Council and the Phillip Island Municipal Review Committee MeetCouncil and Committee to establish why they are seeking a municipal review By Bass Coast Shire Council - 13th February 2002 - Back to News Bass Coast Shire Council and the committee members of the Phillip Island Municipal Review Committee met for the day on Wednesday to discuss issues raised by the community at two public meetings in Cowes in 2001.
The meeting followed an invitation from Mayor Miranda Sage for the Council to sit down with the Committee to establish why they are seeking a municipal review. The Committee had also approached the Minister for Local Government for the review. In rejecting the request the Minister had suggested that the Committee should meet with Council assisted by an independent facilitator.
The Committee accepted the recommendation from the Minister and the invitation of Council to enter into discussions.
The facilitator advised the Council and the Review Committee that a formal Review of boundaries would not be possible without identification of the issues raised by the Review Committee and examination of them.
The Mayor, Cr Miranda Sage and Ms Anne Davie, Chairperson of the Review Committee, issued the following statement at the end of the meeting.
“Council and the Phillip Island Review Committee have today considered a range of concerns compiled by the committee on behalf of those who have participated in the two public meetings held on Phillip Island last year.
The major issues of community concern have been identified as the processes for managing planning applications, bringing the community into the planning process and maintaining community involvement while a planning application is being considered.
The concerns are in part embedded in the constraints placed on Council under previous planning law. Both the Council and the PIMRC welcome the opportunities provided by recent changes to law which will allow for greater emphasis to be placed on local Strategic Plans and neighbourhood character studies . Both the Council and PIMRC have recognised the value in having community input into the development of these new local studies.
The meeting recognised that some of the processes for communication and consultation with the community could be broadened, made more participative and more accessible. The Council also agreed that the response mechanisms currently used by Council should be reviewed to improve the level of community satisfaction with these processes.
The other issues that the Council and the community considered for review were the maintenance program for property, in particular roads and the contribution of Phillip Island tourism to the Victorian economy.
The final issue discussed was the financial equity for Phillip Island.”
Both the Mayor and the Committee Chair said that they appreciated the opportunity to work together with a facilitator and look forward to some improvements in Council processes and positive outcomes from the meeting.
The Mayor said that the results of the meeting, and the need for examination of the issues that had resulted in the call for the review, would be formally considered by the Council within the next month.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com

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