The people of Kempsey Shire are being asked to choose three words that sum up their vision for the future and in doing so, set the direction for a 20-year strategy to guide government and public services.
Kempsey Shire Council has drafted a Community Strategic Plan entitled 2042: Your Future and it contains a vision statement crafted by bringing together the priorities, strengths and expectations identified by analysing a large range of community engagement over the last two years.
The draft wording for the vision is: 'From the mountains to the sea, our people are given the opportunities and infrastructure to build a safe, prosperous and welcoming community. Marrungbu.'
While the language of the vision statement captures the natural beauty, indigenous history and importance of our people, Kempsey Shire Council General Manager, Craig Milburn, says Council want to know if "safe, prosperous and welcoming" are the best three words to describe the future residents want.
"So many of us struggle when we're asked what we want to be when we grow up. So it can be even harder to come up with one answer when you ask a community of more than 30,000 what they want to be in 20 years' time," said Mr Milburn.
"After analysing data from community events and submissions projects over several years, some patterns emerged in the phrases people use to define what's important. But to select a key three, you have to leave out many more, so we are asking the community to weigh in."
"This is one of the most important sentences in a document that guides everything Council deliver, so we want to get it right and we want the community to have their say on the vision and the document as a whole."
2042: Your Future outlines the community's hopes, aspirations and dreams for the Kempsey Shire. It is a statement of our community's plan and vision of what we want Kempsey Shire to be in 20 years.
Feedback and data gathered from many community surveys, events and organisations has been captured and analysed by Council to arrive at the long-term priorities for the future of our Shire.
The community can download a draft copy of 2042: Your Future, choose their preferred three words and provide feedback on the overall plan on Your Say Macleay
