Annual Report 2015-16

Corporate Plan Priority 3 – Community engagement and communication
We know that our community wants to be kept informed and we need to provide as much
information as possible via local media and to develop a better online presence. We will involve
the community in decision making on key issues affecting the future of Noosa.

Key achievements include:
 Council completed its second Community Jury in December 2015 and the Jury provided its
   report to Council on the future options for management of the Noosa River in early 2016.
   Council is now advancing those recommendations.
 Council has undertaken a number of meetings across our region to engage with our
   community. A formal Council meeting was held at Noosa Junction in October 2015.
   Councillors and staff have also held numerous meetings across the Shire on a range of local
   issues.
 The Project News updates were refined and published on a regular basis to provide information
   on capital works projects occurring in local neighbourhoods.
 Our e-newsletter is continuing to be enhanced as it currently focuses on publishing links to
   press releases. There is more to do with this publication and enhancements are currently
   underway. The Libraries and Galleries e-newsletter continues to set the benchmark.
 Council’s website design and content is improving. The website is now mobile enabled. The
   online services component (including online payments) is also enabled but while usage is
   growing, it is still relatively low as a percentage of overall transactions. Technology One are
   developing more user friendly interfaces and we have recently incorporated the use of Apps
   into our service delivery interface to make it easier for customers to log requests.
 Council’s social media presence significantly improved in the 2015/16 year. Council’s
   Facebook followers have increased to around 4,000 and this medium has been particularly
   useful in keeping people informed during natural disasters. The Noosa Library Service and
   The J also have developed strong social media presences which assist in the promotion of
   their services. We are also just starting to develop our Noosa Council Instagram presence and
   the Noosa Library is well advanced with their Instagram processes aimed at engaging with a
   younger demographic.
 Council has been very active in liaising with various community organisations across the Shire.
   Regular meetings are held by Councillors and senior staff with a variety of community based
   organisations including CCIQ (Noosa and Cooroy), Noosa Junction Association, Tourism
   Noosa, Noosa Waters Residents Association, Hastings Street Association, Noosa Residents
   and Ratepayers Association etc.
 Consultation with the community on a range of issues took place throughout the year. While
   too numerous to list all of these, some examples include:
   o Noosa Transport Strategy
   o Sunshine Beach Skatepark
   o Pest Management Plan
   o Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan
   o Rufous Street project at Peregian Beach including a design charette.
   The Your Say Noosa portal on our website is fully operational and is becoming well used.
   Noosa Council has been identified by the supplier as the most extensive user of that
   engagement portal in Queensland.
 A significant number of staff have attended IAP2 training (with more training planned) to
   increase skills in community engagement and deliver more effective project outcomes.




Noosa Council Annual Report 2015/16                                                        Page 7