What is Integrated Planning?
What is Great Lakes 2030?
How do Council's plans fit together?
What is integrated planning?
On 1 October 2009, the NSW Government's new framework for integrated planning and reporting for local councils came into effect.
Each council must now prepare a number of plans, which provide detail on how the council intends to deliver works and services in the short and long term, based on community priorities that have been identified through consultation and engagement. The plans include a long term community strategic plan, four year delivery program, one year operational plan and various other supporting plans including a 10 year financial plan.
The framework encourages councils to better integrate their various plans to plan holistically for the future. It allows councils and their communities to have important discussions about funding priorities, service levels, preserving local identity and to plan in partnership for a more sustainable future.
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Ultimately the new Framework requires greater accountability and transparency as councils are required to outline a clear strategic direction for their community through a community strategic plan, and then report their performance back to their community against what they said they would do and against pre-defined measures.
The diagram below illustrates Great Lakes Council's approach to planning and reporting, based on the Local Government Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.
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| What is Great Lakes 2030?
On 19 April 2011 Council endorsed the community's first long-term strategic plan, Great Lakes 2030 developed under the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework. The plan is the central element of the IPR framework and represents the expressed views and aspirations of the community for the Great Lakes area. It is Council's primary forward planning document which aligns the community's vision with a clear strategic direction for the Great Lakes' long term future.
Supporting this plan is a set of resourcing strategies and plans that identify Council's roles and responsibilities in achieving the community's aspirations. The IPR legislation states that the community strategic plan must:
- Have a long term focus - minimum of 10 years;
- Address key issues - social, environmental, economic and civic leadership;
- Have regard for an adopted community engagement strategy - showing how the Council will communicate with and consult its community to develop a draft plan;
- Provide for a resourcing strategy - including how community assets will be used for the future, how the Council workforce will be managed to deliver the desired plan outcomes and a financial plan to spell out how aspects of the plan will be funded;
- Outline the principles on which the plan is based;
- Provide for measuring and monitoring progress in implementing the plan;
- Provide for reporting to the community on progress and achievements.
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How do Council's plans fit together?
Integrating our plans
The legislation underpinning the development of the Great Lakes 2030 community strategic plan is designed to draw together Council's various plans, to provide an understanding of how they interact and promote a more holistic approach to planning.
The development of Great Lakes 2030 recognises that Great Lakes Council's plans do not operate in isolation: that many of the plans are complementary and indeed, interdependent. Four key directions emerged from our consultation with the community and these provide a focus for the development of objectives and strategies that provide the basis of these plans.
Developing the supporting plans
During 2010 Council worked through options to address the issues raised in Great Lakes 2030. We reviewed the assessment of the sustainability of Council's infrastructure and finances carried out by Professor Percy Allan in 2008 and we spent considerable time conducting a detailed assessment of the condition of Council's infrastructure assets. We also reviewed the challenges and long term strategies outlined in Great Lakes 2030 to identify who is solely or jointly or principally responsible for delivery.
Armed with the community's long term priorities for the Great Lakes, Council staff set out to determine which services and projects could be delivered. Options were also developed for sustainable funding. An innovative community engagement program was undertaken in October and November 2010 to inform the community on Council's position and involve them in developing solutions.
The results of this engagement were then used to develop more detailed plans on the delivery of Great Lakes 2030. A special rate variation was considered necessary to sustainably manage the Great Lakes area and deliver the community's priorities. A further community engagement program was undertaken in February and March 2011 to discuss this proposal with the community and obtain feedback on Council's plans for delivering Great Lakes 2030.
The plans include:
2011-2015 Delivery Program including the 2011-2012 Operational Plan
Resourcing Strategy
Community Engagement Strategy (for Great Lakes 2030)
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Contact Details:
Customer Service
council@greatlakes.nsw.gov.au
Last Updated: 04/08/2011