Boy oh boy, hasn’t it been hot! I was whinging about the heat the other day and started to wonder why we live in the west, which sometimes feels like the desert.

Then it dawned on me, I live here because of all of you and the wonderful lifestyle we have. The way we care for each other when something goes wrong is amazing.

So all in all, the heat will pass and we will be great again.

Australia Day Celebrations are coming up and the Council and staff have a great day planned. The Rotary Breakfast at 7am, the Digger Family Swimming Carnival at 11am and the Family Party in the park at Lions Park at 6pm. There is no need to pack a picnic as we have some great food vans coming to the Party in the Park with heaps to choose from. Our Ambassador this year for Australia Day is Keith Potger. Keith is one of the founding members of the band, The Seekers and a very talented musician, playing guitars, banjo, mandolin, ukulele and keyboards.

This year will see two elections take place, State Government on the 23rd March and the Federal one possibly in May. Now is the time to start writing your “wish list” to the candidates, especially our sitting members Phil Donato for State and Michael McCormick our Federal member.

Council gets back into full swing on the 4th February. Enjoy your weekend and week ahead.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

Wow, how quick has this year gone! Firstly I would like to congratulate the Forbes Business Chamber, led by Margaret Duggan, on a wonderful Christmas Carnival street celebration held last Friday night. People are still talking about it. I think we have the recipe right and we may need to stick with it.

Council considered the Templar Street re-development last Thursday at our final Council meeting for the year and we are now having some dimensional plans completed on the area to see what it will look and function like in more detail. Option 2 was the preferred concept by the people in attendance. I want to assure everyone we are advancing the project, but with caution, it is important to get this right. You wouldn’t build a house from a concept plan so hence the next stage is to get a proper plan.

Many of the Council staff and Councillors will be taking a break over January in order to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for 2019.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and holy Christmas and blessed New Year. Enjoy time with your family and friends and above all, travel safely.

God Bless.
Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

It has been a busy couple of weeks in our Shire. Recently we met with the consultants regarding Templar Street for their recommendations on the CBD masterplan.

The community has decided of the three options supplied for Templar Street, option two was considered the preferred option.

This maintains a two-way street, raising the pavement and have nose in parking. In my column next week I’ll let you know of Council’s decision.

The Homemaker Centre Stage 2 is well underway with water and sewer being installed at present. In February/March major building work will commence here.

Council has been granted an extension for the Flood Study to incorporate the 2016 data, which is important as the last flood reacted very differently to previous ones. It is important we have the correct data included in the study to ensure the best solutions are applied.

Representation has been sought from Anthony Roberts, Minister for Planning, to try and get a gateway for Bathurst Street to change the zoning of this area to allow rural residential development in the eastern part of lower Bathurst Street.

Forbes Shire Council is pleased to partner with Clean TeQ and our neighbouring council’s in signing the Voluntary Planning Agreement for the Sunrise Mining Project on Thursday. This will provide an opportunity for Forbes Shire Council to implement unique community enhancement projects over the lifespan of the mine.

God Bless,

Your Mayor

Phyllis Miller

It’s my pleasure to be writing up the column this week. I attended a governance and auditing workshop run by Local Governments NSW with the Mayor and the General Manager this week. The message is clear; transparency and accountability is the cornerstone of fostering a strong trusting relationship between the council and the community.

We are lucky that in a town like Forbes we have a strong community connection and that we are always working together to improve things. Forbes is one of the first councils in NSW to adopt live streaming of its meetings, also to have an Audit Risk Committee as well as a Governance and Leadership Committee to ensure due processes are in place. It doesn’t however stop there, it takes continuous monitoring and improving the system to ensure all the checks and balances are in place to minimise unnecessary risks.

This year is coming to an end and there is a mad rush to wrap up projects and businesses before Council breaks for Christmas and New Year, not to mention squeezing in a bit of time for celebration and Christmas shopping.

I look forward to working with you again next year.

Your Councillor,

Susan Chau

As you all know from my column last week, I was in Alice Springs for the 2018 National Local Roads and Transport Congress.

While we were there we had a drought meeting early Thursday morning, which most rural councils attended and was facilitated by the President of the Australian Local Government Association, David O’Loughlin. There has been so much frustration amongst councils and the farming community with drought declarations and assistance. It is complicated, reactive and certainly not organised. I have written to the Prime Minister this week to request a process be put in place that is well thought out prior to the next drought.

Good news this week with the Federal Government saying they will deliver a surplus budget in 2019. I do hope Local Government gets its one percent Financial Assistance Grant.

It was a pleasure to be a part of the Forbes Amateur Swimming Club Inc celebrations on the weekend, for their 80th anniversary.

Phil Donato was also there to open the newclubhouse and present the awards.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

I travelled to Alice Springs this week with Deputy Mayor Jenny Webb, Councillor Chris Roylance, General Manager Steve Loane and Director of Engineering John Zannes for the 2018 National Local Roads and Transport Congress. This is a major event for Local Government nationally.

