Bega Valley Shire Council's 2023/24 Annual Report was formally adopted at yesterday's Council meeting.
Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said the report showcases the achievements, challenges and journey taken to make many positive impacts in our community.
"We are responsible for nearly $2 billion in essential assets. Working alongside local residents and our funding partners has made it possible for us to deliver valuable projects and services that serves the community today and into the future," Cr Fitzpatrick said.
"We delivered some significant asset renewal projects including the iconic Tathra Wharf, our upgraded gallery SECCA, Bermagui Library, and in Eden we revitalised a precinct for the community to skate and play.
"The new Kiah Hall was also officially opened after being destroyed in the devastating Black Summer bushfires.
"Investment in maintaining and upgrading our road network including several bridges has increased, funded from successful grants and the recent increase in rates.
"We are proud of the programs we have in place to grow our own staff talent, our role in affordable housing and how we are planning for future growth.
"We secured Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CRJO) funding for 10 female employees to train in planning, launched a Youth Investment Program funded by Regional NSW offering two-year traineeships and welcomed six new cadets in the engineering and planning departments.
"With our commitment to affordable housing, we amended our Local Environmental Plan to permit a wider range of housing within some town centres and secured funding from the NSW Government's Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund to accelerate the land rezoning process for three new neighbourhoods south of Bega.
"We agreed to adopt structure plans for the Bega and Wolumla residential growth areas and following a feasibility analysis for affordable housing contributions in the shire, agreed to develop an Affordable Housing Contributions Policy.
"Following an independent review which found a large unmet need for childcare services in the Bega Valley Shire, we also agreed to continue to provide and expand our Children's Services."
CEO Anthony McMahon said Council had worked closely with the community to deliver on our vision that the shire is inclusive, welcoming and integrates quality of life, prosperity, sustainable development and conservation of the environment.
"Our libraries hosted free audio workshops in Bemboka, Towamba, Quaama and Candelo and held many events and activities for everyone across the year. Young people in the shire were also engaged through a Youth Festival and the Surf Skate Sound event," Mr McMahon said.
"The community was engaged in a variety of informative and fun events, including the Life in our Cemeteries series in partnership with Atlas for Life, Central Waste Facility tours, the Many Hands Volunteer Expo, the Garage Sale Trail, the Wilderness to Water guided tours, tree planting on National Tree Day and recognition of our hall committees and volunteers via the Community Hall Odyssey initiative.
"We provided submissions to many inquiries and reviews impacting local government. The voice of the Bega Valley has been strong and clear; we see this as a key avenue to progress change. We have also supported and led many initiatives through the CRJO, including the $1.5m Enabling Resilient Investment project with CSIRO.
"As an established FOGO Council, we supported many other councils in NSW and will soon be building a new organics processing facility.
"We also achieved the delivery of clean and clear water for customers connected to the Brogo-Bermagui waterline via our new Council-built water treatment and filtration plant.
"We kicked off two major sporting complex upgrades in Bega and Pambula this year, valued at over $30 million and mapped out our commitments to arts, culture and events in two key strategies.
"It's been a busy year, and we are proud of our achievements.
"We express heartfelt thanks to our committed staff, volunteers and Councillors past and present, as well as the community for their support and feedback on the many projects we propose and deliver."
To read the 2023/24 Bega Valley Shire Council Annual Report, visit Council's website.
