Bega Valley Shire Council has adopted the revised Community Engagement Strategy 2025-29 and the Community Engagement Policy.
Council's Director of Business and Government, Iliada Bolton said Council values effective community engagement, to better understand varied viewpoints, make better decisions, and offer services that reflect the community's needs and goals.
"We were pleased to receive feedback on the draft strategy and made some changes to the document to ensure our engagement is meaningful, effective and appropriate. Our goal is to build trust between Council and our community through genuine engagement" Ms Bolton said.
The Community Engagement Strategy is central to Council's community engagement framework, which aims to give the community a clear understanding of:
- Council's commitment to engaging with the community
- how we will seek and respond to community input
- the types of engagement that suit the various activities
- how community input is used in decision-making
- how community involvement shapes our actions.
"We want the community to be well informed about issues and decisions that could affect their way of life and confident that feedback we receive helps inform Council's decisions, plans and actions," Ms Bolton said.
"The strategy integrates several of Council's legislative requirements for community engagement into one document, including requirements under the Local Government Act 1993 and Crown Land Management Act 2016.
"Our Community Participation Plan clearly explains how people can engage with planning matters and is a subsection of the strategy. This plan meets requirements of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
The Community Engagement Policy includes updated information and references on scope and purpose, a policy statement, responsibilities and other related policies relating to the 2025-29 Community Engagement Strategy."
