The work of local governance (Councils) is varied and it touches upon almost all areas of the day to day lives of communities. Its workforce needs to be highly skilled and focused on improvement, seeing, and making sure, its community is a great place to live and work.
Indeed, Local Government must be well positioned to deliver community lifestyle choices through successful advocacy and ongoing collaborative partnerships with government, industry, service providers and most of all its community.
Councils' functions are diverse and increasingly they are required to deliver on an enormous number of service demands. However, a Council must remain responsive to the changing needs and expectations within their communities, continuing to support and enhance the sustainability and diversity of their communities.
Examples of Council services and functions include:
• Statutory and strategic planning services including development approval, land use, sustainable environment, and local area planning.
• Infrastructure and property services, including local roads, bridges, footpaths, parking facilities, drainage, waste collection, fire and emergency services
• The provision of recreation and cultural facilities such as libraries, parks, sports facilities and fields, swimming pools, leisure centres, visitor services, halls and civic buildings
• Environmental and health services such as water and food inspection, noise and animal control including dog and cat licensing
• Community development services focussing on cultural diversity, children, youth, the ageing population, community care services, volunteering, community safety and economic development building services such as approvals, inspections, licensing, certification and enforcement
Local Government in Tasmania today consists of 23 councils and 6 city councils. The Hobart Board of Commissioners was established in 1846. With the granting of self-government to the colony in 1856, more local government structures were set up.
A Launceston Council was established in 1853 and 19 rural municipalities were proclaimed by 1866. In 1865, 11 municipal districts were also established, a total of 32 municipal bodies. There were also road trusts, and from the 1880s some town boards.
The Local Government Act (1906) introduced a new system, consisting of the cities of Hobart and Launceston and 48 municipalities. Subsequent rationalisations throughout the twentieth century reduced the complement of councils to the current number, and from 1964 the municipalities of Glenorchy, Devonport, Burnie and Clarence became cities.
Local government was initially concerned with property services, with the franchise based on land ownership. Rates, determined by property values, were the principal form of revenue. They were seen as a way of easing the burden on the colonial Treasury. .
Council responsibilities varied over the years, including at times police, ambulance, emergency hospitals, wartime evacuation of inhabitants, and some responsibilities for schools. Councils have also represented their constituents' interests to the state government, at times vociferously.
During the latter half of the twentieth century, the role of local government began to diversify as councils became involved in a broader range of human services. .
Tasmania's Local Government Act 1993 determines Council’s function to be:
(a) to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community;
(b) to represent and promote the interests of the community;
(c) to provide for the peace, order and good government of the municipal area.
Plus, in performing its functions, a council is to consult, involve and be accountable to the community.
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