Background
As population growth and rate capping continue to strain local government resources, councils face a pressing need for strategic financial sustainability. Balancing community expectations with legislative demands under tight budget constraints is increasingly challenging. Service reviews offer councils a key strategic tool to ensure financial sustainability. But involving the community in these reviews can be complex due to the political and emotional dimensions involved.
The City of Yarra partnered with Capire to design a deliberative engagement process, inviting community input into its Service Planning Review.
Approach
Rather than seeking community opinion on specific services, Yarra opted to develop guiding principles, forming a decision-making framework to enable flexible responses to changing economic conditions. This approach emphasises long-term adaptability over specific service delivery and allows the Council to prioritise resources effectively.
Prior community engagement on service planning had surfaced strongly divergent views within Yarra’s community. A Community Working Group (CWG) was established to represent Yarra’s diverse voices. The group engaged in a four-session deliberative process, where participants shared and challenged ideas and deliberated upon a wide range of data and information.
Outcomes
Ultimately, the CWG developed and agreed upon 13 guiding principles for Council decision-making in service planning. These principles were formally accepted by Council, with only minor adjustments.
The deliberative process fostered trust, knowledge, and community connection among CWG members. Surveys conducted before and after the sessions showed notable increases in members’ understanding of Council’s planning processes (from 21% to 59%); trust in Council’s support for community involvement (from 48% to 59%); and positive relationships with the Council (from 67% to 79%).
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Community Working Group member
