Major Projects Program

Councils are to fund projects that deliver new or improved infrastructure or services to the community.

Projects that are prioritised for funding must meet the following criteria:

• have been through a community consultation process
• demonstrate social and/or economic benefits to the community
• consider issues of sustainability and equity across the broader community
• demonstrate project feasibility and value for money, including full lifecycle costs
• did not have funds allocated by the former councils
• give consideration to the processes and procedures outlined in the capital expenditure review guidelines issued by the Office of Local Government.

The Stronger Communities Fund Assessment Panel is prescribed by the NSW Government and is to include:

• Administrator or delegate
• State Members of Parliament or representative
• Regional Coordinator of the Department of Premier and Cabinet or delegate
• Other members, appointed by the Administrator, as required
• An independent probity adviser, appointed by the Administrator to advise the Panel on their deliberation and assessment process

Council officers have developed a program of priority projects following consideration of current asset condition data across the CGRC area, community strategic plans of the two former councils and projects contained in existing Asset Management Plans.

The list of projects under consideration have also been reviewed by Council’s Local Representative and Implementation Advisory Committees.

Council have recently hosted a number of community listening sessions for the purpose of preparing the next Community Strategic Plan and Villages Strategy, at which valuable feedback was gathered and has contributed to Council’s understanding of community priorities for potential investment decisions.