BY RENEE POWELL

Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty and Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM have been elected chair and deputy of the Central NSW Joint Organisation of Councils.

The mayors of the region that form the Central NSW Joint Organisation Board met in Sydney last week for the election, and to have meetings with State Ministers coordinated by Phil Donato, Member for Orange.

The Joint Organisation seeks to speak with one voice on issues of importance to the region.

“The great thing about this region is how collegiate it is," Cr Beatty said.

"To have the unanimous confidence of the ten other member councils on the Board to return me as Chair is very heartening.

“A good part of the meeting was discussing our key priorities on important matters to the region.

“Getting our message across to government is a big team effort and leveraging the knowledge, expertise and networks of 11 mayors will make all the difference."

There was a great deal of discussion about the significant value the Joint Organisation delivers to its members councils and their communities.

“In these financially hard-pressed times it is important to note that for every one dollar spent by our member councils on membership fees, $9.30 is returned in cost savings and other value," Cr Beatty said.