YEAR IN REVIEW MAYOR’S MESSAGE
As a first-time councillor and Mayor, I’m proud to present the annual report for 2020-2021 on behalf of my fellow councillors. This 12 months was a time of considerable change with the elections held in October and I want to start by paying tribute to the outgoing group of councillors and all the work they undertook, not only in the previous four years and the way they guided the city through great transformation, but also the work they did in their final months in very difficult times as we grappled with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank outgoing Mayor and long-serving councillor Anna Speedie on her tireless service, no greater example of which was in her final months, advocating for our community in the face of border closures, checkpoints and restrictions. It’s been an interesting introduction for myself and other new councillors to local government in the midst of a pandemic. But it has been our great privilege for all the councillor group to work and advocate for our community through these challenging times. We know the past 12 months has been hard for our community with significant impacts on our businesses - through lockdowns, restrictions, little to no visitation and cross-border headaches. We have been, and will continue, to advocate for support for our hardest hit sectors and ensure the impacts on our people is heard at all levels of government. The redevelopment of our city centre over the past 10 years has put us in a strong position to continue to grow our city as a vibrant destination for our community, our visitors as well as attracting new residents. It’s simply a great place to live and work.
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Year in review
We work to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to share in that vibrant future. In our first few months, after a comprehensive induction by council staff, we worked with and listened to our community in the development of a new Council Plan that sets our strategic direction for the next four years. We have committed funding in our budget to plan for priority projects that will be part of the next stage of our transformation. And we build on the foundation of those that have gone before, with works under way to bring major projects including our new library-gallery and Baranduda Fields to fruition. Our Two Cities One Community partnership continues to realise its importance for our cities as we stood together in the face of those border closures and the impacts on our community. The partnership continues to deliver on a range of projects with Upstream delivered for a second time under a COVID-friendly model and discussions and progress continuing on the Regional Deal. On behalf of my fellow councillors, I would like to thank our community for your support in 2020-2021 and for everything you do to make our city great. In 2021-2022, we look forward to being able to get out into the community, engage with and continue to hear from you on what’s important for our city now and into the future.
Cr Kev Poulton Wodonga Mayor
