Have Your Say on Council's Future Plans

Overview

To support strong planning and transparent reporting, councils must develop a set of integrated plans that clearly show how we're planning and preparing to deliver services and infrastructure, both now and into the future.

These plans are guided and ultimately shaped by the community’s priorities, which are set out in the Wagga Wagga 2050 - Community Strategic Plan (CSP).

Drafts of the Delivery Program and Operational Plan, the Long Term Financial Plan and an updated Fees and Charges were developed in light of those priorities and the CSP, with each document created to indicate how Council aims to make the best use of our resources to achieve of the outcomes that matter most to our community.

The Delivery Program essentially forms Council's proposed ‘to-do’ list over the next four years, while the Operational Plan outlines what we’re planning to action over the next 12 months. The Long Term Financial Plan details how these plans will be paid for, and the Fees and Charges detail and fees and charges that Council uses to deliver or maintain levels of service.

Community Consultation

Drafts of the Delivery Program 2025/2029 and Operational Plan 2025/26, Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) 2025/26, and Fees and Charges 2025/26 were on public exhibition from Tuesday 13 May 2025 to Tuesday 10 June 2025 on Council’s Have Your Say website to enable the community to review documents and submit feedback.

External consultation also involved 15 community pop-up engagements throughout Wagga Wagga and its surrounding villages, and a Business Roundtable.

During the consultation period, Council directly engaged with 156 people face-to-face, while four submissions were received through Council’s Have Your Say website.

Plans Adopted

Council adopted the Delivery Program 2025/2029 and Operational Plan 2025/26, Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) 2025/26, and Fees and Charges 2025/26 at its Ordinary Meeting on Monday 23 June 2025.

You can access the adopted documents on the City of Wagga Wagga website’s Current Community Plans page: www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/communityplans

Timeline

Timeline item 1 - complete

Open & listening to the community

In between 2023 and 2025, we went out to the community to gather feedback to be incorporated into the Wagga Wagga 2050 - Community Strategic Plan (CSP).
We visited the suburbs, villages, events, shopping centres and sporting facilities to gather as much information as we could about what you see as the key priorities and goals to pursue in the coming years.
Timeline item 2 - complete

Drafting the plans

Using the data and community feedback collated for the approved CSP, Council began to draft the new Delivery Program and Operational Plan, and the updated Long Term Financial Plan and updated Fees and Charges.
These drafts were formally presented to Wagga Wagga City Councillors at their Ordinary Meeting held 12 May 2025, where they were endorsed to go on Public Exhibition for a period of 28 days.
Timeline item 3 - complete

Public exhibition period commences

The draft versions of the documents will be on public exhibition and open for public feedback from Tuesday 13 May until Tuesday 10 June 2025.
Please note that the Operational Plan is accompanied by Council’s draft 2025/26 Fees and Charges, which detail proposed rates and annual charges that help fund these initiatives for the benefit of our community.
Timeline item 4 - complete

Review of feedback

Once the public exhibition process is concluded, Council will undertake a full review of all feedback received, and provide a report back to Council with the community's advice.
Timeline item 5 - complete

Adoption

The draft suite of documents will be presented to Council for adoption.

News & Updates

Key Documents

Contact Us

Have questions or want to learn more about the information provided on this Have Your Say page?

Contact Information
Name	David Galloway
Phone	1300 292 442
Email	council@wagga.nsw.gov.au

FAQs

Yes. Council carried out extensive community engagement across our city, our suburbs and our villages between 2023 and 2025, as part of developing the Wagga Wagga 2050 - Community Strategic Plan (CSP).

This engagement centred on hearing from our residents about what their priorities are for the future, so these priorities can be captured in that plan.

The CSP is the highest-level plan that Council will prepare. It identifies the community’s main priorities and aspirations for the future and was developed through strong collaboration and engagement with the community. Council has now adopted the plan, approving the document at its Ordinary Meeting on Monday 28 April.

The Delivery Program 2025/26-2028/29 sets out Council’s priorities for the four-year term and outlines how we will phase and deliver key projects and services that support our community’s shared vision and goals.

It serves as the central guide for everything Council plans to do during this period and is supported by annual Operational Plans, which break down the work into achievable actions each financial year.

The Operational Plan 2025/26 sets out the services, programs, and projects Council will deliver over the financial year to help achieve the goals of the Delivery Program 2025/26-2028/29 and the Community Strategic Plan 2050.

The Operational Plan is accompanied by Council’s 2025/26 Fees and Charges, which detail proposed rates and annual charges that help fund these initiatives for the benefit of our community.

The Long Term Financial Plan sets out how Council manages its finances to ensure that plans can be funded.

The Delivery Program and Operational Plan are designed to demonstrate - with transparency and clarity - how Council turns community priorities into real action, year to year.

They're also designed to ensure your rates and charges are directed towards the outcomes that best serve the health, wellbeing and growth of our community.

Overall, the Delivery Program and Operational Plan provide a framework for accountability which helps you as the community better understand how the city is growing and changing, while also seeing how your feedback directly influences local projects, priorities, and decisions.

Above all, it's a transparent way to ensure community needs are met today while Council and community work together in planning for a better tomorrow.