Council Calls On Waverley Community To Come Together

By Georgia Swanborough on December 4, 2012 in News

Waverley Council has recently called on members of the community to help with their long-term strategic plan, Waverley Together.

The plan began in 2010 with the aim to improve the quality of life of Waverley’s residents by the year 2022, as well as build and strengthen relationships between the council and the community.

The council has called on 50 members of the community to help with the decision-making process and implementation of the plan.

Not only do these individuals gain the ability to be involved in important community issues, each will also be paid $50 per meeting they attend.

These residents come from all different parts of the community, each with different interests, from a variety of different age groups.

The Mayor of Waverley, Cr Sally Betts, believes that it’s important for community members to be involved in decisions that affect their lives.

“Council is the tier of government closest to the community and it is hugely important that we involve our residents in this process,” said Cr Betts.

“We know that our community has inspirational plans and ideas, and we want them to share these with us. It’s vital to create a forum where they are able to give us this meaningful feedback and their ideas.”

The involvement of Waverley residents in the Waverley Together plan is also aimed at building relationships between the council and the community.

“Council is proud of the fact that we already have a good relationship and strong connection to our community but this will take that one step further to build an even better relationship.” said Cr Betts.

The council’s research has shown that it is extremely important to involve residents in government action.

“This Council has a great history of working closely with the community and their views will inform Council decision making. It is important that the plan is a joint community/council vision,” Cr Betts said.

The plan has already had some positive effects on the community.

“We’ve made some great progress… through projects like increased graffiti removal, a new recreation facility and child care centre, playground, park and path upgrades, and a range of programs to reduce our impact on the environment,” Cr Betts added.

“It’s now time to review the strategies in the plan and create some partnerships with other levels of government, business and community to see what we need to do to make the plan a reality.”

The meetings will take place throughout November and December, and will focus on the implementation of the plans.

“The focus will be on identifying how we can best deliver vital services to our community and figuring out which areas need more of Council’s resources and energy.”

The Waverley Together plan has undergone a continuous progress check to see which strategies are working.

“We will be consulting with the community to tighten up strategies where performance has been weakest according to the results of the End of Term Report,” Cr Betts said.

“We want to know what you, the residents, think and together we can move towards a better vision for a brighter future”

Council is also encouraging the community to join their online forum, which is available from now until the end of February at http://haveyoursaywaverley.com.au/waverley-together-3. Here residents can discuss local issues such as housing affordability, reconciliation, youth programs and more.