From Hilltops Council – Mayor Margaret Roles

Society is never static, always changing and adapting to environmental, economic, physical, generational, and political change. Change is a constant- not always easy or comfortable; but as a community we have the option of working for the best possible outcomes and opportunities that change offers.

Amalgamation of Boorowa, Harden and Young into our beautiful Hilltops LGA has been a change that has brought us together as one region with the potential to grow.

Hilltops is increasingly being recognised and noted. It was with pride that I noted, on a recent visit in Broken Hill, that Hilltops was being promoted as a premier tourist region.

We are emerging as a stronger, more streamlined, modern, corporate entity. We are well on the journey and I applaud the hard work of staff and the commitment of Council to the future of Hilltops.

There are still many challenges ahead and hard decisions to be made - one of which is the level of service that we, as a community, are prepared to pay for.

Local Government Areas (LGA’s) are traditionally concerned with matters close to our homes.

However, LGAs are also impacted by national and international concerns such as climate change.

A changing climate affects key infrastructure and this is a reality that local councils are facing now and into the future.

Roads and bridges are prime examples. Roads bind communities together but with increased variability of weather, the likelihood of extreme weather events increases and roads and bridges designed for a particular climate range tend to fail more quickly, decreasing reliability for users and adding to the costs to design and retrofit.

The challenge is to develop cost effective methods to strengthen infrastructure to prepare for increasing climate change-induced stressors. These changes will continue for decades to come and working together as a Hilltops LGA, we can be optimistic about dealing with the challenges that lie ahead.

Mayor Margaret Roles

• Topics:

• Local Council
• Community