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Connecting with the community and stakeholders
We want to hear what the community has to say about plans for projects, programs and services.
We communicate in many ways, including through a regular advertorial in The Leader, social media, media releases, advertising, e-newsletters, radio interviews, direct mail and community events.
We delivered our quarterly magazine to homes and businesses in the LGA throughout 2020/21. It featured news articles and special features about places, people and events in the LGA. Our website and social media platforms provide an open forum for the community to engage with us and continue to attract followers each year.
We value positive relationships with local and metropolitan media outlets and assist by providing information and coordinating media interviews whenever possible. During the year, we released 162 media statements and addressed 38 media enquiries.
Independent media information gives the community a balanced view on our issues and operations.
2020 It's A Mood - Chess tournament
How we engage
Engagement method Description
Your Say
Surveys
Community events and activities Our online engagement tool. Registered participants receive requests to share their views, concerns or ideas to help inform our decision-making. We have received 3,226 site registrations to date, more than two per cent of the population. Common method for obtaining information from the community, available online through the Your Say page or in hardcopy on request.
On an ongoing basis, engagement activities are incorporated into City-hosted events.
Facilitated sessions We hold facilitated workshops and sessions to share information, involve the community and obtain feedback on our plans in a more personal way. Community members can interact directly with staff and have their questions and concerns listened to, answered and considered. Many of these activities are now online events due to COVID-19.
Non-facilitated sessions
We set up information booths, ideas boards and straw polls (ad hoc unofficial voting) at community facilities, events and other engagements. Submissions Where a survey is not appropriate, we request a submission to capture community comments, concerns and opinions.
Website The community can view the latest news, key projects and important documents on our website.
e-newsletter The public comment period for key projects is featured in the fortnightly eNews, which has almost 10,000 subscribers. Advertisements We regularly advertise engagement opportunities in our local community newspaper, The Leader.
Letters
We send information and feedback forms to members of the community likely to be directly affected by a decision, project or upgrade. Emails For participants and project subscribers, we send information, invitations to events and updates at key project milestones. Social media We inform community and stakeholders of engagement opportunities through social media, providing links to information and Your Say. Promotional posters We display posters in our main public places (civic centre, libraries and community centres) to advertise engagement opportunities.
Community engagement can shape local outcomes and allows us to gather valuable information. The Community Engagement Strategy adopted in October 2019 is a guide for engaging with the community on issues that may affect their lives. From this, we can:
• improve project and service delivery • improve policy • strengthen relationships with individuals and community groups • ensure Council is meeting local needs • create opportunities to discuss complex and emerging issues. • allow for a diversity of voices to be heard.
Your Say and 2020/21 overview
Your Say is our central platform to share, gather and report back on organisation-wide operations. It provides visibility and access to the community on upcoming programs, initiatives, priorities and exhibitions. Registered participants receive requests to share their views, concerns or ideas to help inform our decision-making and shape projects for the Georges River LGA.
Traditionally, we engage with the community via direct mail, notices in newspapers, subscription emails/newsletters, letter drops and face-to-face briefings, telephone surveys and workshops. However, 2020/21 required a new approach as COVID-19 restrictions delayed and/or reduced our community engagement activities and strategies.
This has made Your Say a key communication channel for supplying information, feedback opportunities, and updates on Council projects. In 2020/21, Your Say hosted and shared 49 online consultations, which involved 2,306 active engaged participants and 19,888 aware participants.
During 2020/21, 82 independent online engagement tools were used to support Your Say consultations. Surveys, ideas, quick polls and newsfeeds were the most popular tools for obtaining community feedback.
The transition to online engagement tools is an effective and sustainable pathway for two-way information exchange between Council and the community. Online webinars are a popular and robust tool, providing greater reach, distribution and flexibility for stakeholders. During 2020/21, we listed 17 webinars in Your Say, inviting community members to attend virtual seminars and information sessions with Council and, where applicable, external stakeholders and industry professionals.
