Council hasn't held a meeting since December, meaning the one coming up on Wednesday, February 24 has plenty packed into the agenda.

This year marks an election year for local government, so anyone hoping to nominate for a spot on council is urged to pay attention to these meetings and what they involve.

While only a small part of a councillor's duties, it is one of the most important roles to attend these meetings.

Meetings are recorded and can be viewed on Leeton Shire Council's Facebook page usually within 24 hours of the event happening.

So, just what is coming up at the first meeting of the year?

Councillors will be given an update on how its operational plan/budget is progressing, with dates to also be set down for ordinary meetings for the next year.

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Discussion will also be centred on the introduction of a new writer and artist in residence program at the Leeton Museum and Gallery.

The idea of this initiative will be to promote Leeton shire in creative ways, but it could come at a cost to council to the tune of $15,000.

This money needs to be spent to ensure the program can be safely held in an area of the museum that does require some renovation work.

The proposed writer-in-residence is Sarah Tiffen, with Dorothy Roddy the artist put forward for the artist-in-residence spot.

The selected artists will be based in the upstairs area at the rear of the gallery, an area that is not currently publicly accessible.

These areas require a level of refurbishment to be fit for purpose.

The proposed arrangement is for the artists to have free use of the space in return for supporting the growth, development and programming of the Leeton Museum and Gallery and Leeton's arts, cultural and heritage agenda.

Council's new ageing well strategy will also be presented to the meeting, as well as a draft housing strategy for the shire.

The structure of this document reflects that:

1. Growing the population and housing stock of Leeton shire is consistent with a wide range of state, regional and local strategic priorities.

2. Both recent demand for housing and longer-term forecasts imply that there will be a significant increase in housing demand over time.

3. The diversity in types of dwelling needs to increase over time to account for a broader range of housing requirements.

4. Issues such as housing affordability and sectors such as community housing, retirement living and accommodation for the aged and disabled deserve special attention to ensure the local market caters to a broad range of needs.

5. Five strategic themes, which are outlined later in this report, are intended to guide council's actions to ensure supply matches the needs of the shire as closely as possible.

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