YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
Spring has sprung and our Community Update magazine is hot off the press!
You can read it online at www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/communityupdate or find it in your letterbox next week.
In the spring edition we share all the info you need for our upcoming events – "Live it Up" Senior Expo and Energy Breakthrough.
We celebrate staff who have clocked up service milestones, feature students who completed work experience with us and officially welcome our newest citizens.
You'll find an invitation to share feedback on our key strategic documents, nominate for our 2026 Australia Day awards and join our new online community directory.
We share how we're advocating to retain VicRoads and secure drought relief assistance for local primary producers.
Plus, we've got the latest news from our rural wards and we break down what the Carisbrook Flood Management Plan is and how it will support the local community.
Happy reading!
PETS PLAN
We're inviting the community to help shape how dogs and cats are managed in our Shire.
We've been visiting local markets and shopping centres meeting with our community about how their pets are protected, supported and controlled. It also covers de-sexing programs, feral animal control, pet registrations, community safety and our animal re-homing program.
It's part of a State Government requirement to review our Domestic Animal Management Plan every four years.
There's still time to have your say – online feedback is open until Monday 15 September. Visit: www.engage.cgoldshire.vic.gov.au/DogsAndCats
or phone our Customer Service Centre on 5461 0610.
2025-2026 RATES NOTICES
By now ratepayers will have received their 2025-2026 Rates Notices
This year, a new section has been added to the Rates Notices. The new format aims to provide clarity by differentiating between Central Goldfields Shire rates and charges and State Government charges.
The Central Goldfields Shire section includes your rate payment amount which includes a 3% increase from last year – in line with inflation and the Victorian Government's rate cap.
The State Government section includes the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) and the Landfill Levy.
We share the disappointment of all ratepayers that your notice this year includes these new State Government charges.
We have heard the suggestions to "just don't pay the new tax". Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Despite local government advocacy, the State Government has legislated that councils must collect the charges on its behalf.
Eligible volunteers from the CFA and VICSES will be able to claim a rebate for the ESVF payable on their Principal Place of Residence (PPR) or a farm they own, even if the farm is not their PPR.
