Mayoral Column 1 January 2019
Published on 01 January 2019
Welcome to 2019!
Welcome to the first Mayoral Column for 2019. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year. On behalf of Council, I would like to wish you and your family a happy and successful year ahead.
Council is looking forward to continuing to work with staff and our community towards the liveability of our Shire. This includes our exceptional volunteers, who continue to be so very integral to our Shire.
As I’ve mentioned previously, volunteering is embraced by our local residents. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a higher than average rate of volunteering in Loddon Shire compared to the Victorian state average.
Volunteers are essential to our community and we are fortunate that so many people dedicate their time to unpaid work in our region.
What’s on the agenda?
On another note, as we embark on this New Year, there is certainly plenty on the agenda for 2019.
This includes the submission of a full business case for the Regional Growth Fund, due this month, which will hopefully result in positive funding news for our Shire. Some of the other items on Council’s radar this year include:
• Development of a new Economic Development and Tourism Strategy
• Completion of multi-use facilities at the Inglewood Pool
• Finalisation of works for the flood recovery program
• Commissioning of the South West Loddon Pipeline Project
• Adoption of the settlement strategy, which aims to provide a suitable supply of residential land in and around our towns
• Further implementation of the Customer Service Strategy
• Bridge replacement at Woodstock Road over Murphy Creek
• Works Department items programmed for this year – 3.5 kilometres local road construction and 1.6 kilometres re-sheet
Additionally, Council will continue to work constructively with governments and neighbouring councils to advocate for those who live and work in the Loddon Shire and our region.
This is just a selection of some of the items on Council’s agenda. I look forward to providing updates to our community around these topics (and other projects) throughout the coming year.