Mayor's Message 23 February, 2024

Hi everyone,

As a Mayor and Councillor, I try and keep my finger on the pulse in terms of issues impacting our local community, and also our neighbours, as well as other small rural councils across the state.

At times it feels that issues raised by our community are unique to Indigo Shire and sometimes they are, but more often than not, the challenges we face are widespread.

This can include access to government funding, ageing infrastructure, poor telecommunications, emergency management and recovery, health care and the list goes one.

Right now, the issue generating the most concern is the condition of roads, especially those damaged by floods and storms.  The CEO and I have communicated in YOUR INDIGO on multiple occasions that we are doing all we can to fix our roads as well as advocate to government to prioritise repairs on roads managed by Regional Roads Victoria.

In recent weeks, there’s been a concerted effort to increase the level of communications to better inform the community on what is happening where and to reassure you that we do have a detailed schedule of works that we are undertaking. We understand that not every road has made it on to this year’s priority list, but we encourage anyone who believes their road is particularly dangerous or in need of repair to contact us.

I also want to address some confusion about how and where we use grant funding. There are many funding streams that Council has access to and wherever possible we seek grants to help fund new community facilities, develop master plans, upgrade playgrounds or build infrastructure such as skate parks, pump tracks and cycle trails.

Importantly when we are hit with flood and storm events, we also seek whatever funding support is available to repair damaged assets. Thankfully, we’ve secured flood recovery funding and this is being used to repair damaged roads and cycle trails. When we secure either Federal or State Government funding, it comes with very strict criteria about what we can and cannot spend the money on. We absolutely cannot reallocate funds secured for a specific project/repair to spend on something else.

I hope this helps to clarify some misunderstanding and if you want to keep up to date with Council’s works and projects, simply visit our Projects and Works Page.

Enjoy your weekend.

Cr Sophie Price