Bega Valley Shire Council’s staff and councillors, (from left) Emily Harrison, Anthony McMahon, Russell Fitzpatrick, Helen O’Neil and Mitchell Nadin, accept the prestigious rural/regional category of the 2024 AR Bluett Memorial Award. Photo: BVSC.
The hard work of Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC) staff has been recognised at a state level, after the council was announced as a winner in the NSW’s top local government awards due to the quality of 10 of its projects.
The council is the winner of the 2024 AR Bluett Memorial Award’s regional/rural category.
These awards, run by Local Government NSW, recognise excellence and innovation and are contested each year by NSW councils that want to be recognised as being the most progressive in the state.
“I am incredibly proud of this council and all who have helped us win recognition as the best performing council in rural NSW,” Bega Valley Shire Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said.
“This win is a testament to the strong partnership between council and the community, whose invaluable feedback and insights have helped us to deliver significant improvements across the shire.
“Our council team’s hard work led by the staff and the community’s guidance have helped make these achievements possible, and we’re honoured to bring this award home.”
Local Government NSW president Darriea Turley AM said the award was the most prestigious award in local government and that BVSC had demonstrated excellence and progress in local government throughout the past year.
“The real winners are the communities that benefit from the hard work and commitment of their elected representatives and professional staff in their councils,” she said.
“I think it’s especially pleasing to see Bega Valley Shire receive the regional/rural award as that council and their community have worked so hard to recover from the devastating bushfires of 2019/2020.”
Ten projects by Bega Valley Shire Council have been recognised by Local Government NSW. Photo: BVSC.
The awards were judged by three honorary trustees, including trustee chairman Les McMahon.
Mr McMahon said BVSC impressed the judges with strategies to maintain its $1.9 billion worth of assets following the devastating Black Summer fires of 2019/2020 and 13 subsequent disaster declarations by guiding the growth of the shire to a more sustainable community.
“With new tertiary treated water treatment facilities in Brogo-Bermagui following the fires and the restoration of the famous Tathra Wharf, the council embarked on strategies to improve vital assets,” he said.
“It also provided future proofing for growth by developing an additional 3000 home sites coupled with a new affordable housing strategy in Bega, providing existing residents a place to live.”
The AR Bluett Memorial Award has run each year since 1945 in commemoration of Albert Robert Bluett, who served as the secretary and solicitor to the Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW for 30 years.
Albert Bluett was highly respected by the legal profession and by the state government of the day and was instrumental in writing the Local Government Act of 1919.
This year, while BVSC took out the award’s regional/rural category, Lake Macquarie City Council was crowned the metropolitan/major regional winner.
BVSC’s submission to the awards highlighted 10 major projects, which included:
- Brogo-Bermagui Water Treatment Plant: ensuring clean, reliable water access for the community
- Tathra Wharf restoration: revitalising an iconic landmark for future generations
- South East Centre for Contemporary Art: bringing world-class art to the region
- Barclay Street Recreational and Sporting Precinct in Eden: creating a vibrant space for all ages to enjoy
- Affordable Housing Strategy: addressing housing needs through strategic partnerships and initiatives
- One Stop Shop Procurement Portal: streamlining processes for efficient community service delivery
- Internal Talent Development Program: supporting and nurturing local skills growth and council sustainability in the aftermath of the Black Summer and COVID-19 pandemic
- Special rate variation initiative: securing sustainable financial health for future community projects and services
- Fire and flood recovery expertise: expanding council’s resilience skills, honed through 13 disaster declarations since 2019
- Planning for future growth: developing the Bega and Wolumla structure plans to guide sustainable development in line with community needs and future growth.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on About Regional.
