Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT)’s Post

HOW THE NOOSA PLAN VISION GETS LOST As mayoral candidate, one of my policies is for Noosa Council decisions and actions to be grounded in the 20-year vision of the Noosa Plan (the planning scheme) and moderated through the constant assessment of benefits for the community. The Noosa Plan’s 20-year timeframe envisions that the Council will ensure community well-being, economic prosperity, protection of natural assets, sustainable population growth, ecologically sound urban development, affordable housing and a managed response to climate change. Council decision-making is often distorted as a result of this all-encompassing vision being ignored. Limiting the Council’s focus to particular elements of the Noosa Plan, cherry picking, focusing on pet projects, and political game-playing hampers Noosa Shire’s ability to move towards a desired future. Soon after the 2020 election, I published an article ‘The Noosa Plan – is it black and white?’ In it I pointed out that the Council is like a board. It should be viewing the organisation through creative, holistic and strategic lens. It should understand where staff recommendations fit in as part of the process and that slavish conformity with rules carries more dangers than benefits . It is the role of staff to come up with case by case recommendations in light of the Noosa Plan and regulations laid down by the State. But It cannot be assumed that what staff recommend or State bureaucrats favour always represent the best outcome for the Noosa community. It is up to councillors to exercise judgement taking into account context, implications, viability and community need. Unfortunately some councillors leave judgement at the door as they enter the Chamber, preparing instead for a few hours of jousting or preening – or both. Council decision-making should not be just yes or no, good or bad. It’s a complicated process. The outcomes should be ebony and ivory in harmony, not black and white in conflict. You can read my article here: https://lnkd.in/gjqGBMZa

#Planning Given this evening's RTE Investigates - 'The Planning Trap' - it is interesting to see what happens in NI re. Community Involvement in planning re. Development Management (DM) and plan-making/forward planning (FP). The NI DoE Practice Note 02 - Statement of Community Involvement- is here: https://lnkd.in/d22A-H56 In NI, Appeals may only be made by, or on behalf of, the person who made the planning application (the First Party). There is no "Third Party" right of appeal and this means that objectors or other parties who may have an interest in the proposal cannot make an appeal if they are unhappy about the decision. N.B. Planning powers were returned to local councils in NI in April 2015. Northern Ireland’s Planning Aid service - known as Community Places (est. 1984) is here: https://lnkd.in/enir_MMX #empowerment #commongood #communities #Aarhus #participation

The total grant will amount to €1 million.

We’re descending on State Parliament over the next two days to call on Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli MP to empower, enable, and back SEQ councils grappling with our region’s significant growth.  Councils can play a key role in addressing challenges like housing supply, but need urgent funding support from the State and Federal Governments to deliver critical enabling infrastructure like road, water, and waste water connections.  The Queensland and Australian Governments collect 97% of all tax revenue nationally – Councils cannot be expected to take on more of the cost burden to deliver vital infrastructure.  Our region is home to four million people – three in four Queenslanders – with 2.2 million expected by 2046, requiring at least 900,000 new homes and more than 1 million jobs.   Led by CoMSEQ Chair Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, SEQ Mayors will spend the next two days putting our case to both the Government and Opposition outlining how Councils can play a vital role in meeting not just housing but other important regional priorities.  https://lnkd.in/g3WizRVU Adrian Schrinner Mayor Peter Flannery Tanya Milligan Jos Mitchell Rosanna Natoli Mayor Jon Raven Teresa Harding Tom Sharp Geoff McDonald Jason Wendt Frank Wilkie Brisbane City Council City of Moreton Bay Lockyer Valley Regional Council Redland City Council Sunshine Coast Council Logan City Council Ipswich City Council Scenic Rim Regional Council Toowoomba Regional Council Somerset Regional Council Noosa Council

Housing associations are anchor institutions in their communities, with a track record of collaborative delivery in every part of the country. 🏘️ Housing associations already build a quarter of new homes and drive growth, improve the energy efficiency of 50,000 homes annually and aid a variety of public services through supported and older persons’ housing provision. The recommendations in our Autumn Budget submission, taken together, would create the conditions for housing associations to: 👉 Help deliver the biggest increase in affordable housebuilding in a generation. 👉 Progress our shared priorities through investment in existing homes to make them safe, green and high-quality. 👉 Play a critical role in supporting public services to rebuild. We have a number of calls ahead of the Autumn Budget. 👇 Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9u4__SN

