February 17th, 2022

SCROLLING through Facebook can sometimes be a waste of time but sometimes it is great fun.
Lately I have connected with former high school friends at Mt Eliza High School. That’s not so much fun because I then go and look at their photos now and think “how old are they?” And then realise I am that old too.
But there is gold out there.
I was on the Hepburn Shire Council page yesterday and found this gem although I am not sure why planner has a cap P. It’s not a proper noun. Nor is council.
“Do you need to speak with a Planner? Going through the planning process can be complicated. If you would like to discuss a planning matter you are welcome to make an appointment to meet with one of our Planners. You can make an appointment to meet with a Planner or drop in (on certain days and times). To make an appointment call Council on 5348 2306.
“Catch ups can be over the phone or in person. If a Planner is not available when you call we will give you a customer service request number for reference. We’ve found that most people like to catch up early in the day, but the team can accommodate appointments outside of these times, as required.”
That’s already quite funny if you have ever tried to get hold of their planning department but then there are the comments. More gold.
“Oh boy you guys are opening a can of worms if our experience is anything to go by. 1/ If your times are accurate and a person is available, then that’s a great improvement. 2/ If your planning person works with other sectors of council, for example the heritage person, then that’s wonderful. 3/ Does your planning person who promised to find out actually get back to the customer? If so, that’s a great improvement. 4/ Can the planning person actually read both site plans and building plans? If so, then that’s great. 5/ Will your planning person understand the difference between a multi-dwelling allotment and a subdivision? If so, that’s a step forward. 6/ Will your planning person be able to pass on to other agencies, eg. VicRoads, information accurately? I hope so.
7/ Will your planners return calls and emails when they promise? Will they communicate? If so, tremendous because that doesn’t happen so much now. All these issues and probably a dozen more will help improve the process of ‘planning’.”
And there’s more.
“Interesting. I called two weeks ago to speak to someone and was told they’d get back to me in about a week. Still waiting…” “At least 12 month wait??” “Been trying to get hold of someone for well over a month. Never receive call backs. Left three messages so far.”
Anyway, if you are at a loose end, and aren’t we all, it’s worth a wander around FB. Also keep an eye out for the You Know You’re In Daylesford When…posts. Hilarious. And Grapevine just keeps on giving. Especially vaccine posts.
Away from social media, but still with Hepburn Shire Council, I received an email from them saying their community engagement platform, Participate Hepburn, launched a year ago, has been “hugely successful”.
Mayor Tim Drylie said the Participate Hepburn platform had been successful in gathering community feedback on both big and small projects.
“The platform is a very successful community engagement tool. It complements our other engagement techniques like face-to-face pop-up sessions, SMS text and more traditional email and mail-outs.
“Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback to council to inform our decision making, and we understand there is still room for improvement in the way we go about engaging with our community.”
It may just be me but there seems to be an elephant in the room. Let’s call it The Rex. A loss of $6 million and bugger-all consultation.
Another elephant – the zoos must be empty – is the decision by Hepburn Shire Council to withdraw from delivering aged and disability services. It’s in-principle with a final decision on March 15. When it was announced in November it seemed like a done deal but once the public found out, there has been a lot of consultation happening. So all out in the open. Just see the screen shot of the first page of the Community Services Update – Public Version. So not hugely successful. Just sayin’…