MAYOR Graeme Coppel has shamed past councils for failing to update the Municipal Strategic Statement since it was introduced in 1998.
Cr Coppel revealed the state of the MSS to a shocked crowd of about 50 people at a Central Ward meeting in Kilmore last Wednesday.
He said the MSS was the business plan for the shire and “the most vital document we have.”
“The MSS is out of date, and irrelevant. We have been left rudderless,” Cr Coppel said.
“We are required by law to update it every four years - the last time it was done was when it was it was made.
“Those previous councils did nothing, they left you stranded.
“We basically have to rebuild our business plan from scratch.”
Cr Coppel said previous CEOs were also responsible for drawing the attention of councillors to the statutory need to update the MSS every four years.
“I’m the mayor now, I’m in charge, and I am accepting responsibility for fixing it,” he said.
Cr Coppel said council is taking action with contracted advisors, and a Mitchell 20-20 steering committee.
The committee has been established to update council about people’s vision for the shire, and its various population centres, for the next 10 years.
The 13-member steering committee will hold its first meeting on Wednesday.
Cr Coppel and Mr Keenan represent council, and district Parliamentary representatives Cindy McLeish (Member for Seymour) and Rob Mitchell (Member for McEwen) have been invited to join the committee.
Cr Coppel stressed the importance of establishing an updated MSS to prepare for the expected “monster” growth in the Mitchell Shire.
The meeting revealed that the Urban Growth Boundary is expected to be reviewed by the new Coalition Government every two years.
“We as a council must get growth area planning right,” CEO David Keenan said.
A rating review is to be carried out over the next 18 months in Mitchell.
The ward meeting outlined many plans for the future of the Mitchell Shire including a skate park for Broadford, refurbishment of the Kilmore Library and Kilmore Leisure Centre, a Wallan-Kilmore bypass, the Broadford RSL and Broadford’s streetscape.
No questions from the floor were allowed, but those present were invited to have individual discussions with various senior managers, officers and councillors.






