The City of Greater Bendigo has written to 15,000 households at random across the municipality to invite residents to participate in stage 2 of community consultation for Imagine Greater Bendigo, the big community strategic planning project currently underway.
The City is looking for 50 people aged over 18 to participate on a community panel, which will meet over three days in May.
The panel will consider feedback received in stage 1 consultation and use it to help create a community vision, a statement that will sum up our community's goals for the future and how Greater Bendigo should grow and develop. Panel members will also be asked to weigh up different community issues and trade-offs, and prioritise how Council together with other organisations in our community can work to address them.
Mayor Cr Jennifer Alden said she encouraged anyone who received an invitation to express interest in joining the panel.
"This is a great opportunity for residents to influence future Council decision making and help us prioritise how we will deliver services, projects and initiatives that broadly benefit everyone in our community," Cr Alden said.
"If a brightly coloured envelope has arrived in your mailbox with Imagine Greater Bendigo written on the front, please consider the request to participate on the panel and what you have to offer. We want to ensure a range of perspectives and experiences are included.
"The City has not been involved in the random selection process, this has been managed externally by a company called Deliberately Engaging. The company will also select the final panel members, ensuring that they represent the diversity of our community.
"It is a requirement under the Local Government Act to engage with the community in this way as part of developing the new community vision and Council Plan. All feedback from the panel will also inform a range of other new strategic documents, including the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, Financial Plan and Asset Plan.
"Council is committed to listening to the advice of the panel and looks forward to this next round of community consultation, and thanks everyone who has participated in Imagine Greater Bendigo to date."
Unfortunately, if you do not receive an invitation then you cannot express interest in being part of the panel. However there will be a number of other opportunities for people to provide further input in stage 2 and these will be advertised.