We received our Road to Recovery grant funds, a $1.8 million, through this forum and we continue to keep advocating for these monies to continue.

You may have noticed work happening near the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre this week. New sculptures are being installed and they will be unveiled next Friday, 30th November, at the opening of the Dreaming Centre expansion. This project has been driven by our local art society and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved, especially Keith Mullette and Kim Muffet.

Local Government, Australia wide, is advocating for the Federal Government to reinstate our Financial Assistance grants to 1% of tax revenue. When this grant was introduced in the 1980’s it was 1% and now it sits at 0.55%. This has eroded away over time and is part of the reason for our backlog in asset renewal. If you are speaking to our local member Michael McCormack, ask him to reinstate it to 1% again.

I will be marching in the Forbes White Ribbon Day community march this Friday, something I am honoured to be a part of.

God Bless.

Your Mayor, Phyllis Miller

It has been a busy time in Council this week. Most of you would be aware of the sheep transport truck that rolled at the entrance road to the Central West Livestock Exchange this week. I must congratulate our saleyards manager, Cassi Walmsley, the many Council staff and General Manager, Steve Loane for their contribution to the clean-up of this unfortunate mishap.

Council met this week Thursday and that also made for a busy day. On the agenda there was a grants update, the 2017-2018 Annual Report and the suspension of the Alcohol Free Zone in Templar Street.

For those people that have not paid a visit to our Community Garden in Reymond Street, I would recommend you do so, it truly is amazing. The garden is open to new members joining and they are a really friendly bunch. They also sell plants and herbs.

Propertyology reported this week that property values in Forbes have increased in the last 12 months by 15.9%. We have had the highest gain in NSW, with Orange gaining 11.1%, Bathurst 6%, Parkes -1.3% and Sydney -7.4%. This is great news for our future residential subdivisions.

Have a great week and God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

Your prayers worked, we did get rain!

Last week I attended the Country Mayors Conference in Sydney. Some of the key issues we discussed at the conference was what government, at all levels, are doing about the drought situation and regional water in general. Another key issue was the employment and skills shortage in the country. The NSW Government’s 100,000 free apprenticeships program was discussed. This great initiative is on offer over the next four years and includes all courses currently funded under the Smart and Skilled program.

This week I will be attending the Mining Related Councils Meeting in Crookwell. Both Lake Cowal and Northparkes Mines are preparing for an extension, which I am sure you realise will have an effect on our Shire.

Coming up on 29th November is the Fraud Forum. The seminar is brought to you by the Police and it is important for everyone to attend, to find out ways to avoid being caught out by people wanting to gain your private information and use it in an inappropriate way or without your consent.

I had a sneak peak at the new Men’s Shed this week. It is amazing, and I am so excited for them that it is nearing completion. They are however a little short of money to totally complete the job. I do hope they find the money soon as it will definitely be put to good use.

Have a great week and God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Mil

Another dry hot week has passed with no sign of rain. Keep the prayers up and let’s hope we get some soon. The Local Government (LG) NSW Conference last week was excellent and we were very pleased to have the Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton in attendance. They were excellent in taking questions… and I might add there were some really curly ones.

Work has commenced on the saleyards extension. This grant funded project will enhance the selling capacity of the cattleyards and of course create more jobs in Forbes.

Forbes is alive with roses at the moment. I drove around on the weekend and the town looks great. Thank goodness they are drought resistant.

The Baby Boomers weekend at the Services Memorial Club was a hoot and with more local support it could grow to a huge event. There were people from all over Australia in attendance. As locals we really need to support the entertainment that comes to Forbes.

Have a great week and God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

Last Friday Mayor Phyllis Miller, Deputy Mayor Jenny Webb and I attended the Samuel Johnson Gala Dinner. It was an extremely well supported evening organised by the Forbes Business Chamber.

Samuel’s presentation had the audience both hysterically laughing and in tears in seconds. His greatest career challenge so far, is raising money for a cure for cancer. #loveyoursister

This week most of the councillors, the General Manager, Director of Engineering and I attended the Local Government NSW Conference in Albury.

We listened to inspirational speakers of the highest calibre including The Honorable Gabrielle Upton MP (Local Government), Stephen Jones MP (Federal Shadow Minister for Local Government), Sarah Garnett (The footpath library), Robyn Hobbs (NSW Business Commissioner), The Hon Peter Primrose MLC, Shadow Minister for Local Government, Craig Reucassel (War on Waste) and Steven Bradbury (former Olympian).

It was very interesting to learn about “Smart Cities” which are technology driven and potentially assist in helping the city to function effectively. I found it a professional privilege to witness the motions being debated, amended and voted on in the business sessions. Our Mayor, Phyllis Miller debated a few motions and it was fabulous to watch her perform with expertise in a large forum.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have attended the Local Government conference and will embed the skills I have learnt in my own practice. “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

Michele Herbert