"During the past few months, we have held hundreds of conversations with our community to understand their values and expectations," Deputy Mayor Cr Melanie Likos said.
"We wanted to be really clear on what matters to our community, to help us set priorities and to shape our future direction together.
"The next step in this process is our Community Panel."
The panel will have the important role of reviewing the information received during the first stage of the community engagement program and creating the Strathbogie Shire 2040 Community Vision and the 2021-25 Council Plan.
The panel will consist of about 25 to 30 people from throughout our region.
Panel members will be independently recruited in a random-selection process to ensure there are a cross-section of people working together to drive Council's direction.
"Through an independently facilitated process, the panel will draft a Vision Statement that captures what our community values most about living in our Shire and set the priorities for a Council Plan that gets us there," she said.
"Expert facilitators will support panel members with different viewpoints to work together in a respectful manner and come to a shared position.
"This will be a genuine, open process that will result in a shared vision for our future. It will not be a public meeting format where loud voices can sometimes dominate.
"We are also keen to include younger people in these processes, so we encourage our young people aged between 18 to 30 years old, to register so we can include their voice in this process."
The panel will meet three times and participants must attend all meetings. These will be:
- Meeting one: Sunday, July 18 from 10am to 4pm
- Meeting two: Sunday, July 25 from 10am to 4pm
- Meeting three: Sunday, August 1 from 10am to 4pm.
The meetings will be held at the Longwood Community Centre. Meals and snacks will be provided, and participants will receive an honorarium of $150 in recognition of their time and commitment to being part of this process.
To register your interest, go to deliberatelyengaging.com.au/strathbogie. Registrations close at midnight on Sunday, June 20. Selection will be managed by an independent organisation, Deliberately Engaging Pty Ltd.
