Draft plan goes out for comment – Golden Plains Shire council meeting briefs

GOLDEN Plains Shire councillors voted at their August meeting on Tuesday night to send a draft financial plan covering the decade between this year and 2035 out for community feedback.

An officer’s report to the meeting said the draft plan highlighted the difficult financial situation being faced by rural councils like Golden Plains.

It said that maintaining current service levels into the long term “is not financially sustainable.”

“Accordingly, the draft financial plan is modelled on a set of assumptions and inputs that are more financially and resource constrained than the current situation,” it said.

The report said the council would have to “undertake significant strategic work and make highly consequential decisions” over the next two or three years in areas such as service and efficiency reviews, rationalisation of assets, borrowings and consideration of future rate cap variations.

Cr Emma Robbins moved a recommendation to open the draft for consultation from Wednesday this week to 24 September.

She said the rising cost of providing programs and the limited scope for councils to raise revenue formed the heart of the plan.

“We cannot continue as we are,” Cr Robbins said, adding that hard choices were in store for councillors.

Cr Sarah Hayden seconded the motion, but Cr Gavin Gamble spoke against, sending the plan out for feedback.

Cr Gamble had asked if putting it out for consultation could be deferred, and said the draft as it stood prioritised asset management to the detriment of everything else.

He said under the proposed draft, many community services were under threat of cutbacks, and voted against the recommendation.

All other councillors voted in favour.

Consultation on draft assets plan begins

A draft assets plan for 2025 to 2035, which accompanies the draft financial plan, is also now open for community comment until 24 September.

The draft plan covers management of assets such as sealed roads and car parks, gravel roads, footpaths and trails, buildings and open spaces.

Moving a recommendation to put the draft plan on public display, Cr Robbins said a key feature of the document was a move away from reactive maintenance of assets to more of a system of planned maintenance.

Cr Des Phelan, who seconded, said the Shire had “a long way to go” in terms of management of assets.

“Depreciation is a thing that will really work us over,” he said. “Replacing machinery and things like that is going to get right out of hand.”

No councillor voted against the motion.

More councillors allowed to speak

More councillors will be allowed to speak publicly, under an updated media and communications policy adopted at the meeting.

The existing policy has recently been reviewed in response to what a report to the meeting described as an evolving media landscape and the rise of social media and online platforms.

The latest update inserts a new clause introducing flexibility in who can speak – for example individual councillors or the council group as a whole – instead of the mayor only.

“Subject to a clear and structured communications plan, this is intended to allow the broader work and collective voice of the full council to be highlighted,” the report said.

“Specifically, it is proposed that the CEO may authorise the publishing of prepared comments, updates, social media posts, columns and the like attributable to individual councillors, other than the mayor, or the councillor group as a whole when appropriate, subject to the circumstances and the message seeking to be communicated.”

Cr Phelan moved the updated policy’s adoption, and Cr Gamble seconded.

Cr Gamble said councillors must “play by some very strict rules” in speaking publicly, and had seen during his time as mayor how problems could occur when disparaging comments were made.

“It’s always going to be a bit of a balance,” he said, adding that it would be to the Shire’s benefit to have more faces and voices in the media other than the mayor alone.

The updated policy was carried unanimously.

Council plan update hailed

Cr Helena Kirby lauded an update on actions taken under the Shire’s council plan for the period from 1 April to 30 June as a “great report.”

“There’s so many things that there’s way too many to mention,” she said.

“It goes to show how healthy our council is. We’ve got some great things to come over the next four years.”

Cr Kirby was speaking as the mover of a recommendation that the update report be adopted.

“By the end of the 2024-2025 reporting period, 75 out of 82 actions have successfully reached a 100 per cent on-track status, demonstrating the successful delivery of identified action focus areas for 2024-25,” the report said.

“With an amazing 91 per cent of the council plan actions having been delivered, seven actions are categorised as partially complete, indicating that there have been delays in achieving the actions identified across year four.”

The report said council officers remained committed to advancing the seven partially-completed actions as the Shire moves into its 2025-2029 council plan.

Priority booklet to be updated

Councillors voted to include a range of projects and initiatives in the Shire’s ‘priority booklet’.

The booklet outlines key projects and initiatives identified as important to the Shire’s growth and wellbeing, and was first published in 2018.

Its last update was last year.

Inclusions in the update will be the need for a 24-hour police station in Bannockburn, a new ambulance station in Smythesdale, safe pedestrian crossings in Bannockburn, Teesdale and Smythesdale, a Midland Highway duplication, and an upgrade of the Hamilton Highway.

Meredith Recreation Reserve tennis and cricket upgrades, a need for improved youth services, a Lethbridge Airport expansion, and additional telecommunications installations in blackspots are also on the list.

Cr Dom Cook raised the possibility of including tourism as an item for inclusion in the booklet, suggesting the municipality’s large number of events and tourist assets warranted the subject being at least mentioned.

Brand new CEO Adam McSwain said tourism could certainly be included if councillors wanted it, and Cr Kirby supported Cr Cook’s suggestion.

Cr Kirby said the Shire had a tourism body in the past, and now had music festivals, farmers markets and much more that could be highlighted.

“There is a place for it and I think Cr Cook has seen what is missing,” she said.

Cr Cook’s addition was taken as the motion to adopt the booklet, with Cr Hayden seconding.

It was carried but Cr Robbins voted against, arguing that the subject of tourism was not specific enough to be made a priority in the booklet.