Your Voice Our Coast is an online hub available to our community to provide input and direction into current projects and future initiatives affecting their area and region.

Central Coast Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Natalia Cowley to the role of Chief Financial Officer.

Central Coast Council is seeking urgent answers from the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, and the Office of Local Government to Council’s request for assistance with its serious financial situation.Mayor Lisa Matthews said it appeared that the Minister and the NSW Government were abandoning the Central Coast community and not standing by commitments to appoint an independent financial expert and a Human Resources adviser to ascertain Council’s true financial position.

October is Mental Health Month - a time that gives us the opportunity to break down stereotypes and raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing, including thinking about our own mental health and wellbeing and encouraging help seeking behaviours when needed.  This year’s theme ‘Tune In’ means being present, being aware of what’s happening within you and the world around you.

Council resolved tonight to continue to focus on the finalisation of its 100-Day Action Plan to financial recovery, seek further assistance from the State Government and establish a Finance Committee.

It’s that time of year, the weather is warming up and the yellow and red flags are now out at 15 of our beaches!

A state-of-the-art Water Play Park at the Peninsula Leisure Centre (PLC) has been completed in time for Spring and the school holidays.The $1million interactive water-based play and education space is expected to attract locals and tourists.Central Coast Council Director Connected Communities, Julie Vaughan said the community-driven project has resulted in the ideal use for the outdoor space at PLC.“This fantastic new amenity is sure to be very popular with the young and the young at heart,” Ms Vaughan said.“The nautical themed Water Play Park can be enjoyed upon entry to the PLC, it combines water-based play and education and has an accessible design to be enjoyed by all community members.”Features of the Water Play Park include a tipping bucket, interactive (cause and effect) elements, shade sail, in-built filtration system and zero depth (for safety and accessibility).Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch said the new play park was funded by the NSW Government with $850,000 from the Stronger Country Communities Fund as well as over $200,000 from Council.“I want to congratulate the Council staff that have undertaken this million-dollar upgrade at the Peninsula Leisure Centre,” Mr Crouch said.“The PLC is one of Central Coast Council’s most highly-utilised assets, and thanks to the opening of this new Water Play Park, it’s becoming an even better facility for locals to enjoy.”Mayor Lisa Matthews said the collaboration between local and state government had delivered another fantastic facility for the Central Coast community.“There is so much to love about this project – an accessible design that creates a space for fun, physical activity and education,” Mayor Matthews said.“This is one of many projects, Council is delivering this year with the State Government, while adhering to important COVID-19 requirements.”The Water Play Park will be open to the public from Saturday 26 September.

Since reporting the serious financial issues facing Central Coast Council, CEO, Gary Murphy, and senior executives have been undertaking meetings and conferences with key stakeholders over the past two days to build a roadmap to recovery.These discussions have included the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, and the Office of Local Government.Councillors and staff have been kept informed of the process moving forward, which includes:The establishment of a 100-Day Action Plan to RecoveryThe Office of Local Government has been instructed to provide an independent financial expert and Human Resources adviser to review Council’s financial position and identify possible options as quickly as possibleA forensic audit undertaken of Council’s financesChanges to management spending delegationsCouncil working group established to identify potential savings in capital works and operational services programsThere is no change to our full-time equivalent staff, but a review of contracted and temporary workforce is underway.The financial issues came to light after reviews commissioned by the CEO, despite previous audits and reports indicating that the Council was being prudent in its financial planning, and have led to investigations into:whether there are appropriate financial controls and structures in relation to cashflow management, the absence of which may have contributed to the current financial situationwhether the amalgamation in mid-2016 has caused significant and ongoing impacts which we estimate could be in excess of $100MThe impact of the recent IPART determination will have cost Council close to $100M over three yearsCost-shifting has cost the Council an estimated $45M or more per yearWhile expenditure is under review and measures will be implemented to wind back the deficit, there will be no change to essential services.

In the lead up to the coming bushfire and storm season, Central Coast Council is urging all residents to take proactive steps to better prepare themselves, their families and their homes for emergencies.Council are promoting Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Week, and the ‘Get Prepared’ app, as part of their ongoing emergency preparation and community resilience building ‘Get Ready Central Coast’ program.Council’s Acting Director of Connected Communities, Phil Cantillon said that the ‘Get Prepared’ app is an important tool that can help build community resilience to emergencies.“The Red Cross Get Prepared app has the ability to help build community capacity to prepare for disasters through the development of individual emergency plans,” Mr Cantillon said.“It will help residents understand what resilience means to them by providing small step by step actions to enable each household to develop a plan tailored to their needs, leading to a stronger community better able to respond to and adapt more readily to shocks and stresses.”Mayor Lisa Matthews said that Council encourages residents to download the ‘Get Prepared’ app and engage in their own emergency plan preparation.“With Covid-19 restrictions, it is going to be more important than ever that individual households understand their vulnerability to emergencies and are best prepared for them,” Mayor Matthews said.“The Red Cross Get Prepared app is not specific to any hazard, whether your property is vulnerable to fire, flood or storm, this app helps to guide in emergency planning and preparing, leading to faster responses to an emergency and quicker recovery.”Download the Red Cross Get Prepared app at getprepared.app.link/central-coast

Our Town Centres are important places for our community.