Additionally, Your Say continues to grow as a hub for residents to access key documents and contacts. During 2020/21, more than 129 documents were uploaded to projects, with more than 8,500 combined downloads. This enables people to connect with the policies, strategies, master plans and documents pertaining to the projects interesting them, creating a more transparent information exchange between Council and the community.
Our Communications and Engagement Team encourages everyone in the organisation to explore the suite of consultation tools available on Your Say. A full list of all available tools available through Your Say is at the end of this report.
With 739 new registrations in 2020/21 (compared to 809 the previous year), Your Say now has 3,226 members, reflecting consistent growth.
Mortdale shopping village
During 2020/21, we consulted with the community on:
• Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2021 • The Vision for the Beverly Hills Town Centre • Proposed changes to Georges River LGA Boundary • Georges River Libraries - Trial extension of opening hours • Oatley – Como Bridge Walkway public art project • Former Oatley Bowling Club Plan of Management and Master plan
The online projects with the highest participation were:
• trial extension of Georges River libraries’ opening hours (522) • Oatley – Como Bridge Walkway public art project (345) • library opening hours (246) • proposed changes to Georges River LGA boundary (137) • Mortdale Centre Master Plan (109) • vision for Beverly Hills Town Centre (104) • New Rates 2021 (82) • Shop Local competition (79) • Biodiversity Study for Georges River LGA (64) • Sans Souci Park Plan of Management and Master
Plan (64)
Other public exhibitions in 2020/21 were:
• Community Property Strategy • Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) 2022 - 2027 • draft Delivery Program, Operational Plan and
Resourcing Strategy • draft Georges River Council Enforcement Policy 2021 • draft Georges River Council Smoke Free Policy for
Outdoor Areas 2021 • former Oatley Bowling Club Plan of Management and
Master Plan • generic Plan of Management • Georges River Affordable Housing Policy • Historical Markers Program 2020 • Hurstville Revitalisation Project • Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2021 • Mortdale Centre Master Plan • Narwee Housing Investigation Area Consultation • Oatley Flying-fox Camp Management Plan • place naming proposals, including 'Meryl Burton
Reserve' in Beverly Hills • planning proposal -Taylors Reserve • playground naming competition • proposal to rename Oatley Senior Citizens Centre in honour of Norm and Beryl Butters • public art - general feedback • Waste Management Strategy • draft Georges River Foreshore Access and
Improvement Plan • draft Development Control Plan (DCP) 2020 • Georges River Night Time Economy Study • Salt Pan Creek Corridor - Help us plan for the future • Sans Souci Park Plan of Management and Master Plan • waste collection services community consultation
Stakeholder Engagement
Community Website www.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au Social media Publications Community forums Community events Community funding Council offices Annual report Ratepayers Rates notices Annual report Website www.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au
Employees Newsletters General manager newsletters Tool box talks Posters Intranet Email Staff events and training
Georges River business community
Business forums Budget forum Publications Annual report Website Build capacity and drive the economy in the community Provide guidance, support and opportunity
Property developers
Developer forums 1:1 meetings Build capacity and drive the economy in the community Provide guidance, support and opportunity
Potential visitors
Website www.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au Social media
Government Formal meetings Correspondence Events Business forums Community forums 1:1 meetings Media Media releases Media alerts and briefings Social media Interviews
Why they are important
Provide knowledge, cultural experience, resources, engagement and feedback
What we do for them
Provide civic leadership, services, facilities, partnership and representation
Provide knowledge, cultural experience, resources, engagement and feedback
Provide valuable knowledge, skills Generate sustainable growth and return to the community
Provide employment, training, career development, opportunities and flexible and supportive work arrangements
Provide economic benefits, generate employment and financial growth Provide partnerships, funding, networks, legislation and growth opportunities Provide high standard facilities services and product
Provide resources, partnerships and networks.
Build reputation, raise awareness of services, facilities and promotion Enable partnerships and advocacy
Couple at Olds Park, Penshurst
