The council’s new General Manager Michael Tolhurst believes he will listen to the thoughts of residents and rate payers when the first council community consultation meeting ahead of the draft budget is held on Monday night at the Civic Centre.
There will be five community meetings across the Wellington local government area.
“The meetings will not only summarise council’s 2012-2013 Draft Budget, but also the Operational and Delivery plans, while also giving residents the opportunity to ask any questions or voice any concerns they may have,” a media release from the council said.
Mr Tolhurst said the meetings were a fantastic opportunity to learn more about council’s goals for the upcoming year and to also discuss how council and the community could interact and communicate more effectively into the future.
“The draft budget will detail the fees and charges council has set for its services such as waste management and other charges such as land rates,” Mr Tolhurst said.
“Council understands some residents are struggling with the increases in cost of living across the board and have tried to keep any increases charged to a minimum.
“However, there are some legislated increases that council is bound to comply with. This includes the NSW Office of Water’s Best Practice Management of Water and Sewerage Guidelines, 2007 which requires council to achieve ongoing cost recovery for its water supply and sewerage services through user pay charges.”
The Operational Plan, which sets the future directions for council, will also be outlined.
This document details the community’s vision for the future of Wellington as identified in last year’s Wellington 2025 Community Strategic Plan and provides a strategic framework for staff to follow in order to help deliver these outcomes during the next decade.
“The strategic outcomes have been grouped into five themes, these being to grow prosperity and employment, build and improve community infrastructure, show leadership in governance and community engagement, community participation in arts and culture and to grow agriculture, energy and the environment,” Mr Tolhurst said.
“What the operational plan does is outline the activities which will be undertaken in each of these categories, while also covering the 2012-2013 financial data.
“The attendance at the Wellington 2025 meeting was fantastic and was crucial in seeing the strategic plan formulated, it would be great to see that interest continue at next week’s community consultation meetings,” Mr Tolhurst said.
The meetings will be held from 6pm at the following locations: Wellington Civic Centre on Monday May 28, Stuart Town RTC on Tuesday May 29, Geurie Memorial Hall on Wednesday May 30 and Gollan Hall on Thursday May 31. A meeting will also be held at Wellington Senior Citizens Centre at 11am on Thursday, May 31.
For more information, please phone Wellington Council on 6840 1700.
