By Sophie Todorov
On Tuesday 26 March at the Yarra Ranges Council meeting, we will consider the commencement of community engagement for our Council Plan – one of the largest and most significant documents we have.
The Council Plan is a four-year document, which sets out our high-level goals as an organisation. Everything we do comes from, or funnels up to, these goals.
These goals help us move the region to where the community tells us they want to be, so it’s important that we take the time to hear from community and really get them right.
If endorsed by Council, staff will be hosting pop-up booths across the municipality in coming months, at events and popular locations, to gather perspectives from a wide range of visitors and locals.
We’ll have hard-copy and digital surveys, community summits and conversations with Council’s advisory committees, aiming to get as much information as possible from community members of all backgrounds, beliefs, abilities and ages.
As part of the engagement, we’re proposing to establish a representative community panel, who will develop recommendations to Council on issues affecting the entire region – those recommendations will go back to the community and make sure they’re on the right track.
Next year, the 2025-29 Council Plan will start to take shape; we’ll have opportunities for the community to get involved then, too.
So this is a call to any community members interested in sharing their thoughts, their time or their expertise – sign up at shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au, get involved in the engagement and keep your eyes peeled for more ways to get involved.
