Residents invited to decide community priorities for the future

Residents invited to decide community priorities for the future

Published on 17 February 2021

Council is calling on the community to share their ideas and aspirations for the Shire over the next thirty years.

Over the coming months, residents will have a range of opportunities to design a Community Vision for the Shire, which directly guides the development of the Council Plan 2021-2025 and Financial Plan 2021-31.

This is an essential part of the Local Government Act 2020, requiring all Victorian Councils to work closely with their community to design a Community Vision.

There are three ways for the community to contribute to the Community Vision, including:

Completing a community survey, which will be available from 1 March to 2 April. Registering your interest to participate in a focus group, to be held in March. Applying to join the Community Panel, which will bring together 40 community members to consider the insights from the focus groups and survey in detail over five sessions.

Community members are encouraged to be involved and consider the following key questions:

What are your long-term goals and priorities for Baw Baw Shire? What would you like to stay the same? What would you like to change? What does Baw Baw Shire need to prioritise to achieve this vision?

All members of the community will have the opportunity to be involved and everyone in the Shire - young and old, new residents and long-standing alike - are encouraged to share their priorities and make their opinions heard to build a genuine Community Vision for Baw Baw.

To make sure we get it right, following this community-led process, draft documents will be presented back to the community for further feedback before they being presented to Council for adoption by 31 October 2021, in line with the Local Government Act 2020.

More information, including how to register your interest for the focus groups, can be found at www.bawbawshire.vic.gov/CommunityVision

Quotes attributable to Mayor Cr Danny Goss

“We’re encouraging everyone to be part of this process and share their ideas about how we can make Baw Baw Shire the best place it can be over the next thirty years. This will be the community’s process to own, and we’d like to welcome all residents to be part of this conversation. Whether it’s taking some time to fill out the survey, joining a focus group or participating in the panel – Council is ready to listen and act on what our community wants for the future.”