How Council Consulted
Council engaged Linqage International to hold consultation workshops throughout the Snowy Valleys Council Local Government Area between 14th December 2016 and 25th January 2017.
These workshops provided community members with an opportunity to discuss the fund and identify community projects.
Community groups were also invited to submit written proposals for community projects.
One on one interviews were also held during this time.
How we assessed the projects internally
The final Linqage report was received by Council in February 2017. On 8th March a summary of all projects was discussed at a meeting with relevant Council staff, the Acting Interim General Manager Kay Whitehead, and Administrator Paul Sullivan. This meeting considered projects identified by the community and also took into account past extensive community consultation for community strategic plans as well as projects referred from the stronger communities grants process. From this a project report was developed and estimated costings included for presentation to the assessment panel.
How the Assessment Panel assessed the projects
- On 24th March the full Linqage report including attachments was sent to the assessment panel and to independent probity officer Brad Bohen (Crowe Horwath).
- On 28th March the prioritisation report was sent to the assessment panel and to independent probity officer Brad Bohen.
- On 29th March the assessment panel met in Sydney at Parliament House.
Who was on the Assessment Panel?
- Paul Sullivan (Administrator)
- Daryl Maguire (Member for Wagga Wagga)
- Greg Aplin (Member for Albury)
- Trudi McDonald (Department of Premier and Cabinet Western Region)
Acting Interim General Manager Kay Whitehead attended the assessment panel meeting in Sydney to answer panel questions about the listed projects.
At the Sydney meeting on 29th March the assessment panel endorsed a list of projects for detailed scoping and costing.
How did we ensure probity of process?
Probity auditor Brad Bohun, Senior Partner Audit and Assurance, Crowe Horwath, was consulted throughout the assessment and approval process, and on 3rd August advised that the probity process was complete.
Scoping the Projects
Following shortlisting by the panel, staff and independent consultants were engaged to undertake detailed scoping and costing. The scoping and costing phase involved considerable work, and was undertaken from early April through to end July.
Final Project Sign-Off and Announcement
The panel signed off on the final list of scoped and costed projects via email on 2nd August 2017. Projects are now submitted to Council for endorsement.