Wagga councillors reflect on the first year of their term, targets for 2023

Wagga City Council's brand new team of elected officials was confirmed just a few weeks later, with the region's hunger for fresh ideas evidenced by the five brand new councillors taking spots around the table.

Reflecting on the first 12 months of meetings, debates and big decisions, the councillors are largely positive and confident they have formed an effective team representing the region's residents.

In other news

Returning councillor Dallas Tout was chosen by his fellow elected officials to lead the council as mayor at the first meeting in January.

He said the councillors have formed a "very cohesive group" where everyone is confident to share their opinions.

"There has been a lot of highs this year but we've also had challenges - the biggest obviously being the flooding," Cr Tout said.

"The upshot is that through all those positives and challenges the community has been really resilient and so has the council."

Cr Tout said some of his highlights of the year have been the long-awaited launch of the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics Hub in Bomen, the official opening of the new PCYC building, and the multiple march outs, anniversaries and citizenship ceremonies he has been involved in.

His aim for the rest of the council term, which ends in September 2024, are to continue managing the growth of the region while finding solutions to the housing and worker issues.

Greens councillor Jenny McKinnon was chosen to serve as Wagga's deputy mayor despite this being her first ever term as a councillor.

She said the biggest surprise of her first year has been learning the strict limitations on what a councillor can actually do for the region.

"I don't think many people realise how much of it is driven by state government policies and things which are already mandated for staff to do," Cr McKinnon said.

Despite the restrictions, she said the first year has has been "fantastic" with great co-operation amongst the councillors.

Her proudest accomplishment was the very first motion she put forward, which resulted in Wagga City Council strengthening its community net zero emissions targets by aligning them with the targets put forward by the NSW government.

Cr McKinnon's aim for the rest of the term is to continue pushing her campaign for a koala sanctuary to be established in Wagga.

Georgie Davies was the ninth and final councillor to secure her spot in the chamber at the election, narrowly edging out former councillor Paul Funnell.

She said it has been "really rewarding" to see how much of an impact she can have on the community over her first year in the role.

Cr Davies said the nine councillors have been collaborative, proactive and practical while making some great decisions as a body.

Her highlight of the year was securing more shade sails and trees for playgrounds across Wagga and her aim for next year is addressing the region's road and pothole problems.

Learning about the huge financial problem which fuels Wagga's road maintenance issues was the biggest shock of the year for fellow councillor Richard Foley.

He said the elected officials have formed a "very good council", with everyone getting along and not throwing out personal attacks when they disagree.

Cr Foley said his biggest highlight of the year has been his advocacy surrounding Inland Rail and alerting many residents to the potentially city-defining impacts of the project.

Councillors voted to increase their salary by about $5000 in May and Cr Foley was proud to say he has donated all the additional money to the Edel Quinn men's shelter.

His aim for next year is to maintain the cohesion of the council and make some progress on fixing the city's road problem.

Labor councillor Dan Hayes said the council has been effective, especially considering the challenges created by the shortened term and delayed election.

He said the biggest change from his first term has been the ability for councillors to disagree with each other without resorting to personal attacks.

"It's clear all the councillors are trying to do their best for the community and it's exciting to be part of a council that is working together but is also prepared to debate different ideas," Cr Hayes said.

The biggest highlight of the year for Cr Hayes was the motion he put up in the very first meeting, which called for the creation of a comprehensive report into the region's road issue - the results of which were discussed in November.

His aim for the rest of the term is to tackle the council's budget issues, social housing and the CBD master plan.

First-time councillor Mick Henderson was the most popular candidate in the council election and said he has "really enjoyed" his first year.

He said the biggest surprise has been the amount of paperwork and the general operations of the bureaucratic system.

Communicating with the community and helping residents address their issues was his proudest accomplishment to date.

Cr Henderson, who is also the commodore of the Wagga Boat Club, said his number one aim for 2023 is to secure the Lake Albert pipeline.

Long-term councillor and former mayor Rod Kendall said this group of councillors has been "extremely respectful" to each other.

The highlight of his year as a councillor was seeing the launch of the terminal at the RiFL hub in Bomen, as the concept for the site began in his very first term of council.

"It was an issue I took up from day one so getting to that stage where there is physical operations at the transport terminal is a great outcome," Cr Kendall said.

He said his main target for the next year is to "keep making good decisions" and to drive more discussions and progress on road maintenance and renewal.

Returning councillor Tim Koschel said the fresh faces on council has made it an "interesting group", with lots of learning happening behind the scenes.

He said it has been a good working group but also one which hasn't yet been tested by any "real huge decisions" which divide the councillors.

Cr Koschel's highlight of the year was his continued work with the community through the regular one on one consultations he has with local residents and groups.

"My aim for next year is to keep the momentum going, look at rectifying the budget moving forward and making sure we get the funding we need to get our road infrastructure to where it should be," he said.

Labor councillor Amelia Parkins said she was happy with how her first year went, especially considering the council had major emergency responses to manage during the sudden floods.

As well as the flood response, she was also glad the council was having discussions about the "bigger picture issues" and thinking strategically about the city's growth.

The most memorable aspect of the year for Cr Parkins was the co-operation among the councillors.

"I'm definitely proud of how well everyone is working together for a common goal and outcome," she said.

Her aim for next year is also to find ways to fix the city's roads and also to continue her strategic work and get policy documents "up to scratch" to help fuel more informed decisions.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: