Ararat Rural City Mayor Cr Ian Wilson looks across the municipality from the top of One Tree Hill. Cr Wilson is encouraging all residents to participate in Community Vision 2030 and provide council with their vision of what they want for the municipality in 2030. Picture: PETER PICKERING
ARARAT - What's your vision for how the Ararat Rural City municipality should look in 2030?
That is the question Ararat Rural City Council wants residents to answer as it kicks off planning and community engagement for the Community Vision 2030 futures plan.
Mayor Cr Ian Wilson said Community Vision 2030 will be the community's plan for how it would like the municipality to look in 2030, and will guide Council decision making into the future while also informing the development of the Council Plan 2013-2017.
"Community Vision 2030 is your plan - not the Council's - so we need to hear from as many residents as possible to ensure everyone's views are considered," Cr Wilson said.
"The Council is really excited about giving you, our residents and ratepayers, an opportunity to shape your own future and develop a plan that will help the Council make the best decisions for the community.
"I encourage everyone to get involved - this is your chance to influence a positive future for all of us."
Cr Wilson said every single resident in the municipality will be given a chance to be part of Vision 2030 through different engagement methods, including a survey to be mailed to every household giving people a chance to win an iPad.
The survey will be posted out in the coming weeks and asks questions about Community Vision 2030 and the Council Plan's four pillars - Community, Lifestyle, Economy and Environment.
It also includes a 'Here and Now 2013' section asking residents to comment on current issues impacting on them, and their views on two large-scale proposals the Council will deliberate on this year.
Cr Wilson said Community Vision 2030's comprehensive community engagement program would also include listening post workshops held in locations right across the municipality, a poster competition for primary school children and a futures forum.
"Every resident in our municipality will have the opportunity to be a part of Community Vision 2030 and help shape our future plans for the wonderful region in which we live, work, invest and play," he said.
"This is a really unique opportunity for you to tell the Council how you want your community to look in 2030. The plan will then guide the Council's decision making, which will help get us to where you want to go."
The information gathered for Community Vision 2030 will also be used in the review of the Ararat Rural City Council Plan 2013-2017, a statutory document that must be completed by the new Council by June 30. The Council Plan is an operational document that outlines the Council's strategic plans for the next four years.
The Community Vision 2030 survey is the first engagement method being implemented and the community and local schools will be encouraged to participate with notification of the listening post workshop locations and dates and the poster competition in the coming week.
If your household does not receive your Community Vision 2030 survey, please contact the Council on 5355 0200. And if you have an idea on how the Council should engage with your local area on Community Vision 2030, please get in touch.
For more information on Community Vision 2030, the Council Plan or the community engagement program, contact Colleen White, director of corporate strategy, risk and governance on (03) 5355 0206.
