Branded Year of Opportunity, Ararat Rural City Council initiated and hosted an inaugural forum to break down what it means to be a good council and the key issues facing small regional councils.

An early panel discussion on Thursday touched on how to best prepare for rate capping, partnerships between councils (particularly on boundaries) and stronger relationships between councillors and council administrators.

But Ararat deputy mayor Glenda McLean said the fundamental basis was about best engaging, and listening to, the communities they served.

“What we want to say, with all due respect to our metropolitan councils, is that the thinking doesn’t have to end in Deer Park. Great thinking goes on here too,” Cr McLean said.

“Small councils have to be flexible, we have lots of jobs with fewer council workers. But if small councils have good ideas, they can be more flexible to implementing change than bigger councils with more levels to go through for approval...We want to get results.”

Cr McLean was inspired to drive the forum, stemming from her involvement in a lobbying group, which encouraged the community to ask more questions and demand more from government.

She flipped the concept, to get councils scrutinising what they were doing to tackle big issues and service efficiency in their own backyards.

Regional Victoria Parliamentary Secretary Danielle Green, who was guest speaker in the morning session, said it was up to each council to determine what these issues were, but such a forum helped to strengthen agenda setting​ when it came to lobbying state government.

“We talked about doing government differently, a focus on engaging and genuinely listening to community concerns,” Ms Green said.

“Across the sector, the community wants to get value for money and wants to see outcomes: jobs for their children, getting training for the jobs they want, and needs in education, health, roads and rail.”

The forum continued with specific workshops with local government experts on Thursday afternoon.