What We Do And Why

Local Government, or Council, focuses on what’s happening at a grass roots level. They are elected by the residents of each local government area to make decisions that affect their everyday lives. The state government is like their overseer, setting out a range of reporting and planning guidelines they must follow.

We’ve got 537 councils across Australia, called regions, shires, cities, or towns. Each council seats a Mayor and Councillors to carry out Local Government responsibilities, which may include:

• Building regulation and development
• Public health regulations
• Local roads, footpaths, parks and playing fields
• Libraries
• Local environmental issues
• Waste disposal
• Community services
• Town planning and land use management
• Water supply

The Council is made up of eight councillors plus the Mayor. The Mayor is elected each September by the sitting Councillors. The administration of council is divided between the executive staff members under these departments:

 

• Office of the General Manager (Finance (Financial Services, Financial Planning and Economic Development), People and Culture, Legal Services and Information Technology)
• Creative Communities and Experiences (Entertainment
  Venues, Marketing and Communication, Events, Galleries and Museums, Australian Equine and Livestock Centre, Visitor Experiences
• Regional Services (Sports and Recreation, Civil Construction, Strategy Assets and Design, Project Planning, Plant, Fleet and Building Services)
• Liveable Communities (Development, Development Engineering, Community Safety and Wellbeing, Future Communities, Customer Service, Learning Communities and Companion Animals.
• Water and Waste (Water and Environment Operations, Projects, Strategy and infrastructure, Waste and Resource Recovery)

Local council is like the headquarters of community action. Being on the Council is your chance to step up, represent your area, and be involved in decision making to make things happen. Our community is diverse, and it’s important that our Council reflects that.

NSW, Council elections are held every four years, and involve selecting individuals from the community to be the representatives on Council. Everyone in the community over the age of 18 who is registered to vote must vote in council elections, just like we do for state and federal elections.

If you want to run for election, you must tick these boxes:

• Be an Australian citizen and registered to vote
• 18 or older
• Live in the local area
• Not be banned from running for any reason

Tamworth Regional Council works hard to make sure that the roads paths and lanes are safe and easy to use for cars, bikes, and people. Planned expansions and safety improvements make a better network by expanding it and adding safety features. These improvements include:

• Road maintenance and repairs
• Maintaining car parks
• Building and maintaining public facilities
• Upgrading parks and gardens in the community

Tamworth Regional Council is dedicated to ensuring safety around water, sewage and drainage.

They do this by:

• Treating water for safe drinking
• Maintaining and upgrading water supply networks that delivers
• Water to homes and businesses
• Sewage treatment
• Sewerage management systems
• Liquid Trade Waste management
• Recreational Vehicle Dump Points

Tamworth Regional Council manages and responds to fire and flood threats by ensuring Council has:

Fire management plans

• Preparation and hazard reduction
• Firefighting resources
• Flood Risk Management Plans
• Property owners’ awareness of the risks of both fire and flood
• Prevention of new building being constructed in high-risk zones

 

Visit this link to see what projects are happening around the Tamworth Region. 

Tamworth Regional Council controls many of the activities in the region that may have an impact on the environment and the environmental quality in the region.

Council controls how land is used in the Tamworth region.

This entails:

• Deciding where housing and commercial business buildings are developed
• Designating areas that need to be protected for conservation
• Setting rules that outline how much development can happen in one specific area

A key document setting out land use guidelines is the Tamworth Region Local Environmental Plan (<~~DocAnnotation.type.296~~> <~~DocAnnotation.size.296~~>). It is reviewed and updated regularly. 

Like any community, a lot of rubbish is generated by the residents of the Tamworth Region.

Tamworth Regional Council handles this waste by:

• Organising the collection of waste
• Ensuring the community has recycling services
• Managing transfers stations for waste collection and recycling facilities
• Maintaining cleanliness in streets, footpaths and other public areas

 

Tamworth Regional Council works hard to protect and improve natural habitats and wildlife diversity.

This is achieved by:

• Managing pests and weeds
• Planting more trees
• Encouraging people to grow native plants in their backyard

Both Council and the State Government have rules for building and development. Approval is needed before construction can start. This helps make sure that buildings and infrastructure are safe and meet the community’s needs now and in the future.

A key document is the Tamworth Region Development Control Plan. This is reviewed and updated regularly.

 

Council provides a range of services that make life better for the people that live across the Tamworth region. These include libraries, community halls, and programs for different groups like young people, seniors and people from different countries.

 

Tamworth Regional Council encourages arts and culture to bring our community together and celebrate our identity and history.

Council provides places like:

• Art galleries
• Community event spaces such as town halls
• Public spaces for community use
• Sports centres
• Parks and gardens
• Entertainment centres
• Public Health and Safety

 

Tamworth Regional Council cares about keeping the community healthy and safe. They have rules to reduce risks and raise awareness.

These include:

• Making sure food is handled safely in food services business across the region
• Keeping public spaces clean
• Providing safe public facilities

 

Property taxes are based on the value of the land and are used to pay for activities that are not covered by other fees.

Grant funding comes from both a state and national level of government. Council can decide how to spend the money depending on the kind of grant that has been awarded. Some grants are meant for specific things, like fixing infrastructure or providing essential services.

To cover the costs of water and sewer, and waste services, the council charges both annual fees and user fees. Annual charges go to properties that benefit from these services.

User fees are a sum of money paid to be able to use different services or facilities like public halls, parks and gardens, recreation and entertainment activities, swimming pools, sports facilities, libraries.