Hello everyone.
I hope all is going well for you and your teams.
The executive team spent two days offsite last week working on our strategic plans and priority areas of focus. You will hear more about these in due course.
We’ve had a positive, optimistic discussion about the strength of our teams and our opportunities for 2025.
One of our new initiatives is a ‘Walk in My Shoes’ program. We’re hoping to come and join frontline teams for short sessions to listen and learn about your work up close.
We’re keen to see your skills and talents in action and I’m really curious to hear what you love about your job and any pain points as well. We want to get a deep understanding of your work and have better connections across different teams. Please be patient, even if we ask very basic questions.
This is part of a broader renewed focus on performance across every service that Council offers. We are asking what does success look like for your team in the next 24 months? What are your key priorities? The Executive team will be talking more about this in the coming weeks and months.
Thank you to teams who recently worked on Seniors Week and Children’s Week programming. I was pleased to hear some of our excellent programs articulated very well on ABC radio by our colleague, Monique Godbehere.
I was also proud to be able to talk to the media recently about our tenacity in pursuing prosecutions in relation to dog attacks.
While we do lots of positive work to promote responsible pet ownership, we’re also averaging one successful prosecution a month, demonstrating that our teams don’t shy away from the painstaking work of enforcement action when warranted. Our very high success rate is a testament to the quality briefs prepared by our teams in Community Amenity.
Our annual Walk Against Family Violence is being held on Tuesday 19 November 2024. Please discuss it with your supervisor, but I am strongly supportive of officer participation in this event.
Family violence is a scourge that sadly impacts many people in our community. Statistically, we know there are colleagues that are also impacted. Standing up together as a whole community is an important gesture of solidarity and shows how seriously we take this issue.
The election period has come to an end and now we’re waiting on the results. We look forward to swearing in the new councillors on 13 November, and you are very welcome to attend at the Council Chambers or watch the live stream.
We’re working on new protocols and procedures for councillor/officer engagement for this Council term. In part, this reflects some updated regulations and new policies under the Local Government Act, ensuring that no one is put in an awkward position. We will provide unbiased, impartial and consistent high quality service and advice.
Our managers and executives will carry most of this responsibility with help and advice from some of your teams. We’ll provide more detail on this for relevant officers soon.
Until next time, all the best.
Jacqui Weatherill, Chief Executive Officer.