This week, LGNZ President Mayor Sam Broughton, and LGNZ CE Susan Freeman-Greene, had the second of their regular catch-ups with Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. The focus? Giving the Minister a full briefing on the proposed Ratepayers’ Assistance Scheme. This scheme is a local government-led initiative that will, on a national scale, assist ratepayers facing cost of living challenges – by giving ratepayers options in how they pay any rate-like charge (for example, by paying them off over time). There’s lots more to it than that, but we’ll get into all the nitty gritty in another post as our work on this project progresses. We also shared the concern councils are feeling about NZTA’s proposed changes to emergency works funding. These changes which would see emergency funding only applied to one-in-20-year weather events, instead of one-in-10-year events. They would also involve lowering the emergency fund contribution from 20% to 10% – meaning councils would end up having to cover even more of the costs. Given the funding challenges councils are already facing, these proposed changes are cause for real concern, so it was important to pass this on. Finally, we received an update on how work on Local Water Done Well is progressing. While the finer details of this are still being worked through, the Minister is hoping to have more of an update in time for our SuperLocal conference in August. So make sure you get your tickets – where you can hear from the Minister directly (unsubtle plug, we know). Register here: https://lnkd.in/gt8FPuxh

Exciting updates from Lincolnshire County Council at today’s budget meeting. We're thrilled to announce additional funding of over £7.8 million for key areas in the upcoming financial year! Following additional funding from the Government, we're proud to allocate over £7.8 million to crucial areas including flooding, highways, anti-social behaviour, and the environment. This substantial investment is in addition to the £646 million earmarked for essential services like adult care and children’s services. With this boost, we're investing in: 💧 Flood Prevention: £3.3m to safeguard homes and livelihoods against devastating impacts. 🛣️ Highways Improvements: An extra £2.5m for smoother journeys across the county. 🚫 Anti-Social Behaviour: £1m to tackle issues and ensure safety for all residents. 🌳 Environment: £1m for green initiatives, enhancing our natural spaces. While ensuring financial stability, our proposed budget includes a 4.99% council tax increase, maintaining one of the lowest rates for a shire county. Exciting times ahead for Lincolnshire! Let's continue building a brighter future together. #LocalGov #Lincolnshire #BudgetProposal2024

More than 125 people from across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont joined Thriving Communities Technical Assistance (TA) Providers and federal agencies as part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network convening at St. Anselm College Institute of Politics earlier this week. NRRA Communications Manager, Andrea Folsom, MSW, attended the event on behalf of NRRA to gather additional resources for and share the challenges faced by NRRA's Municipal Members - including the need for more solid waste infrastructure funding for all NH municipalities and cumbersome grant application and reporting requirements - with the federal agencies in the room. Applying for and managing federal grants can seem particularly daunting for smaller municipalities that may lack the personnel to write or manage grants. More often than not, municipal staff are required to wear many hats to help their community function smoothly. The Thriving Communities Network aims to reduce barriers to federal grant funding by providing resources and tools municipalities of any size can use to successfully compete for federal funding. Learn more about the key resources and takeaways from the event: https://lnkd.in/e7NJ2qyd

The world of municipal budgets can be complicated, especially when it comes to the delivery of specialized services in our community. Some Guelph residents may not realize that while the City’s budget covers a wide range of services like road maintenance, parks, waste management, transit and more, it also includes the financial needs of our local boards and shared services, like the County of Wellington, the Guelph Public Library Board, the Guelph Police Service Board, the Grand River Conservation Authority, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, the Elliott Community and the Downtown Guelph Business Association. Each board is responsible for its own budget, which allows them to fund and manage the delivery of specialized services in Guelph. Together, they create a balanced and comprehensive approach to meeting our community’s needs. By understanding these differences, we can better appreciate how each budget contributes to making Guelph a great place to live. Learn more about Guelph's local boards and shared services' budgets at https://ow.ly/B5UA50TuJch.