The Hills Shire Council

Do you hear what I hear? In the spirit of Christmas giving and generosity, a total of 2132 food items were donated and 164 long overdue books were returned across The Hills Shire Library branches. Throughout November and December, Hills Shire Library members had the opportunity to return overdue books and have their fines waived in exchange for a non-perishable food donation. All the donations went to Anglicare’s Mobile Community Pantry to help alleviate financial stress for those struggling with the cost of groceries.

A whopping 40,970 kg of paint was collected – that’s enough to fill over 1.5 Olympic sized swimming pools - at our Chemical CleanOut event, sponsored by the NSW EPA. Over one weekend on November 30 – Dec 1, we recovered 84 tonnes of chemicals and other hazardous materials. There was also 7,546kg of batteries, 2,888kg of pesticides, and 2,032kg of smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and aerosols collected and disposed safely. Keeping these chemicals out of the bin was a win for our residents and the environment. Our next clean up event will be our E-waste PLUS collection on Saturday, 15 February from 9am – 3.30pm at Castle Hill Showground. Bring along your old electronic items, soft plastics, hard plastics, polystyrene, and textiles for recycling.

Considering a career in local government? We’ve got the following roles available: // Principal Projects Surveyor Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 10 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay at $169K per annum (including car allowance and superannuation)  // Principal Coordinator – Budgeting & Financial Control Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 11 December Pay: Starting from $178K per annum inclusive of car allowance and superannuation  // Customer Service Officer Library Services Temporary full-time opportunity (up to 12 months) Closing Date: 12 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay starting at $68K per annum (excluding superannuation) // Customer Service Officer Library Services Permanent, full-time opportunity Closing Date: 12 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay starting at $68K per annum (excluding superannuation) //Early Childhood Teacher Temporary, full-time (up to 2 months) Closing Date: 17 December Competitive rates of pay starting at $1,677.94 per week (excluding superannuation), paid weekly. // Swim Instructors/Swim Coaches Closing Date: 13 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay starting at $38.91 per hour, (inclusive of casual loading and excluding superannuation) // Casual Fitness Trainer Closing Date: 17 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay starting at $38.91 per hour, (inclusive of casual loading and excluding superannuation)  // Senior Systems Analyst (Readvertised) Permanent Full Time  Closing Date: Ongoing  Pay: $115K p.a. plus superannuation  Senior Capital Works Project Officer Temporary (Up to 12 months) Closing Date: 24 Dec Pay: Stating from $114K per annum exclusive of car allowance and superannuation Capital Works Project Officer  Temporary (Up to 12 months) Closing Date: 24 Dec Pay: Starting from $104K per annum exclusive of car allowance and superannuation Explore all our current vacancies here: https://lnkd.in/gkhn9epA    We encourage all applicants, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, people of diverse sexualities and genders and people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to join us.   #LocalGovernmentJobs #CouncilJobs #PermanentRoles

The opening night of Illuminate the Hills at Christmas was a sparkling success after being postponed to Sunday due to the weather. The community waited out the rain with us and showed up on the new date to enjoy the lights. What started as a small-scale cosy event in 2022 has become a beloved staple on the Hills Shire Holiday calendar and one that our teams look forward to planning every year. Please head over to Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden, Baulkham Hills to enjoy the installations and the blooms. The lights will be on every night until January 2 between 7pm and 10:30pm. #IlluminateTheHills

Today is International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD). It aims to promote community awareness, understanding, and acceptance of people with disability. As we celebrate today, we strive to make our Hills Shire community a more inclusive and accessible place for everyone.   Council has: - Adopted a Disability Inclusion Action Plan so that people of all abilities can participate in the community. - Commenced upgrading Livvi’s Place, which is the most inclusive playground in The Hills. - Launched a Sensitive Storytime at Castle Hill Library filled with songs, stories, and sensory experiences for neurodiverse children. - Started Sensitive Library at Baulkham Hills Library which is a light and noise sensitive friendly time for library members with hyper-sensitive needs. - Introduced a one-hour sensory session at the Mayor’s Children’s Christmas Party, specifically for light and noise sensitive children. - Worked towards making our events more sensory friendly and accessible by having dedicated quiet spaces and a downloadable social story explaining the day, accessible viewing spaces and hearing loops at stage performances wherever possible. - Established the Disability Inclusion Award Category in the Sydney Hills Local Business Awards.   We will be continuing the IDPwD celebrations on December 7. Join us for a FREE sensory-friendly party at Powerhouse Castle Hill. It will be a fun, inclusive, and engaging day with a silent disco, roving entertainment, face painting, craft activities, and much more.   https://lnkd.in/gjTqtQhS #IDPwD #InclusionMatters

