That's the belief of Greater Taree City mayor Paul Hogan (pictured), who returned home from the inaugural meeting of the Australian Council of Local Government in Canberra confident of a positive future.

Cr Hogan described the meeting as excellent, not only for the successful outcomes in funding and recognition of local government by prime minister Kevin Rudd but also because of the opportunity for mayors from across the nation to meet and network.

Cr Hogan said it was clear there was a new thought process from Mr Rudd's government in recognising the importance of councils and their need for funding, both long-awaited issues for the local government sector.

Despite the many differences between each community, they all share one major area of concern.

"Everyone was worried about roads," Cr Hogan said.

Infrastructure too is a major issue for all councils, one that will be partially addressed by Mr Rudd's $300 million funding package.

"All the mayors were of one voice on these issues, and I think the Feds know this."

He said an interesting statistic to come out of the meeting - and one that augurs well for councils - was that it is 50 per cent less costly to channel funding into local government than into State level.

Cr Hogan was also pleased that Mr Rudd opened the door on securing constitutional recognition for local government, an issue he said must move forward this time after twice being defeated when proposed by the Whitlam and Hawke governments.

"It was very positive, and I was proud to firstly be elected, and then to be able to go along to such a forum as the representative of our community."