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Community consultation - meeting rising expectations By Lloyd Arnott*

So your Council is spending an ever increasing amount on community consultation programs as a reaction to last minute protests against Council decisions. There is also an unhealthy level of disquiet in the community they are not being consulted or kept informed on key issues. Added to this, Council is struggling to meet community needs in a whole range of areas due to budget cuts or changing priorities. You acknowledge there is an urgent need to refocus but are concerned the more consultation your Council provides, the more the community wants. How do you respond?

It is true one of the most dynamic and exciting challenges for Local Government over the past five years has been managing and responding to increasing community expectations. Key stakeholders are demanding a greater say in local decision making processes, and often for good reason. Ever reducing budgets, unpopular urban consolidation and rationalising services are all pushing the community's tolerance levels to the limit.

Why communities are becoming more active in local affairs is a topic for a later discussion. The critical issue at this point is how to meet rising expectations and rebuild trust to a level where Council and community can work together proactively. This does not need to be a difficult task although it will take some time, probably years.

The key is in developing a policy and strategy in conjunction with the community that has strong ownership from both. Having Council and the community agree on what is an appropriate level of communication and consultation will be a major step forward.

Here are a few initiatives identified in recent research on community consultation in Australia that may assist in this process:

• Establishing a Council communications unit with well qualified staff.
• Ongoing training of all relevant staff in community consultation.
• Establishing a specialist panel of chairpersons for public meetings.
• Ensuring a budget allocation is identified for community consultation as a core part of a project estimate.
• Maximising the use of available technology to support communication and consultation programs.
• Developing proactive working relationships with the media.
• Distributing quarterly community newsletters on Council happenings.
• Establishing Council sponsored community neighborhood committees.
• Providing a Council guest speakers list for community groups.
• Taking Council meetings into the community.
• Developing a formal process allowing aggrieved residents to address full Council.
• Delivering homeowner kits to all new residents.
• Undertaking regular independent community attitudes surveys.
• Training staff and volunteers to actively promote Council in local schools.
• Identifying and actively communicating with the local service club and sporting network on local issues.
• Making a proactive long term investment in volunteer programs.
• Targeting community members with specialist skills, and not normally involved in local issues, for advisory board positions.

Follow up articles over the next few months will delve deeper into some of these initiatives and their effectiveness in strengthening the Council/community partnership.

*Lloyd Arnott, has recently moved to Queensland after serving the City of Knox in Victoria and the City of Newcastle in NSW in senior executive positions over the past decade. He has vast experience in developing community consultation strategies as well as completing a Masters thesis on the subject. Email: larnott@powerup.com.au

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