Community input sought on council priorities for next five years

A phone poll of 400 residents is being done by Taverner Research Group, formerly IRIS Research, on behalf of council to gain feedback on the vision and strategies envisaged for the Corporate Plan.

The poll will also double as a Community Attitudes Survey, benchmarking residents’ thoughts on council facilities and services against previous surveys, including the most recent in 2018.

Mayor Greg Williamson said council was due for another Community Attitudes Survey, so had taken the opportunity to use it to gain community input into the new Corporate Plan.

“The first half of the phone poll will focus on questions related to council’s vision and proposed Corporate Plan themes,’’ Mayor Williamson said.

“The second part of the survey will ask residents questions about council services and facilities to gain an understanding of community satisfaction in relation to what we deliver,’’ he said.

“Those scores will be benchmarked against previous Community Attitudes Surveys undertaken by IRIS Research on behalf of council.

“If you’re not contacted by phone for the poll, there is an opportunity for anyone wanting to have a say to do so online.”

To have a say online, access the survey link on council’s Connecting Mackay website.

Mayor Williamson said council had just recently revised its Corporate Plan, which had been in place for five years, to meet legislative requirements.

He said that was only a minor revamp as councillors were working on new Vision and strategies.

“We’ve now adopted a new vision and have put forward some themes for strategies, so this new evolution of the Corporate Plan will be a major overhaul.”

Council’s new Vision is: “To become the best region for liveability and livelihood.”

It has three strategic pillars looking outwards, including: Invest and work; Live and visit; and Community and sustainability. Its two inwards looking strategic pillars are: Financial strength and Operational excellence. The new five-year Corporate Plan will be framed around these key themes.