Community Sounding Board Provides Valuable Feedback

Published on 01 November 2018

20181027 - SVC Community Sounding Board.jpg

Swimming Pools and Ranger Services were two of Council’s services to go under the spotlight when Council’s Community Sounding Board sat down for their first workshop.

A diverse and dynamic group of people from across the Snowy Valleys community came together in Batlow over the weekend, as part of Council’s Service Level Review to begin critically reviewing the way Council services are currently delivered.

Council’s General Manager Matthew Hyde said that feedback from the facilitators was that the discussions provided robust and thought-provoking debate.

“I was confident we had the right representational mix from across our LGA to engage in this review and it’s gratifying to know the process is working,” Mr Hyde said.

The Sounding Board members will meet over 4 days to share with Council their perspectives on the appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency of services currently being delivered, as well as provide feedback about future priorities and resourcing of services across the local government area.

“Creating the Community Sounding Board is a chance to listen to many different perspectives and share ideas about what future services should look like,” Mr Hyde said.

Council is currently undertaking a Service Level Review to examine the services Council provides and to ensure they are sustainable long term and meet the community’s needs.

“The work that the Community Sounding Board are doing will greatly inform Council’s 2019/20 budget and operating plan,” Mr Hyde said.

Council is also encouraging people to take their online Budget Challenge.

“Our online budget challenge gives you the power to allocate Council’s budget and prioritise Council’s services,” Mr Hyde said.

The online budget challenge allows people the opportunity to select their preferred budget option from 15 service areas, prioritise them and choose how much money should be spent on them.

“By taking the challenge you can see the big picture about what Council does, understand the costs associated with delivering these services and better understand the overall budget impacts,” Mr Hyde said.

Visit svc2018.budgetallocator.com to take the online Budget Challenge.