MILLIONS of dollars is on the table for councils such as Tamworth and Walcha to help drought-stricken communities, if they want it.
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Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson is willing to work with them if they want a share of the funding pie after Gunnedah Shire Council secured $3 million of funding for its new Community Resilience Program on Thursday.
Gunnedah council put up $1 million of its own, and then the federal and state governments followed suit to get the project off the ground.
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Mr Anderson said he would continue to support councils such as Tamworth and Walcha as they explored all avenues to support the community during "the worst drought in living memory".
"I think every shire, every local government entity throughout the Tamworth electorate is looking at ways to support their community," he said.
"I congratulate everyone, whether it be Walcha, Gunnedah, Tamworth or Werris Creek - through Liverpool Plains Shire Council, they are doing a great job in a very difficult time.
"We have to stay connected, the four councils within my area are doing a fantastic job and I will continue to support them in any way I can."
Mr Anderson said he was hopeful Gunnedah's initiative could be emulated by other councils.
"Gunnedah Shire Council to their credit, came up with this idea of getting all three levels of government to chip in," he said.
"We think it is a fantastic idea and we are constantly thinking of what we can do to help our communities."
Gunnedah mayor Jamie Chaffey said the funding would be rolled out in the coming months.
"We are very keen to get things moving as soon as possible and are looking at beginning to allocate the funding in December, and continue in the new year," Cr Chaffey said.
"In the short-term, we are going to establish the guidelines around what the funding can be used for and go to the community for submissions."
Inspired by last year's $1 million federal government funding, Cr Chaffey said the council would explore a variety of projects to put the latest funding towards.
"When the last year's funding came out, we went to the community and explored some of the long-lasting ideas, we could deliver with that $1 million we could deliver for the community," he said.
"From that, we delivered a whole heap of programs around our villages and works on community facilities, such as our hall. We will be doing a very similar thing this time."
Cr Chaffey said the council had a "jump start on some of the projects" floated during last year's community consultation.
"We will come out to the community in early January and ask for some more ideas," he said.