Minutes Ordinary Meeting 20 February 2025

ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES                                                  20 FEBRUARY 2025



            QUESTION 2
            Can Council confirm how the dog renewal infringement funds will be, or have been
            spent and whether Council has begun to look into possible reasons for the increase
            in overdue registrations, as identified last year, as a priority, by Council's
            Environmental Health Manager?


            Answer provided by Richard MacGillivray Director Development and
            Regulation
            Infringement revenue is used to fund the operational expenses for regulatory
            functions and services to our community. In terms of animal renewals last year,
            more than 10,000 dog owners paid their animal registration on time. Around 7% of
            owners did not pay on time despite multiple reminders being sent and media
            releases issued. These ratios are not considered high when compared with other
            Councils. Council continues to encourage payment for animal registration on time
            through improvement awareness and education as well as exploring opportunities
            for making it easier for customers to register and update their details with council.


   8.4.     CRAIG VELLA

            QUESTION 1
            The Go Noosa Interim report prepared by the Infrastructure Manager and tabled
            at item 8.1 of the General Committee Agenda considered on 20 January 2025:-
            (a) recommended the cessation of both the Free Weekend Bus Services and the
            Go Noosa Free Bus Service for peak season (Service) in light of 50 cent bus fares
            implemented by the state government; and
            (b) identified that the Service was funded to the amount of $900,000 through
            Council’s Sustainable Transport Levy. That recommendation was unanimously
            approved by Council and now necessitates a reconsideration and update of
            Council’s response given to public question 2 on 20 June 2024 given that existing
            services have now been curtailed* so please now advise:
            Could the Sustainable Transport Levy which is budgeted to raise $933,000 in the
            23/24 draft budget be used to repair and/or reconstruct the 'on land component' of
            the boat ramp and associated car and trailer parking at Hilton Esplanade or at any
            other boat ramp in the Noosa Shire? If not, then why?


            Answer provided by Shaun Walsh Director Infrastructure Services
            Thank you for your question regarding the Go Noosa program and the potential
            use of the Sustainable Transport Levy for boat ramp and parking improvements.
            Firstly, to clarify, while the Sustainable Transport Levy is budgeted to raise
            approximately $933,000 in the 2023/24 financial year, these funds are allocated to
            various sustainable transport initiatives as outlined in report. The Free Bus
            Service, while significant, does not account for the entire levy amount. Following
            Council’s recent decision to cease the Free Weekend Bus Services, options for
            the reallocation of these funds will be considered in due course. However, under
            the existing levy framework, all funded initiatives must align with the primary
            objectives of sustainable transport management, congestion reduction, and
            encouraging active and public transport use. The Sustainable Transport Levy is
            not intended to fund infrastructure improvements for private vehicle and boat trailer
            parking, including those at Hilton Esplanade or other boat ramps in Noosa Shire.
            As outlined in Council’s Transport policy, the levy is specifically designed to
            support initiatives such as public transport services, park-and-ride facilities,
            intelligent transport systems, and congestion management strategies. Council