MidCoast Council is celebrating Local Government Week by creating opportunities to learn and win in a community-wide quiz competition.
Local Government Week runs from 31 July to 6 August and is designed to help local communities better understand the work councils do and the wide variety of services they provide.
"I'd encourage everyone to have a go at the quiz because the more you know about our local government area and how Council serves it, the more you can benefit from the many services, programs, and facilities on offer," said Mayor Claire Pontin.
MidCoast Council serves 195 towns and villages across a 10,000 square kilometre area.
"Our road network could almost stretch the distance from Sydney to Perth," said Mayor Pontin.
Mayor Pontin said Council is focused on continually improving the way it delivers core services like roads, waste and water. Council's roads program for 2023-24 will spend $60 million on roads, over half grant funded.
Council is also continuing to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Council is moving to solar energy at its waste and sewer treatment facilities and is committed to helping the community divert 70% of waste from landfill by 2030. Currently, around 25% of all the wastewater produced on the MidCoast each year is recycled and used to irrigate open spaces and farmland.
"Another area we have been improving is our customer service response times and self-service interfaces," said Mayor Pontin.
Council has five customer service points, and its Customer Service Centre receives around 12,000 calls per month.
Local Government is also required to provide a range of other services. For MidCoast Council some of these include managing 162 km footpaths and cycleways, 82 playgrounds, around 3,000 hectares of parks and open space and 6,000 hectares of reserves, over 30 cemeteries, 23 community halls, and 26 aquatic spaces from ocean baths to wet play areas.
Council also plays a key role in bringing tourist dollars to the area through its destination brand, Barrington Coast. In the 2022-23 financial year the MidCoast had the highest domestic expenditure on the north coast at $940 million.
Community members over 18 are invited to test how much they know about local government. The Local Government Quiz will remain open until Sunday 10 September 2023. By correctly answering 10 questions, participants will go into the draw for a #ShopMidCoast voucher valued at $200, $75 or $25.
Council will also be working with high schools and primary schools during and beyond Local Government Week to help them understand the role of the local government.
