Mayors Message Thursday 30 December 2021

MAYORS MESSAGE

As we approach the end of another year, we can reflect on so many things. The obvious one is COVID, and whilst it has been devastating in so many ways, there have been some real positives we can take from it. Some of these include our renewed sense of community, the resilience we have found, the ability to shift our lives quickly and the way we have fast-tracked solutions in the workplace.

This year whilst under the pressures from COVID we have still seen some remarkable achievements in the City of Ballarat’s work. Something I think is a game changer in Council’s future has been the focus and professional approach to planning our path forward.

Earlier in the year the ‘Ballarat: Our Future’ community engagement process informed two critical documents, the ‘Council Plan 2021-2025’ and the ‘Community Vision 2021-2031’. In August this year along with the ‘Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021-2031’ we saw a unanimous approval by Council of all three documents.

I think the integrity and interest by our community in helping find that future path, by people from all walks of life and backgrounds, is extremely powerful. Whilst an enormous amount of work we have ended up with plans that provide the city’s future blueprint, invested in, authentic and owned, not just by our professional staff, but by the community itself.

Over the year there have been so many achievements. We have a wealth of projects on the table, we have tackled them head on and not without challenges. We value the community’s views; we value transparency and we have Ballarat at heart in all we think and do.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year and I think we can look forward to an even more exciting year ahead!

Mayor

Cr Daniel Moloney