AS a re-elected Mayor I am looking forward to working collaboratively with the newly elected Councillors and the returning Councillors.

Some of the new Councillors have a wealth of government and corporate experience, and they all bring different skills to the table and with fresh faces come new perspectives. This is a good thing.

Some of our up-coming priorities to focus on include reviewing our budget.

We need to free up some funds to divert directly into our road networks and conduct reviews of all our services to identify where we can make beneficial savings.

Advocacy will be an important part of the process, keeping Ministers regularly updated on the issues we face with our roads and our limited financial capacity.

I will also continue to advocate for the community on improved health care and we will continue our commitment to actively engage with our Aboriginal community.

Something I noticed during the election campaign process was the majority of residents don’t understand the complexities of Council and how it operates.

The MidCoast is a large area that includes 195 towns and villages, stretching over 10,000 square kilometres.

To give you an idea of size, that’s roughly the size of the entire country of Jamaica! Despite its large area, the population here is relatively small compared to other councils in New South Wales.

MidCoast Council manages around $5 billion worth of assets.

This includes 3,600 kilometres of roads(about the distance from Sydney to Brisbane), as well as 669 bridges, 76 playgrounds, and 26 sports complexes, 11 Libraries, 34 cemeteries and nine inground pools.

This is challenging, and we often rely on funding from State and Federal programs to help us – when this is available.

There’s a common misconception that when money is spent on a specific project, it could be better used for something else, like road repairs.

However, most of the time, that money comes from specific purpose grants.

We can’t just move this money around.

We need your help to keep on top of some issues.

Use our “Report and Request” section on our website to report issues like vandalism, road problems, or stray animals.

You’ll get a request number to follow up on your report and see updates. Sometimes, our response will be we can’t schedule that work this year. Staff are continually seeking to improve how this system works.

There are also often opportunities for our community to share their thoughts on various projects and policies, so I encourage people to keep their eye out for those opportunities.

Our website is a great source of information as is the weekly News Wrap email that you can sign up for to get a weekly email newsletter.

I also encourage anyone interested in learning more about Council’s decision-making process to watch one of our Council meetings from the comfort of your own home.

Every meeting is live streamed from our website.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 30 October at 2pm.

By Claire PONTIN, MidCoast Mayor