2021-02-09 Services & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                               9 FEBRUARY 2021


4    2021-22 BUDGET ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

Author            Director Corporate Services, Michael Shave
                  Corporate Services Department

Index             ECM/ Subject/ 2021-22 Budget

Attachments       Nil


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Director Corporate Services to the Services & Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 9 February 2021 and endorse the proposed engagement process for
the 2021/22 budget which includes the use of both online and face to face solutions to maximise
feedback.

REPORT
Background
Council has committed to undertaking engagement with the community for the development of
the 2021/22 budget. In September 2020 feedback was sought from the community via Your Say
Noosa (on Council’s website) regarding the preferred public consultation model for the 2021/22
budget process.
The community was asked to rank the following options in priority order:
   Establish a Community Reference Group via an expression of interest process;
   Conduct an online engagement process, seeking feedback on a range of budget areas and
     key projects;
   Conduct a series of community workshops across the shire; and
   Councillors should continue to make budget decisions as elected community
     representatives.
From the 156 responses received 94% of respondents had in their top 3 priorities that they
wanted to see Council conduct an online engagement process for the budget. In October 2020
Council subsequently resolved to “note the community’s preference for online community budget
engagement process for future budgets and request staff to report back to a future Council
meeting with options”.

Investigation of Budget Engagement Tools and Options
Consideration has been given to what engagement channels could be employed as part of the
2021/22 budget process that would be meaningful to ensure the community’s budget priorities
could be understood and considered by staff and Councillors as part of budget deliberations.
Online participatory budgeting tools have been in place for a number of years in other countries
to both educate communities regarding how Council budgets are developed and funded, and to
elicit feedback regarding what an individual’s priorities are for their Council to deliver. A number
of Queensland councils have or are beginning to implement online budget engagement
processes that employ tools that ask residents / ratepayers and other users to not only determine
priorities but ‘balance the budget’, with the intention to educate the user as to the need for
financially responsible decision making.

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