Murray River Council has been given another nod of recognition by industry peers at last week's NSW Local Government Week Awards ceremony.
On the back of several wins at last year's event, Council took home two runners-up awards; Highly Commended for the RH Dougherty Awards 'Innovation in Special Events' category (for Moama Lights) and Highly Commended for the 'LGNSW Planning Awards' (for Development Services Restructure).
Deputy Mayor, Cr Frank Crawley expressed his delight at the council's significant standing within the industry at the Local Government awards.
"These awards shine a spotlight on the most forward-thinking councils in NSW, making our renewed recognition a source of great pride."
"Over the past few years we've consistently enhanced our services and spearheaded new initiatives, so these achievements are reflective of the collective dedication and the unwavering can-do attitude of staff."
"Whilst we may not have taken home the major trophy's this year, to once again be recognised amongst other NSW councils serves as a reminder that we're not just headed in the right direction but blazing a trail."
The awards, which were staged at Hyde Park last Thursday, celebrate councils who demonstrate excellence across a range of categories such as arts and culture, events, communications and planning.
The RH Dougherty Awards categories recognise a high level of understanding and communication by councils to their local communities.
The LGNSW Planning Awards categories focus on leadership, culture change and actions to promote the delivery of positive and pragmatic outcomes in the planning and development area.
The awards are managed by Local Government NSW and judged by leading experts in the field.
About the projects:
Highly Commended: 'Innovation in Special Events' (Moama Lights)
An immersive sound and light trail showcasing local stories, Moama Lights 2022 featured light installations and projections including theatrical fog, strobe and cutting edge moving light technology.
Returning for its second year, the light and sound show ran from 31 July to 21 August 2022 and saw over 25,000 visitors pass through the newly upgraded footbridges at Moama's Horseshoe Lagoon.
The event offered an enormous amount of economic value, with over $11 million put back into the local community. This was spread between overnight stays, dining, shopping and other local experiences.
People came from far and wide to experience Echuca Moama, cementing the event as a permanent fixture on the local calendar. One that generates significant economic benefits and increased destination awareness.
Highly Commended: 'LGNSW Planning Awards' (Development Services Restructure)
Not unlike other NSW councils, Murray River Council has struggled to attract qualified town planning and building surveying staff due to the short supply of expertise and the high demand seen within the industry. This has not only put pressure on our ability to manage high-level strategic planning matters but has put large pressure on the processing times of the 550+ development applications submitted to council each year.
So, council looked to review the department structure as a first step to address the problem, with a focus on improved and increased administration functions to better support local approval processes and enquiries that had been tying up the certified staff from processing applications.
It was from here that the merger of the 'Building' and 'Planning' teams into one Development Services Team was inspired, and the new roles of a Local Approvals Officer and Parra Town Planners were born. These roles help manage more generalised approvals, like some section 68 applications, so that lower risk approvals are processed faster and our technical staff can then focus on the more complex approvals.
The merger of the two teams also sought to reduced inconsistencies and promote communication by establishing common processes and procedures, as a lot of the approvals for housing is completed jointly between planners and building surveyors.
The changes have strengthened council's capacities and performance within the Development Services area and will help the organisation to better meet community expectations. The development services team is committed to continuing its momentum and monitoring its progress, identifying any barriers, and adjusting as needed.
