Since February, senior council staff, the mayor, and some councillors have been to six rural villages, Armidale and Guyra. They have also conducted six coffee catch-ups in Armidale and Guyra - in total, meeting with about 100 ratepayers.

Armidale Mayor Ian Tiley said he and his fellow councillors are keen to work as a team and restore trust and confidence in the governing body.

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"All of these meetings are about getting out and just talking with the people and letting them know the council is back in business and trying to do our best to represent them for the remainder of the term," Cr Tiley said.

"We copped a fair bit of criticism naturally; some of the meetings were particularly tough in places like Ward's Mistake, Black Mountain and to a lesser extent Ben Lomond."

Cr Tiley said residents were concerned about local issues.

"At Ben Lomond, concern was about the upcoming Rangoon Wind Farm and the effects of the turbines on that neighbourhood," Cr Tiley said.

"At Ward's Mistake, there was a lot of concern about the perceived lack of expenditure on road maintenance, while Wollomombi was worried about the potential closure of the local waste transfer station.

"Residents at Hillgrove were focused on getting adequate maintenance for their pretty special museum out there."

Cr Tiley said he was able to talk to people about the upcoming council elections in September, about the council's financial situation, and the difficulties the council faces under the Performance Improvement Order and its financial protocols.

"I chaired and facilitated each meeting and tried to give as much airtime to the ratepayers as possible," he said.

"One woman in Guyra asked me point blank why she should have any trust in me after all that has happened, and that was confronting.

"I think that encapsulated the views in the main.

"People were pleased to see us in a way, but they also wanted to castigate us for the past.

"My answer to that was was well; I am here listening to you. We are trying, and we are doing our best.

"But I had a sense that many of those people are just tolerating the council and were there under sufferance, and that is understandable. I get that.

"For me, it's about doing everything humanly possible to meet people and to convince them that we are really trying to do our best.

Cr Tiley said he explained that the council is in budget preparation mode and has to budget for surplus under the Performance Improvement Order.

"We are also very light on staff, and our staffing capacity is limited," he said.

"Our new general manager is addressing that right now.

"But restoring a good healthy work culture is going to take time."

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Some of the smaller local issues raised council should be able to be fix fairly quickly Cr Tiley stated - things like potholes, minor maintenance and access issues, while other issues raised were more about the direction council is taking.

"There were some fairly small matters which are easily fixed, but they were not small issues to those who raised them," Cr Tiley said.

"I'm determined that we should go out again - although it will be harder the second time around if the issues raised have not been fixed - but that is local government.

"I've had the view for many years that you are only there to serve the people, and it is the people that matter."

Cr Tiley said overall it was a good experience, and an important one - particularly in a town like Armidale where he says there are negative views about both council and the prospect of the economy improving.

"That is why it so important that we have good people run for the council," he said.

"So we can change the mentality and lift the aspirations."

The mayor and some councillors will be available at Era Espresso in Armidale this Wednesday, and at JoJo's cafe in Guyra next Thursday, for the final coffee catch-ups.

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