Mayor Phyllis Miller will serve as president of the peak body representing NSW councils this year.
Our mayor has taken on leadership of Local Government NSW after Cr Darriea Turley had to step down from the role unexpectedly.
Cr Turley AM was elected president in 2021 and again in 2023, but last November her Broken Hill City Council resolved to resign from LGNSW which meant she could no longer hold the office.
Mayor Miller paid tribute to the work Cr Turley had under way and said she'd hit the ground running in the same direction.
"LGNSW, having the membership of all the councils, is terribly important because we go forward to the government with one voice," Mayor Miller said.
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"We decide our policies at our conference every year and they're the things we take forward."
Financial sustainability is top of the priority list for the mayor.
"We get so much cost shifting from other levels of government that that makes our role pretty difficult so I'll be keeping my eye firmly on that," Mayor Miller said.
"It is a big year ahead and it's exciting.
Mayor Miller has previously served as president of the Shires Association, and has been on the board of the Local Government Association since they amalgamated in 2013.
She was appointed vice president last year, and will serve as president to the next annual conference in November 2025.
In writing to members to notify them of her sudden departure, Cr Turley expressed disappointment but emphasised her belief that the organisation would remain in a position of strength under the new leadership of Mayor Miller, which came into effected on Wednesday December 25.
Cr Turley went on to highlight some of the key achievements during her time as President:
Strengthening LGNSW’s relationship with the new NSW Government by entering into a new Intergovernmental Agreement.
Forcing State and Federal governments to look seriously at the dire state of financial sustainability for local government.
The work that LGNSW has been doing on the growing burden of cost shifting, highlighting the significantly detrimental effect this practice has had on the sector.
Similarly, achieving a welcome change to the Rate Peg Methodology.
The Minns Government taking significant steps on the issues of the Emergency Services Levy and Red Fleet Assets as a direct result of LGNSW advocacy. The current ESL consultation includes consideration of removing this impost from councils. Meanwhile, the Red Fleet issue is being looked at by a dedicated inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee. It was also the basis of a strong recommendation of the abovementioned inquiry, which appropriately recognised that Rural Fire Service assets should be vested in the NSW Government, and not in councils.
This year’s announcement of the $252.2 million Apprentices and Traineeships program came after a great deal of hard work and lobbying from LGNSW and the United Services Union.
Securing a commitment from the NSW Government to legislate to protect Local Water Utilities from privatisation was so important to our sector and to the communities we serve.
Declaration of the statewide roads emergency following torrential rain and floods, resulted in hundreds of millions of additional funding for council roads.
Cr Turley will remain as an elected member of Broken Hill City Council, marking 30 years of representation in that role this year.
“I love serving my community and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the LGNSW Board.
"Local Government is THE most important sphere of government – we not only represent our community, but we also work with them to make our neighbourhoods more liveable, to provide essential services, to facilitate a sense of connectedness and to deliver vital infrastructure and facilities.
“I look forward to watching LGNSW to continue to grow from strength to strength. Best wishes to Phyllis and the team as I now hand over the reins.”
