Felicity-ann Lewis has been elected as the new President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) following the conclusion of its Annual General Meeting in Hobart earlier this week.

 

Mayor of Marion in South Australia, Mayor Lewis has been serving in the President’s role since the previous President, Genia McCaffery, retired from the local government sector in September this year.

 

In accepting her election, Mayor Lewis said that among her main priorities was to continue the push for constitutional recognition of local government and to ensure that councils receive sufficient funding under the Federal Government’s planned review of the Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs).

 

"The whole question of adequate and certain federal funding for local services is of great concern to councils and communities alike," Mayor Lewis said.

 

"FAGs were designed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of local government but ALGA has long argued that the amount provided to councils is not adequate and does not reflect increased costs to local government in construction and wages.

 

"The Federal Government recently announced a review of FAGs for local government and while ALGA has welcomed the Commonwealth review, we have also stressed the need for the review to be broad enough to address the issue of whether current funding is sufficient.