2014-08-25 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   25 AUGUST 2014




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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                          25 AUGUST 2014

    COUNCIL POLICY - COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

     Foresight-Council engages with its community not only to learn about and respond to present
    needs, but also to gain a better understanding of our communities’ perspective on emerging issues
    that may affect our preferred future.
    Accountability-Council will seek community engagement to enhance its decision-making,
     however where+the-Council is_ultimately responsible and accountable-fora-_giver-matter and; it will
    accept its responsibility to make the final decision.-aad+e-provideteadership.

     ENGAGEMENT CONTEXT

     1.   Statutory Compliance
    The Queensland Local Government Act 2009 outlines the in principle need for local government to
    engage with the community and to encourage and assist participation, in particular, principle (c)
    Section 4 “democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement”.
    2. | Engagement around Strategic Issues
     By their very nature, these engagements will concern strategic and/or shire wide issues. On these
    issues, Council could involve the community through the establishment of advisory panels and
    taskforces or through special one-off conferences or other appropriate engagement activities
    designed to generate dialogue and ideas. Councillors will be consulted to determine the nature and
    type of their involvement in the strategic issue.
    3.  | Engagement concerning Local Issues
    Council will take a flexible approach on how it engages with the community on local issues.
     Engagement activities will provide an opportunity to give and receive information and may include
   | the establishment of working or project groups, diisionalforums or community meetings. Such
    activities will be action-focussed and will often involve Council staff.
    4.    Engagement Linked to day to day Council Business
    Council staff in consultation with Councillors will identify and manage community engagement
    activities associated with Council's core business and projects approved in Council’s budget. The
    responsible department will establish the most appropriate engagement technique at the project
    planning stage and coordinate requirements with the Community Engagement Branch. The
    relevant department will be responsible for providing information to the community on the issue,
    facilitating the community involvement, and establishing success metrics with assistance from the
    Community Engagement Branch.
    5.    Engagement Activities
   | Council recognises the full spectrum of engagement activities as contained within the iap!APR2
    Spectrum of Public Participation ranging from informing, consulting, involving, collaborating and
    empowering.
    Council will use different community engagement techniques and communication mechanisms
    depending on the issue or project, its particular circumstance and the audience it needs to target.
    The need for and type of community engagement to be undertaken will be determined at the
    project planning stage following an analysis of the desired project outcomes. The project plan will
    also identify the most appropriate communication tool to ensure that the particular target group(s)
    is well informed of both the issue and related engagement opportunities.

    Noosa Council                                                                         Page 3 of 5

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