Councillors and Council staff will travel to Penshurst next Wednesday 23 August, where for the second time this year, the Southern Grampians Shire will hold its Council meeting in a township outside Hamilton.
The meeting will take place at the Memorial Hall in Martin Street, Penshurst at 5.30pm, prior to the regular Community Engagement Session at 7pm.
This is the second of three meetings to be held outside Hamilton following a notice of motion raised in Council chambers last year. The first was held in Balmoral in June and the third meeting outside Hamilton is scheduled for Coleraine in October.
Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Cr Mary-Ann Brown said hosting Council meetings in townships outside Hamilton has been a positive move as it allows for greater community participation and greater transparency of Council’s decision making process.
“The June meeting held in Balmoral was a great success. Councillors spent the day in Balmoral visiting local businesses and speaking with community. The meeting was well attended, as was the engagement session that followed.
“Council adopted a Governance and Decision Making Paper last year which highlighted the importance of transparency in improving Council’s reputation and improving the level of trust in the community and I think we are making some important steps in the right direction with that,” Cr Brown said.
"The original proposal recommended two Council meetings in other locations per year; however we elected to have three per year, thereby allowing Council to have a meeting in all 10 townships in the Shire during their four year term.
“We encourage anyone in the area to come along to the Penshurst Memorial Hall and join us for the meeting to find out all about how Council runs, and then stay for the engagement session to have a chat with Councillors,” Cr Brown said.
The agenda for the meeting will be available after Friday at www.sthgrampians.vic.gov.au