Rates notices were distributed from 24 July and to get the 5% discount you will need to have paid your rates within 30 days or 24 Aug 2023. If you have not received yours by now, please contact Council directly on 5540 5111 or email mail@scenicrim.qld.gov.au

Riemore Estate Playground and Walking Track
The establishment of the playground and walking track infrastructure is now in the hands of the Riemore Developer with the plans and approval being signed off by Council earlier this year. This has been something I have been working on since being elected and is a long time coming and I look forward to seeing this started in the very near future.
Councillor Portfolios
At last month’s Council ordinary meeting items were passed that will see a Councillor Portfolio System and a new meeting structure introduced. In my opinion, the importance of these items cannot be understated. 
State Government legislation for Councillors, in particular around working with staff can be interpreted in a few different ways making it hard to navigate, as it was, Councillors were reduced to reading internally generated reports and asking questions at fortnightly workshops in an attempt to build an understanding of issues. This method was clunky and slow, often waiting for months for a report only to send it back to make adjustments, wasting both Councillor and staff time and effort. We have been told on many occasions that our only input should be into the Corporate Plan, which is at an extremely high strategic level, with many layers of strategies under that being left solely to Council staff. Whilst we do need to respect the legislation and respect the power imbalance that exists between Councillors and Council Staff it is my belief: we can effectively navigate this issue by sticking to the policy we have set out. After speaking with my fellow Councillors, other Councillors across the state and my own experience in these early days it was clear these changes needed to be made. 
After that initial period of review, we started working on making the necessary changes that we felt needed to be made. Division 5 Councillor Marshall Chalk, some of my fellow Councillors and I had similar ideas and experiences and supported this direction. Together we have worked hard on how best to set up this new structure. The new meeting cycle of one Ordinary meeting per month will still give enough time to deal with items brought forward but more importantly time to conduct Portfolio based meetings with Executive staff which in my opinion will be more beneficial. The arrival of our new CEO Mr David Keenan has been the catalyst for the successful transition into this new structure and together with the council staff should be congratulated on the work they have done to bring this into reality. 
I am excited to see the portfolio system implemented and the beginning of building a stronger relationship with Executive Council staff and my knowledge based around issues, having more “skin in the game” will give that ownership to Councillors and lead to better decision making. Ultimately this will mean better outcomes for the Scenic Rim community which is always the main objective. It wasn’t an easy path to walk to get this done with many obstacles put in the way so to see it come to fruition in this my first term has been rewarding. 
I thank my fellow Councillors for supporting this new direction.
Councillor
Portfolio
Mayor Christensen
Economic Development and Prosperity
Deputy Mayor McConnell
Tourism and Regional Events
Councillor Chalk
Sport and Recreation
Councillor Hay
Parks, Gardens and Open Spaces
Councillor West
Active Transport - Roads, Bridges and Paths
Councillor Enright
Community, Arts and Culture
Councillor McInnes
Biodiversity and Agribusiness
 
Quote of the day -
Politics comes and goes, but your principles don’t. And everybody wants to be loved -- not everybody. ... You never heard anybody say, ‘I want to be despised, I’m running for office.’        George W. Bush