Residents invited to review Community Engagement Policy

Residents invited to review Community Engagement Policy

Published on 03 December 2020

Baw Baw Shire Council is inviting residents to review the Draft Community Engagement Policy to improve future engagement opportunities.

At its meeting on Wednesday 2 December Council endorsed the draft policy and encouraged community members to have their say and share how they would like to be engaged with in the future.

The draft policy aims to:

Outline how the community can have a voice in influencing Council decisions Identify Council’s intention to act on community input Increase transparency of the decisions that impact the community Build the community’s trust in Council’s decision-making process and; Contribute to better outcomes for the community.

The policy has been prepared in response to the new Local Government Act 2020. The Act requires Council to adopt a Community Engagement Policy by 1 March 2021, and the policy must show how community can influence Council’s strategic direction through deliberative engagement.

Deliberative engagement processes allow the community to have a greater level of involvement in Council’s decision making. It also ensures that the community have the information and time to reach a joint position or find a suitable solution through considered discussion.

Council has included deliberative engagement practices in the new policy and will apply them to the development of the following key strategic documents: Community Vision, Council Plan, Financial Plan and Asset Plan.

The Policy also identifies different levels of community engagement depending on the significance of the matter being considered, and includes principles for how and when Council will engage with the community.

Council looks forward to hearing the community’s suggestions to make engagement work for the Baw Baw community.

The draft policy is available on the Council website and in hard copy at Council Customer Service Centres in Drouin and Warragul.

Consultation is open now until Thursday 24 December. For more information and to provide feedback visit www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au/HaveYourSay  

Quotes attributable to Mayor Cr Danny Goss

“The Draft Policy takes engagement to the next level and will let our community know that we genuinely want their views and that their ideas are important to us. We would like to understand how people from across our Shire would like to be involved in shaping our projects, policies and strategies in the future and how we can improve our processes.”

Quotes attributable to West Ward Cr Tricia Jones

“The new Local Government Act outlines some significant changes to how Councils engage with the community, which are reflected in the Draft Policy. Council is required to adopt this policy by 1 March 2021, so we are aiming to gather as much feedback from the community during this month to allow us to develop the final version.”

Quotes attributable to East Ward Cr Peter Kostos

“The new Local Government Act emphasises the importance of genuine community engagement. I’d like to encourage our community to review the Draft Policy and suggest any improvements prior to it being finalised in line with the Victorian Government requirements."