Mid-Western Region residents will head to the polls on Saturday, September 10. 

Anyone wishing to nominate as a councillor has until Wednesday, August 10 to lodge a nomination form and $125 nomination deposit with the returning officer.  

Thirty-nine returning officers will open their doors to the public from Monday as the countdown towards the 2016 NSW Local Council elections begins.

Around half the councils in NSW will have elections on September 10, the remainder have recently undergone amalgamations and will head to the polls on September 9, 2017.

“The returning officers are fully-trained, many with previous experience in the role, and are responsible for running the 76 council elections across NSW being managed by the NSW Electoral Commission,” acting NSW Electoral Commissioner Linda Franklin.

“Because the majority of councils having elections are located outside the Sydney metropolitan area, most of our staff are based in regional and rural NSW.

“Returning officers will be busy preparing for the candidate nomination process, handling enrolment enquires, recruiting and conducting training for office staff as well as election day staff, setting up pre-poll voting centres and visiting declared institutions in preparation for voting.

“Now is the time for people to enrol or check their enrolment details,” Ms Franklin said. 

With the nearest returning officer based in Lithgow, Mid-Western Region candidates can lodge their nomination form and deposit at the Mid-Western Regional Council offices at 86 Market Street, Mudgee.  

Nominations will be accepted during business hours from Monday, August 1 to 12 noon Wednesday, August 10. Nomination forms and other information is available from the NSW Electoral Commission website at www.votensw.info