Here are some observations on the upcoming Community Plan time frame.
- Release of the draft community plan was promised for April. It is now scheduled for 8th May
- The Community Plan is set down for council resolution on the 26th June
- In 2011, the Budget was released on 10th May; in 2010 the date was May 11th and in 2009 it was May 12th. Each of these draft budgets were passed by resolution in June of the respective years.
Does all this mean that the budget will actually be passed BEFORE the Community Plan? To all intents and purposes, the budget will have already been drafted and for the most part, set in concrete. All that remains is official endorsement by councillors/council. Yet all along we’ve had the spin that the Community Plan should be the overarching document that plays a large part in determining council’s priorities and hence, strategic direction and spending. These timelines suggest a different story. One that again illustrates how this council’s commitment to genuine consultation and then actually listening and acting upon the views of residents is likely to amount to nothing more than another expensive exercise in spin and sham.
Many questions need answering:
- Why wasn’t the Community Steering Committee created BEFORE the consultant’s report? Shouldn’t they have had input into this fundamental first step in the process?
- Why is the feedback from the various Community forums via the officers’ reports again not published?
- Are the community reps on this community basically sworn to secrecy?
The next 6 weeks should reveal a lot about this council and its councillors. Residents will have the opportunity to see exactly how much notice has been paid to their views and their priorities. Spin may be able to camouflage the process, but not the outcomes. That is what councillors will be judged on. Unless a huge emphases is placed on addressing issues such as planning, transport, flooding, and consultation in both the community plan and the budget, then the only feasible conclusion will be that this has been nothing more than another expensive public relations exercise where the community has been ignored.
Glen Eira Debates 
April 14, 2012 at 12:26 PM
We’re heading down the old worn track of predetermined outcomes and I’m not expecting any radical changes to both budget and community plan. The only difference will be that Newton can now pat himself on the back and legitimately talk about a Community Plan instead of simply a Council Plan. It will be full of motherhood statements and that’s about it. Backing it up with money and intent will not be there. I’d be amazed if I’m wrong in this guestimate, but given past history I don’t think I am.
April 14, 2012 at 3:16 PM
Residents have identified all the issues that they want this council to do something about. Budgets should set funding for these things to be done. More money needs to be spent on drains, on proper open space planning and changing the planning scheme completely. If none of this happens then we’ll know that we’ve been led up the garden path again.
April 15, 2012 at 9:41 AM
The Community Plan *is* the Council Plan, a statutory requirement of Local Government Act. As Council says, “The Community Plan constitutes the ‘Council Plan’ pursuant to s125 of the Local Government Act”. And s125 says: “A Council must prepare and approve a Council Plan within the period of 6 months after each general election or by the next 30 June, whichever is later.”
The budget is an annual thing so there will always be budgets before, and after, the adoption of any Council Plan. What is more concerning to me is that the 4-year Plan is being prepared *before* Council elections and before the release of data from the most recent Census and that it was a deliberate decision of councillors to prepare it this early.
Director Community Services Peter Jones told the assembled community consultation session I attended that it was a statutory requirement for the new Plan to be adopted by 30 June *this* year, which simply isn’t true. Council does have an obligation to review the Plan each financial year though.
April 15, 2012 at 10:02 AM
On the 15th March 2011, the following Request for a Report was passed by Council –
“Crs Tang/Hyams
That Council prepare a report documenting
(a) the process for adopting a COMMUNITY PLAN THAT SITS ABOVE ALL OTHER COUNCIL PLANS including examples from neighbouring Councils,
(b) a community consultation and engagement program that Council could implement in 2011 for expected completion in 2012,
(c) that the report go to the Community Consultation Committee for a recommendation and (d) that the Community Consultation Committee consider forming a steering committee involving external committee members that may drive the adoption of such a community plan.”
Further, the Local Government Act makes no mention of ‘community plans’ just ‘council plans’. The motion however implies that if the ‘community plan’ is to ‘sit about all other council plans’, that it has a pivotal role in determining policy, expenditure, and strategic planning. Given the published time line we do not believe this will happen.
It’s also worth noting that it took until 1st February 2012 for the Consultation Committee to even discuss the formation of the Steering Committee as evidenced by: “The Committee discussed the establishment and membership of the new Community Plan Steering Committee that will oversee the development of the new Community Plan. It was confirmed that members of the Community Consultation Committee and up to three external members shall oversee the development of the new plan.” The Steering Committee with external reps didn’t meet until March. Thus it’s taken one year to get a simple committee together!
April 16, 2012 at 8:38 AM
very funny the article in the leader. I know it is covered somewhere else on the site but it is low down and people may not see it. All the comments on the leader site are anti MRC and Council. So either the leader misjudge public opinion or wanted some free tickets to the races.
http://caulfield-glen-eira-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/caulfield-womans-concrete-objection/
April 16, 2012 at 9:37 PM
Lets face it both the MRC and Glen Eira Council do themselves no favours. 13 days to go for the one year anniversary of the “historic”agreement. Well nuthin’ much has happened and losers like Discombe and Hyams are having to blame a little old lady for their laziness. Pathetic.