By Staff Writer

Randwick City Council has won the annual A.R. Bluett Memorial Award – arguably highest accolade a NSW council can aspire to. The award is presented each year to the council that, in the opinion of the trustees, has made the greatest relative progress.

The award judges/trustees were impressed with Randwick City Council’s commitment to environmental sustainability, integrated planning, knowledge management and a wide range of recreation and lifestyle projects.

“Randwick City Council is a well-deserved winner of the A.R. Bluett Award, having completed an outstanding year of community service and local government management and achieving significant relative improvement," the trustees said in a statement.
“The council has a refreshing and innovative approach to the many challenges confronting councils today, embracing rapid internal cultural change and demonstrating its core commitments to public service and community leadership."

The trustees were particularly impressed with the council’s long-term planning strategy, its sustainability achievements and customer service initiatives.

Randwick mayor Paul Tracy said that Randwick City Council had made great progress in 2005 – 2006, initiating major changes in the way the organisation operates and in its achievements and improvements for residents.

“We focussed on getting the basics right for residents, building, maintaining and cleaning the City’s infrastructure and amenities, and true to our vision of ‘a sense of community’, the Council has been building community cohesion and strengthening our social fabric as well,” Cr Tracy said.

Cr Tracy also said the council remains debt free, has a long-term financial plan, and compares favourably with other similar councils, despite having a low revenue per capita base.