With the emergence of new media and social networks, the entire communication context has changed. Interactive content and high speed of information exchange in the time of digitalization enables all participants of the communication process to have an almost immediate feedback. The emphasis on the communication process has never been greater, which is recognized by politicians, as well as their PR experts. This paper researches the area of personal public relations of a mayor, the person who is the most prominent and the most exposed in media in a local community, in creating a positive image of not only him or her personally but of the whole community he or she works in. In modern times the sustainable development of society, including waste management, is of crucial importance for the development of that community and so the main aim of this paper is to analyse the correlation between personal branding of the mayor and the perception of the citizens of the city of Koprivnica regarding the work of the public administration as well as the role of a utility company in connection with waste management, all on the example of Mayor Mišel Jakšić and the City Utility Company Komunalac ltd. The main goal of the research is to explore the role of personal branding of the Mayor in creating a positive image of the local community. The main goal was split into three smaller ones: 1) determine the opinion of the public on the importance of waste management as well as the public satisfaction of certain services provided by City Management and Komunalac; 2) analyse media reception of the city’s strategy for managing waste; 3) determine the influence the Mayor has on the local community through media, regarding the importance of having a waste management strategy. Using the quantitative but also quality content analysis, leading national and local internet portals were analysed. The results reflect the image of the Mayor of Koprivnica in media and whether his role is primarily regarded as positive or negative in the chosen media. Also, if those are in correlation with the positive or negative perception of the whole local community in the context of topics regarding waste management, and the City Utility Company Komunalac.