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Report outlines highlights of year

Kate FieldingSouth Western Times
The report outlines how the city is tracking against its key priority areas.
Camera IconThe report outlines how the city is tracking against its key priority areas. Credit: Graphic / South Western Times

Completion of the multimillion-dollar Koombana Foreshore redevelopment, approval of the long-awaited new town planning scheme and the 23,550sqm of upgraded road have been identified as major highlights for Bunbury during 2017-18.

Ahead of its latest Annual Electors’ Meeting, Bunbury City Council will next week accept its 2017-18 Annual Report.

The report outlines how the city is tracking against the key priority areas of community and culture, transport and infrastructure, natural and built environment, regional economy and corporate.

City chief executive Mal Osborne said the past year had involved significant advancements in a number of areas along with the delivery of key projects and the city could continue to grow.

“Bunbury continues to develop and grow whilst offering an exciting vibrancy, a wide choice of lifestyles as well as providing regional leadership as the second city to Perth,” he said in the report.

“The year ahead is an exciting time for Bunbury as projects are completed, our community engagement is enhanced and we grasp the opportunities that are afforded to us.

“Together with the staff, I look forward to working with the council and the community in seeing Bunbury grow and develop further.”

Mayor Gary Brennan told the South Western Times that 2017-18 was a successful year for Bunbury.

“We had a number of projects that we scheduled to be completed, were completed,” Mr Brennan said.

“Some of those range from multi-million-dollar projects through to just regular maintenance and care.

“From a physical infrastructure point of view, it was a very good year.

“From the city’s point of view overall, I was really pleased with the organisational performance during the 12 months.

“Also looking at our city as a whole, I think there’s no question it’s been a fairly challenging year economically for a number of our sectors.

“I’m pleased to see that is now turning for the better, so I believe we’ve come through a tough, challenging period from an economical point of view.”

The council will hold its next electors’ meeting on December 4.

Mr Brennan has been a long-time advocate of scrapping the annual meetings, and instead of encouraging residents to attend, he said the community had opportunities to ask questions on a fortnightly basis.

“It’s a statutory requirement for us to conduct the annual meeting, however I just want to remind our community that every fortnight there is a council meeting and at every council meeting there’s opportunity to ask questions,” he said.

“They just need to give us 24 hours notice of their questions, So there’s opportunities throughout the year, every second week for members of the community to come forward and ask questions of us and we’re happy to respond.”

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