2022-06-28 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                               28 JUNE 2022

31 emails and 4 hard copy submissions were received from residents, ratepayers, industry
associations and resort managers with key themes including: levels of investment in tourism and
economic development, transitory accommodation rating, short term accommodation fees, Lake
Donella foreshore management, environment and natural area projects, road and pathway
maintenance, hinterland road upgrades, affordable housing, climate change, construction of
footpaths, walkways and cycling.

4     Face to Face Meetings
Two Councillor-led half day consultation sessions were offered to allow residents to meet with
Councillors to discuss their specific budget priorities. Sessions were held on 1 and 2 June, with 18
residents / ratepayers taking the opportunity to meet face to face with Councillors to provide their
feedback and ideas. This is an increase in participation at the face-to-face sessions compared to the
prior year where 6 residents / ratepayers attended the budget consultation sessions.
A number of issues were raised including transitory accommodation rating, short stay
accommodation fees, arts and culture strategy, hinterland roads, parks and pathways maintenance,
land valuations, disaster recovery projects, and the liveability and future vision for Noosa. A
summary of these sessions are outlined in Attachment 2 to this report.

5     Combined Consultation Outcomes – Operational Budget
All feedback from each engagement processed was combined and analysed to assess where key
concerns and priorities are for the community in respect of the proposed budget for 2022/23. The
following figure presents a snapshot of all proposed submissions by topic, and split into
representation on whether the feedback was to either to increase or decrease the level of service
and initiatives delivered.
Topics have been ranked highest to lowest on combined score. The graph reveals a number of
trends including:
•   The shire’s ratepayers (i.e. those who have responded to the consultation) have divergent
    opinions on increasing / decreasing investment in some key service areas such as parks and
    open space, community development, economic development and strategic land use planning.
•   There is a noted risk that the balance-the-budget tool may skew results where it forces the user
    to reduce a budget elsewhere in order to increase funding to their priorities. The service area
    where there has been a reduction may simply be due to the need to find an area for reduction.
    Further review of service levels may be necessary in future budgets for these areas to ensure
    Council efficiently meets community need.
•   Roads, environment and natural areas, waste, foreshores and canals, transport and strategic
    land use were the key identified operational priorities.


It should also be noted that Association and industry submissions have been counted as a single
submission. However noting that these bodies are representative of many individual businesses,
their input has been considered in more detail separately.


A overview of the outcomes of all consultation channels is provided in Attachment 3 to this report.




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