The Palerang Community Strategic Plan 2013-2032 has finally been adopted by Council.
An earlier post made reference to the NSW state government Integrated Planning & Reporting initiative that was designed to help standardise the planning processes followed by Councils throughout NSW, and to help Councils to better align their planning processes with the aspirations of their respective communities. The starting point for this exercise was an extensive process of community consultation, and the Palerang Community Strategic Plan encapsulates the input provided through that consultation exercise.
The IP & R process also requires Councils to develop standardised financial and asset management plans, and for all of these documents to underpin Council’s four-year Delivery Program and annual Operational Plan.
The four-year Delivery Program will effectively define the goals for the term of a given Council, and the annual Operational Plans will identify which of these goals are to be delivered in any given year. These goals must be aligned with the aspirations of the community, as articulated in the Community Strategic Plan, although they will also be subject to Council’s financial constraints. State government funding opportunities will, however, favour those programs that have been clearly articulated by Councils in this planning process.
There was a level of cynicism in the community response to the Community Strategic Plan (CSP) when it was first exhibited, on the basis that it appeared to be very general, and its goals did not appear to reflect the more specific details provided during the consultation phase of the development process. It is important to understand, however, that as a strategic plan the CSP is necessarily general—it must remain relevant for 20 years. If a strategic plan were to identify issues too specifically, it would become irrelevant when those specific issues had been addressed, even though a broader strategy that underpinned those issues may remain incomplete.
The Delivery Programs and Operational Plans are what put the meat on the bones of the CSP. These are the documents that identify specific goals and the timeframes for achieving these goals. The Delivery Programs will also tie into Council’s Long Term Financial Plan, its Asset Management Plan, and it’s Workforce Planning Strategy. These elements of the IP & R process will determine Council’s long term viability and ultimately its ability to deliver on the strategy outlined in the Community Strategic Plan.
Copies of the Palerang Community Strategic Plan 2013-2032 can be downloaded from the Council website, and are available from Council’s offices in Bungendore and Braidwood.
The draft of Palerang Council’s first four-year Delivery Program is on public exhibition until 15 June 2012, and can also be downloaded from the Council website. Together with the 2012/13 Operational Plan, and following due consideration of any comments received during the exhibition period, it will be adopted thereafter.