The Eurobodalla Citizens’ Jury final report was presented to Council at its 13 December meeting and conveyed a majority view that Council is broadly meeting the needs of the community and is therefore generally spending money on the right things.
The Jury acknowledged the commitment of Council in undertaking the engagement process which brought together 28 everyday people that were representative of the community.
Jury members were given access to information and support to answer the question: Is Council spending your money on the right things? If not, what should we change?
The group spent almost 40 hours in seven face-to-face jury meetings and many more hours of research and investigation. They made 63 requests for information from Council staff and heard from 22 speakers.
Council’s General Manager Dr Catherine Dale said she was grateful to the jurors for the dedication, effort and consideration they put into this process.
“Many jurors acknowledged how much they learnt about Council during the project.
“They appreciated the opportunity to learn more about our Council, the work we do, the responsibilities we have and the issues and challenges we face daily.
“They believe the Citizens’ Jury is a good indication that Council wants to hear from the community on a variety of issues.”
Community members were able to access the same information as jurors and engage with the process through an online community hub.
Interest in the Jury was high, with more than 100 community members attending briefing sessions about the process and providing input. The Jury received 40 submissions from the community.
The final report, which is available on Council’s website, contained 86 recommendations on how Council could better prioritise spending of its $100 million annual budget in key areas of:
· Employment, economic and business development
· Aboriginal and broader community involvement
· Community services
· Environment and rural lands
· Long term vision and innovation
· Advocacy and facilitation
· Pathways
· Roads, rates and rubbish
· Arts development
Council will formally respond to these recommendations in March of this year.
The supported recommendations will be used to inform development of Council's draft Delivery Program 2017-21 and to meet Fit for the Future commitments. Media Release
