Published on Tuesday, 2 July 2024 at 1:48:05 PM
Community feedback is now being invited on two draft policies designed to improve transparency and fairness when it comes to Council support for local community groups and organisations.
The two policies - the draft Community Contributions Policy and the draft Property Management Policy – aim to remove ambiguities and ad-hoc historical practices, ensure better process and fairness, and improve accountability to the broader community.
The Community Contributions Policy outlines the process for Council to follow when allocating financial support within the community, while the Property Management Policy sets out clear and transparent guidelines for the management of properties owned or controlled by the Shire that are leased or used by community groups and other external organisations.
During the development of the policies, the Shire engaged with a number of local community groups, focusing on those who already have service agreements, MOUs or leases with the Shire, to understand how to improve the working relationship between the Shire and our community.
The next step is for the broader community to be invited into the conversation, to give feedback on whether these two policies will meet community expectations of transparency and fairness.
Shire President Kingsley Gibson said he hoped the community would be pleased to see these policies come into action.
“Transparency in decision-making was a clear priority outlined by our community in the consultation for our Strategic Community Plan, and I’m pleased we’re able to demonstrate how seriously we are taking that feedback,” Cr Gibson said.
“Drafting up new policies doesn’t always sound exciting, but the body of work behind them and the positive impact they could potentially have on how we support our community is really meaningful.”
“I hope our community can take confidence from these two draft policies that we’re doing what we can, in all areas of our operations and governance, to make improvements in line with community expectations.”
Feedback is invited on the two policies before 5pm Friday 19 July 2024.
Find out more at www.yourdenmark.wa.gov.au/draft-council-policies
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