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There are over 700 separate local governments in Australia. Victoria has 78 which vary in size and population.
Maroondah City Council was created in 1994 when the smaller cities of Ringwood and Croydon joined with parts of Doncaster, Templestowe and Lillydale. It covers an area of 61.4 square kilometres.
You can see its boundaries on the map below.
Around 100,000 people live in Maroondah . . . if they all went to the football on the same day they would more than fill the MCG !
The name Maroondah was chosen by the State Government because the Maroondah Highway is the major road linking the east and west of the municipality. 'Maroondah' is an aboriginal word meaning 'throwing' and 'Maroon' means 'leaves'.
The Councillors represent the people who live and own property in Maroondah.
The municipality is divided into areas called 'Wards' - you'll see them on the diagram below.
Three Councillors are elected from each Ward, then together these Councillors elect the Mayor.
The Mayor is the leader of the Council - he or she is in charge of the Council meetings and attends many events in the municipality, such as festivals, school awards, gallery exhibitions, the opening of new facilities like the Croydon Leisure & Aquatic Centre.
The Mayor and the other Councillors are paid an allowance for the work they do on Council but it's not their full time job. They take on this responsibility because they want to play a part in local government and feel strongly about issues in their community. Anyone can be a Councillor as long as they are over 18 and eligible to vote in state and federal government elections. They must also win enough votes!
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