Mayor embraces call to ‘be bold’ in shaping Surf Coast’s future

COMMUNITY engagement on the Surf Coast Shire’s draft council plan wrapped up last week, with the feedback gathered to help shape the final product before it is presented to the council in September.

More than 1,000 contributions from the community have already supported the development of the draft, an indication that its five core themes, mayor Mike Bodsworth says, serve as a “great reflection” on both the community’s priorities and the “nine different perspectives” that form the council.

Once finalised, the plan will serve as the “guiding light” for the council term, charting the shire’s strategic direction over the next four years.

The plan’s leading theme focuses on the shire’s assets and infrastructure, covering the basics, such as roads, drainage and footpaths. These, Cr Bodsworth said, sit at the centre of community expectations, making it important to get them right.

“We put money aside all the time so that we are able to keep up with asset renewal and we don’t face some kind of crunch point where we’ve got a whole lot of assets failing because we weren’t able to save,” he said, highlighting the financial struggles facing councils across the state.

 

 

“In every budget, managers across the organisation are expected to look for and find savings. That’s not just a ‘nice to do’ thing, that’s a must do.

“Service reviews are really important and we’re looking at services, in the current council, to try and work out if there’s scope to make savings without diminishing people’s quality of life and without leaving people in the lurch.”

The plan also addresses environmental sustainability and the protection of the shire’s natural landscapes, issues Cr Bodsworth said were among the longest-running concerns for local residents.

“Part of it is emergency preparedness and recognising that we’re in one of the most high fire risk areas in Australia and being ready for that, but another thing is looking after nature, looking after natural systems, looking after our unspoiled landscapes, which is such an underpinning factor for our visitor economy.

“We’re really mindful that previous councils have done a great job protecting that naturalness, and we’re also going to work hard protecting that naturalness.”

 

 

He noted the council’s desire to stimulate both public and private investment in the region to help create vibrant public realms and commercial precincts that “support great community life” – one of several priorities outlined as part of the council’s push to enhance wellbeing – and the need to accommodate for population growth in a way that ensures each of the Surf Coast townships retain their “uniqueness”.

“I really like our draft council plan, and I’m looking forward to seeing what people have to say about it.”

A strong piece of feedback the council had already received through the development of the draft plan, he said, was to “be bold”.

“You don’t hear that every day,” Cr Bodsworth said.

“That’s perfectly aligned with how we’re meant to fulfil that councillor role – we are meant to be thinking over the horizon – and to hear them ask us to do that is really empowering.”