Just days after his election as Orange’s new mayor was confirmed, Tony Mileto was in his new office in the Council Chambers and that’s where he plans to spend his term in the city’s top job.

A former police officer, Cr Mileto, was first elected to council eight years ago. He says it’s something he was always interested in, but felt he had to wait until his children were grown before he could do so.

“I think I've always seen myself as a leader in the community,” Cr Mileto said. “I've been involved in the Football Association for just on 30 years, where I volunteered my time at different levels.

“I was always interested in local government, but my view was that I thought I'd be selfish to allocate the time, which was required whilst ever my children were still at home.

“To be successful on my first occasion, I was really grateful for. That people showed enough confidence in me to give me that opportunity.” 

While Councillor Mileto stood as a Nationals candidate at the last NSW Government election, he doesn’t believe party politics has a place in local government.

“Local government is completely different than state and federal politics,” he said. “And it should be. Because we're here to serve the community. To listen to what they've got to say and engage with them and provide outcomes which meet their expectations.”

As Mayor, Cr Mileto said his priority is to have greater engagement with the community and to listen and deliver what the people of Orange really want.

That’s why he said it is important that people have their say as the Council prepares its new Community Strategic Plan (CSP). A CSP is developed after every local government election to guide the Council during the next term. Council has now begun an extensive consultation process that will be carried out over the next two months through online surveys, community forums and pop-up stalls across the city.

“My role is to listen to the community and deliver, where possible, what they want, and that's why we encourage people to be part of the Community Strategic Plan because that's their opportunity to have a say on the future of Orange,” Cr Mileto said.

“The community’s input is vital in forming this plan. It’s the community’s plan, That’s why we want as many people as possible to share their thoughts and views with us.”

During November and December, Orange City Council will conduct numerous public consultation sessions.

People can also visit YourSay Orange at yoursay.orange.nsw.gov.au to share their ideas and like other people’s ideas, place pins on a map to show locations that matter and complete a survey considering themes such as: “What do you think the main challenges facing our community are?”; “What have you seen in another town or city that you think would work well here?; and “What is the one thing you would like to see achieved in the next 10 years?”.

Community consultation will end on January 6, 2025 and a draft engagement report will then be presented back to the community for further feedback.

A draft CSP will be presented at an Orange City Council meeting in April, then placed on display for community comment for 40 days. The CSP will be adopted by Council in June.           

“I think we have a very good council and I'm looking forward to working with them,” Cr Mileto said.

“We’ll always have different opinions on different things, but at the end of the day, we need to do what's best for Orange and deliver what Orange wants.

“We'll deliver, I'm sure.”