The June Ordinary Meeting of Council for 2020 was held at the new Council Chamber in the Golden Plains Civic Centre in Bannockburn last night, Tuesday 23 June, with all Councillors in attendance. In line with new guidelines from the Victorian Government, the meeting was not physically open to members of the public, and was livestreamed on Council’s YouTube page instead. It was the first meeting to utilise the Chamber’s new microphone and recording technology.
Assembly of Councillors and Delegates Report
The meeting began with the confirmation of the June Assembly of Councillors, before Councillors updated their colleagues and the public watching at home on what online events and forums they called into over the last month. Following this, Councillors moved on to a number of reports.
Adoption of 2020/21 Golden Plains Shire Council Budget
The first report concerned the adoption of Council’s budget for the next financial year. Council’s Draft Budget 2020/21 was on public display from 1 May 2020 to 29 May 2020, and Council received nine public submissions, of which four residents presented their submissions to Councillors at the Special Meeting of Council on Tuesday, 9 June 2020. Following this process, a number of amendments to the Draft Budget were made, including:
- Reduction of the annual garbage charge from $340 to $335
- Confirmed grant funding of $1.3m included for local roads and infrastructure capital projects
- Additional $100k Financial Assistance Grant allocated for the general purpose grants
- Increase in MAV membership of $3k
- Confirmed Working for Victoria grant funding of $1.1m to provide employment to local residents impacted by COVID-19
- Rate calculations updated with Stage 4 valuation data
- Inclusion of the budget submission for the provision of water supply to Maude Recreation Reserve’s toilets at a cost of $15,500.
After some debate with all Councillors speaking on how to best support residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of Councillors decided against an amendment to waive the 2 percent rate increase, and instead agreed to a different amendment to allocate $100,000 towards Council’s Hardship Policy to further assist ratepayers financially affected by the pandemic. The 2020/21 Council Budget will now be updated to reflect these changes and will be made available on Council’s website later this week.
Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy
Following the Budget, Council then considered the Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy. This draft strategy was put together following two rounds of consultation in 2019 and 2020, and following the Victorian Government’s announcement earlier this year that all Councils will need to implement a four bin system (waste, food and organics, recycling, and glass) by 2030. Council endorsed the draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy to go out for public exhibition shortly.
Planning Application P19-256
Council then considered a planning permit application for the development of land for the purposes of a three lot subdivision at 46 Squires Road, Teesdale. This application was referred to the Council Meeting for determination because there were objections. Council approved the planning permit, subject to a number of conditions.
Activate 2020-2030 Regional Sport and Active Recreation Strategy
Next up, Council discussed the Activate 2020-2030 Regional Sport and Active Recreation Strategy, which is a 10-year regional strategy enabling a coordinated and collaborative approach to increasing participation in sport and active recreation in the Central Highlands and Grampians Pyrenees region. Council endorsed the regional strategy.
Draft Sport and Active Recreation Strategy 2020-30
Following endorsing the regional strategy, Council then considered its own local Draft Sport and Active Recreation Strategy 2020-30. Council has partnered with Sport and Recreation Victoria (SRV) to fund the development of a new Sport and Active Recreation Strategy to inform strategic planning, development and delivery of sport and active recreation infrastructure, programming and services for the period 2020–2030. Following an initial round of consultation in February 2020, this Draft Strategy was developed, and now with Council endorsement, will got out for public exhibition for a period of four weeks.
Review and Amend Local Law No. 2 – General Public Amenity
Council then resolved to undertake a review and amendment of its Local Law No.2 so that it is updated to reflect new and emerging issues, such as high grass on vacant land and burning off outside the Fire Danger Period. Council will now commence proceedings to review and amend or replace Local Law No.2 – General Public Amenity.
Update on Councillor Conversation Post Program
The scheduled Councillor Conversation Posts for 2020 were not held due to the Victorian Government’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and no further posts are scheduled due to the upcoming Council Elections. Council acknowledged the success of the program over the entire Council term and encouraged the next Council to retain the program.
Community Satisfaction Survey 2020 – Report Findings
Council then formally received the 2020 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey, featuring feedback from 400 local residents across a range of age groups and locations. Every year, Local Government Victoria (LGV) coordinates the state-wide Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey. The main objectives of the survey are to assess the performance and services of Victorian councils across a range of measures and to seek insight on ways to provide improved or more efficient service delivery, as well as fulfilling the statutory reporting requirements of councils. In summary, perceptions of Council’s overall performance is unchanged from 2019, and the full report is now available on Council’s website.
Panel of Suppliers
Finally, Council approved two tenders for the provision of a Panel of Suppliers for General Maintenance Services and for Plumbing Maintenance Services. Four contractors were appointed to both panels.
Panel of Suppliers – General Maintenance Services:
- Mr T AtWork
- Burkhan Pty Ltd
- Zantagra
- Maintenance Plus Xtra
Panel of Suppliers – Pluming Maintenance Services:
- Plumbing Logistics Pty Ltd
- Complete Plumbing and Construction Concepts
- Total Plumbing Solutions
- Paul Norton Plumbing
Thank you to the community members who watched from home. The next meeting of Council will take place on Tuesday 28 July, 2020 at the Golden Plains Civic Centre.
Mayor's Video Update
Watch the video update from Mayor Cr Owen Sharkey with highlights from the June 2020 Ordinary Meeting of Council.
Watch the June 2020 Ordinary Meeting of Council
Watch the recording of the June 2020 Ordinary Meeting of Council.