Council resolved to support the proposed amendment being placed on public exhibition for a period of 3 months and engaging with the community on this topical issue.

The impacts of Covid-19 are affecting our community in many ways, including how we engage and consult and subsequently make decisions. We are committed to engaging with our local community and will continue to explore and utilise any means possible to listen to your concerns and ensure that these are investigated, evaluated and presented to Councillors prior to any final decision being made.

Wagga City Council is committed to working with our community to deliver our services and continuing to do business in this current environment. This doesn’t mean we are shutting down and stopping our processes. Instead we are adapting how we operate and developing new systems to respond to the restrictions and unusual circumstances we find ourselves in.

Several measures have been put in place to ensure all community members have a variety of opportunities to understand and comment on the proposed changes. These include:

• Staff available to answer personal and direct enquiries, either via telephone or email
• Ongoing updates online and email or direct mail
• Direct email to previous submitters
• Hard copies of exhibition material provided on request
• Staff available to take submissions via telephone
• Dedicated online consultation page
• Social media promotion
• Online Q&A webinar hosted by Council staff with Councillors attending virtually
• Online Q&A webinar published and transcript available to view or download or hard copy provided on request

The public exhibition and submission period ordinarily run for a period of six weeks to allow adequate time for submissions to be received. In response to concerns and restrictions of Covid-19, Council resolved that the exhibition and submission period will be a minimum of 3 months and potential further extension if required.