Hawkesbury City's Deputy Mayor, Barry Calvert - who has also served as Mayor - has been recognised for 23 years of service to local government.
Clr Calvert was presented his Local Government Service Award by Mayor Sarah McMahon at the Council meeting on December 13, 2022.
Clr Calvert was first elected to Hawkesbury City Council in September 1999. In this time he served as Mayor from September 2018 to September 2020, and Deputy Mayor from September 2016 to September 2018 and from January 2022 to present.
He also serves on Council's Community Services Committee, Disaster and Emergency Committee, and Innovation and Partnership Committee, and has previously served on more than two dozen other committees.
He is serving his fourth term as President of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), where he has overseen the development of the Turn Down the Heat Program, and introduced shared energy agreements to save western Sydney councils millions of dollars and reduce carbon emissions.
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Clr Calvert said serving the people of the Hawkesbury has been rewarding. He listed setting the Council on the path to zero net emissions, converting most of our streetlights to LED and most Council buildings to solar power, introducing Council's Domestic Violence Policy, leading the community through the 2020-21 bushfires and defending the community against over-development as his greatest achievements.
"I am incredibly grateful to our residents for the opportunity to make a positive difference to our City, and for being trusted with making the important and difficult decisions," Clr Calvert said.
"The last few years have been particularly challenging, with a pandemic, fires and floods and I know there is a lot of work to do over the next few years to help the Hawkesbury to build back better. I look forward to the opportunities and challenges the next few years holds."
