What Councils Do

Councils decide what services they will provide locally, however, there are some services which Councils are required to provide by legislation. These include:

• planning and development services, including building assessment
• some environmental health services, such as monitoring cooling towers for Legionnaire's Disease
• fire prevention (some building inspection, and some bushfire prevention planning functions are a duty, others are discretionary)
• dog and cat management
• some administrative requirements, such as preparing strategic plans for the area, maintaining an office, employing a Chief Executive Officer and supporting the elected Council.

Discretionary Services Provided for the Wakefield Regional Council Community

• Abandoned and impounded vehicles
• Administration of area (including special events; political lobbying, etc).
• Aged care services (eg passenger transport)
• Animals and keeping of non-domestic pets
• Animal and plant control (agriculture) through the local board
• BBQ's in parks and reserves
• Building applications
• Business development
• By-Laws
• Car parks
• Clean air controls
• Citizenship
• Community bus
• Community care
• Community functions (eg Australia Day)
• Community grants
• Community halls and centres
• Community information
• Community services directory
• Council newsletter
• Council property
• Cycle and walking tracks
• Dog management
• Economic development
• Emergency services levy on council property
• Environmental health matters
• Environmental issues
• European wasp
• Financial loans for community groups
• Fire prevention
• Footpaths
• Grant procurement - capital projects
• Grants - community assistance
• Home maintenance assistance (government program)
• Immunisation
• Insurance - community buildings and other assets
• Insurance - public liability (cost in 2007/2008 $76,397.00)
• Land development - residential
• Legislative enforcement - general
• Library services
• Lighting - streets/public places
• Litter control
• Local history
• Noticeboards (public)
• Ovals, Parks and Reserves
• Parking bays
• Parking controls
• Patrol grading
• Planning consent and court appeals
• Playgrounds
• Property searches (land agent enquiries etc)
• Public cemeteries
• Public seating
• Public toilets
• Recreational/Sporting facilities
• Road management
• Rubbish collection
• Rubbish disposal - transfer stations and landfill
• Signs - moveable/permanent
• Street closures
• Street lighting
• Street sweeping
• Street tree planting
• Stormwater drainage (eg catchment facilities, kerbing, etc)
• Swimming pools (public)
• Tourism promotion
• Traffic control devices
• Tree trimming (roadsides and other public places)