Mayor's Column: Leaders in the Leader 11-09-2020

Thanks for joining me for another of my fortnightly updates. I’m enjoying the opportunity to share a little bit of what’s going on at Council with you. 

I’d like to start by thanking everyone across our region that came to one of our bi-annual community consultation forums this week. We didn’t get to have the forums we wanted to have earlier this year, so it was good to get my first forum as Mayor under my belt.

For each of our communities, the forum was an opportunity to provide an update on projects delivered over the last financial year, as well as discuss projects scheduled for completion in this year’s budget. It was also a chance to get people thinking about their priorities when it comes to the next budget. We’ll be starting our budget preparations for 2021-2022 as early as December, so it’s not premature to be thinking about what you want to see from our budget next year.

The reason we start budget preparations so early is that there are a multitude of steps to go through before the budget is eventually handed down. It all starts with our Corporate Plan. The Corporate Plan is the guiding strategic document for Council; everything we do, any project we take on, must relate to one of the themes identified in the plan.

From the Corporate Plan we develop our Annual Operational Plan, which is a list of all the operational activities we aim to deliver for the financial year. We also have a Project Decision Framework group that reviews our capital and one-off projects over $50,000 in value. All of our projects over $50k must submit detailed concept plans and business cases featuring projected whole-of-life costings. This increased scrutiny is designed to ensure best value and maximum viability for Council and the community.

It is important for the community to understand some of the processes that we go through; it helps to tailor proposals to align with them. This will give people the best chance of seeing their desired outcomes achieved. 

In other news, we’re making an effort to demystify our planning process by having our town planners deliver an information session in Longreach on Monday 14 September. The session will cover pre-lodgement meetings, development applications, the planning scheme, engaging a planner, what help is available, and more. We’ve also invited some locals who are currently going through the planning process to speak so people can learn from their experience. I encourage everyone to join us and gain a better understanding of the planning process.

Round One of our Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is open now, but applications close next Friday 18 September. RADF provides funding to individuals and community groups for projects that promote and develop the arts, culture and heritage in our region. There’s a helpful set of guidelines and an application form available on our website at longreach.qld.gov.au/radf. 

Until next time, please don’t hesitate to contact Council directly on (07) 4658 4111 (24hrs), or email assist@longreach.qld.gov.au.  You can find also find email and phone numbers for me and all of my fellow Councillors on our website at longreach.qld.gov.au/elected-members.