Council this week adopted its Asset Management Policy 2022 and Asset Plan 2022-2032, which sets out how Council will fund and manage its assets to meet the changing needs of the community.
The adoption of these two documents follows a deliberative engagement process that included the insights and views of a community panel on Council’s approach to how it manages assets such as roads, footpaths, drainage, parks and others.
These insights were captured in the draft versions of both documents, which recently went out for a final consultation phase to the community.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Jim Child, said that feedback on the drafts from the community panel and the broader community were reflected in the final documents.
“Managing all the different assets in a diverse municipality such as ours is a significant challenge, but a vitally important one, given the role they play in enabling us to deliver the more than 120 services to our community,” Cr Child said.
“The draft plan and policy were already in really great shape following the input from the community panel, however some important additions have been made to the final documents following the recent broader community consultation that was undertaken.”
“One key theme we heard through the final phase of consultation was the need to highlight the natural environment of Yarra Ranges as an asset, as well as how climate change impacts are considered in asset management.
“The role that community groups play in asset management has also been highlighted in the final policy and plan.”
Other revisions that were made from feedback received include broadening out sustainability in asset management by identifying environmental, social, cultural and financial aspects separately.
“It’s important to remember that these are two high-level, guiding documents for how we manage our assets, and there will be further opportunities for us to engage with the community on the individual management of groups of assets, such as roads, buildings, footpaths and others,” Cr Child said.
“The deliberative community engagement process that was undertaken played a huge role in the drafting of these documents, and is something that we’re looking forward to doing more of for future consultations.
“I’d like to thank everyone who gave up their time to provide valuable feedback into the policy and plan, and look forward to these documents guiding our decision making in regards to the management of our assets in future.”
To view the Asset Management Policy 2022 and Asset Plan 2022-2032, visit https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Council/Corporate-documents/Policies-strategies.
