infrastructure in times of flooding.”
Council last won the award in 2013. Earlier this year, Council submitted a written application to the award based on the projects and capital works delivered in the 2021/22 financial year.
Council’s application progressed to the final round in the Regional/Rural Category with a panel of three trustees visiting the region in September to undertake an assessment with Council’s Executive Team.
The Trustee Chairman, Les McMahon said Council completed a number of key projects over the past year that improved customer service and diversified the local economy.
“Mid-Western Regional Council’s focus on driving improvements across all facets of its organisation has delivered enormous benefits for its community,” Mr McMahon said.
“It completed a range of projects including the Mudgee Arts Precinct and Stage 2 of the Glen Willow Regional Sporting Complex, while also undertaking a range of customer service improvements.”
General Manager Brad Cam said Council demonstrated how it delivered beyond the standard rates, roads and rubbish accountabilities.
“Whilst we did complete and deliver on some major capital works projects, we also implemented smart technologies to monitor our water usage, reduce our electricity consumption with LED street lighting and in turn offset it with a Council-owned Solar Array,” Mr Cam said.
“We’ve improved services for our community with an all new website, reduced our environmental footprint by diverting 11,200 tonnes of organic waste from landfill and worked with state and federal governments to immunise our community against COVID-19.
“I would like to acknowledge the work of Council’s 472 employees who give their all and are passionate about providing for our community.”