At a Meeting of Council last week (23/02), Council adopted the Central Goldfields Shire Community Engagement Policy.
In accordance with Section 55 of the Local Government Act 2020, Council is required to adopt a Community Engagement Policy by 1 March 2021.
Central Goldfields Shire Cr Grace La Vella said the adoption of the Policy followed a detailed community engagement process that was carried out between December 2020 and January 2021.
“Our sincere thanks to the 100 plus community members for taking the time to provide feedback to us via listening posts, online surveys, in-person meetings and written submissions.
“With this feedback front of mind, we’ve made changes to the Policy so it’s now underpinned by the wants, need and priorities of our local community.
“This Policy aims to further strengthen the community engagement activities that have been undertaken in previous years and most recently in the development of our Disability Action Plan, Reconciliation Action Plan and Positive Ageing Strategy – these are just some of the key documents our community have been directly involved in developing.
“Further to this, in the coming months we’ll be engaging with our community on the Community Vision, Council Plan and Budget and this Policy provides us with a clear standard of engagement to support this work in accordance with the Local Government Act.
“The Policy, alongside the updated Communications and Engagement Strategy which will go to Council next month, will be key for us as we work towards developing strong relationships between Council and the community over the next four years of our Council term.”
The Central Goldfields Shire Community Engagement Policy can be accessed at www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/policies
The updated Communications and Engagement Strategy will be considered at the April Council Meeting.