Meet our wonderful Hills Community Care volunteer driver Philip Probets. Philip drives around senior community members and helps them maintain an independent lifestyle and stay connected. “You get to meet so many interesting people with great stories who are so thankful for your help.” When asked about his favourite volunteering experience, Philip recounts - “Driving a lady who is approaching 100 years of age to a specialist physiotherapist. She has a wealth of knowledge and life experience which she shares with me.” “The second would be a gentleman I picked up from the eye clinic at Westmead, who had his cataracts removed and was absolutely joyful that his sight and colours have been restored.” To read more about Philip’s volunteer experience visit: https://lnkd.in/g5rFX-YW If you too would like to serve the community as a Hills Community Care driver, contact us on 02 9761 7606 or email [email protected]. #Volunteering #HillsCommunity

Join our team! We’ve got the following roles available: // Community and Corporate Events Officer Temporary, Part-time (21 hours per week) Closing Date: 29 November Pay: Salary of $45.74 per hour (paid weekly) plus superannuation // Senior Resource Recovery Operations Officer Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 2 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay up to 122K per annum (including car allowance) plus superannuation // Senior Resource Recovery Programs Office Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 2 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay up to 122K per annum (including car allowance) plus superannuation // Principal Coordinator – Workplace Relations Temporary Part-time (4 days per week) –12 Months Closing Date: 2 December Pay: Starting from $178K per annum pro rata (4 day per week) inclusive of car allowance and superannuation // Senior Systems Analyst (Readvertised) Permanent Full Time Closing Date: Ongoing Pay: $115K p.a. plus superannuation //Early Childhood Educator  Temporary Full Time (up to 12 months) Closing Date: 6 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay starting from $37.82 per hour plus superannuation //HR & Wellbeing Business Partner Permanent Full-time role Closing Date: 2 December Pay: Competitive rates starting from $114K per annum plus superannuation //Principal Projects Surveyor Permanent Full-time role Closing Date: 10 December Pay: Competitive rates of pay at $169K per annum (including car allowance and superannuation) Explore all our current vacancies here: https://lnkd.in/g8bmkeku We encourage all applicants, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, people of diverse sexualities and genders and people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to join us. #Sydney #LocalGovernmentJobs #CouncilJobs #PermanentRoles

The people of Sydney’s north-west have spoken! The NSW Government has now significantly scaled down their proposal for the Bella Vista and Kellyville Transport Oriented Development (TOD) precincts following your feedback. The original proposal forecasted 20,700 additional homes on top of the approved 22,576 dwellings without matching the infrastructure needed to support the residents and neighbourhoods. This number has now been reduced to an additional 4,600 homes instead. However, Mayor of The Hills Shire Dr Michelle Byrne called for the new proposal to be re-exhibited. All housing growth on the Blacktown side of Old Windsor Road has disappeared, while on The Hills side, it has doubled, with no detail on how infrastructure will be funded. Mayor Byrne said there were still no answers as to how the NSW Government would address the urgent need for schools, roads and playing fields. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gHs5tH-p #Kellyville #BellaVista #TransportOrientedDevelopment #CommunityConsultation

It was fantastic to see hundreds of sports enthusiasts down at the brand new Stringer Road Reserve at the official opening on Saturday. This is North Kellyville's second sporting complex after Samantha Riley Drive Reserve, which open in 2023.   The brand-new reserve features an impressive array of facilities, including four multi-purpose natural turf sports fields, which can be reconfigured into two ovals, four cricket practice nets, two full-sized basketball courts, 1.25km of shared pathways and a children's playground.   There is also an amenities building featuring accessible toilets, changing rooms, a kiosk, a referee room, and storage. Additional highlights include a 250-space car park, specialist LED sports field lighting, an advanced water management system to support sustainable operations and much more   We would like to thank everyone for coming down, our sporting teams who put on all the sporting activities and our events team for a great day. We would also like to thank our contractors, including TRN Group, who worked really hard to deliver this facility. It’ll be heartwarming to see the community enjoy this space. #StringerRoadReserve

The latest sports facility in the Hills Shire will open to our residents tomorrow. The Stringer Road Reserve sport complex is located in North Kellyville and features: • Four multi-purpose rectangular natural turf sports fields which can be reconfigured into two ovals. • Two full-size basketball courts. • Four cricket practice cricket nets. • Sports field LED lighting, irrigation, and drainage system with underground storage tanks to collect rainwater. • An amenities building with accessible toilets, change rooms, a kiosk, a referee room, and storage. • Onsite car park. • A local playground with picnic facilities. • Concrete shared pathways. Here is an aerial sneak peek of these impressive grounds and courts. #StringerRoadReserve