COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
The Community Engagement Strategy provides a guideline for Council’s engagement with the
community to:
• Develop the Community Strategic Plan 2035 and associated documents that form the Integrated Planning Framework. All of these key documents can be located at Lithgow City Council
• Engage with the community on how best to achieve affordable and acceptable levels of service.
This is an very important process for the community BECAUSE it is where you have a say in what is important moving forward. It is the communities opportunity to determine the priorities for council moving forward and the Councillors are required to implement it.
COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN
The community strategic plan is the highest-level plan that a council will prepare. The plan identifies the community’s main priorities and aspirations for the future (at least 10 years), and plans strategies for achieving these goals. While councils prepare community strategic plans on behalf of their communities, they are not wholly responsible for implementing the plan.
Other partners such as State agencies, community groups and business may also be engaged in delivering the long-term objectives of the plan.
The community strategic plan is reviewed and updated (or a new version is prepared) by each new council following its election to ensure it remains current and reflects contemporary local and regional priorities.
KEY PLANS AND STRATEGIES
Delivery Program
The delivery program translates the community strategic plan goals into actions. It is each newly elected council’s commitment to the community, outlining what it intends to do toward achieving the goals of the community strategic plan during its term of office.
It becomes the single point of reference for all principal activities undertaken by Council. All plans, projects, activities and funding allocations must be directly linked to the four-year delivery program.
Operational Plan
The delivery program is supported by an annual operational plan. This document spells out the details of the delivery program, identifying individual projects and activities that will be undertaken in that year to achieve the commitments of the delivery program.
The operational plan is supported by a detailed budget and a statement of revenue policy, which also sets the fees and charges for that year
Resourcing Strategy
The resourcing strategy resources the implementation of the community strategic plan, delivery program and operational plans. It consists of three components:
»≫ long-term financial planning
»≫ workforce management planning
»≫ asset management planning
Long-Term Financial Plan
Each council must prepare a long-term financial plan (at least 10 years), which is used to inform decision-making during the development and review of the community strategic plan and the delivery program.
The long-term financial plan is updated annually as part of the development of the operational plan, and is reviewed in detail as part of the review of the community strategic plan following each local government election.
Workforce Management Strategy
Each council must develop a workforce management strategy to address the human resourcing requirements of its delivery program.
The workforce management strategy therefore has a four-year minimum time frame.
Asset Management Planning
Councils must account for and plan for all the existing assets it owns, and plan for any new asset solutions proposed in the community strategic plan or delivery program.
To achieve this, councils must prepare an asset management strategy, incorporating an asset management policy, as well as asset management plans for each class of assets under the council’s control. The strategy and plans must have a minimum 10-year time frame.
Asset management plans must identify Service standards, and contain long-term projections of asset maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement costs.
Councils must report on the condition of their assets in their annual financial statements, in line with the Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting.
Annual Report
The annual report is one of the key points of accountability between a council and its community. It is not a report to the Office of Local Government or the NSW Government; it is a report to the community.