Highlights from the last quarter

Image: Stuart Park All Ages All Abilities Playground (Stage 1)

It’s time for our Quarterly Update where Wollongong City Council shares with our community our progress on the actions set out in the Delivery Program 2022-2026 and Operational Plan 2023-2024.

The Quarterly Review Statement was endorsed by Council on Monday 26 February, and provided a snapshot of the work done over the past quarter and an update on the organisation’s operational and financial performance.

Highlights from the Quarterly Review Statement

• In December 2023, Council opened Stage 1 of the Stuart Park All Ages All Abilities Playground. This playground is for everyone and was inspired by and built for adults with disability.
• Council adopted a new Climate Change Mitigation Plan 2023-2030 which maps how the city will transition to a low carbon future.
• In October 2023, Council held the inaugural Culture Mix festival, a community-led celebration that saw more than 12,000 people attend. For those who missed it, this event is returning this year.
• In October 2023, Council partnered with the Illawarra Indigenous Business Network to host the first Illawarra Aboriginal Business Expo with 30 businesses exhibiting on the day and more than 300 people attending the event.
• Cringila Hills Recreation Park was awarded national Park of the Year award at the Parks and Leisure Australia Conference Awards.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said the quarterly review presents the financials and budget, as well as what Council is doing to deliver services to the community.

“Council delivers many unique services to our community. That’s everything from Lifeguards patrolling 17 beaches, to building and maintaining roads and footpaths, to supporting local businesses, to stocking local libraries with books and other resources, and maintaining our 9 patrolled pools and 9 unpatrolled rockpools,” Cr Bradbery said.

“Each quarter, we report back to our community to give an update on where we’re up to with achieving the deliverables set out in our Delivery Program and Operational Plan. We regularly share this information with our community so that people can stay abreast with Council projects and services. What we do every day is fundamentally for our community. We want to make Wollongong a great place to live, work and play, and it’s important we’re open and transparent about our progress.

“It’s a challenge to meet the expectations of the community within the budget constraints in these present economic circumstances. Council continues to meet its mandatory and usual service requirements and deliver more in these difficult times.”

The Quarterly Review will go on to inform the next Annual Report which will be shared with the community in November 2024.

Read a copy of the Quarterly Review Delivery Program 2022-2026 and Operational Plan 2023-2024.

Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said Council continues to navigate through a range of external challenges.

“While Council continues to be diligent in our financial management, we’re not immune to current economic pressures and inflation. Like many in our community, we are feeling the financial pinch. Our community has big expectations when it comes to what they want Council to deliver, and we need to be mindful of how we prioritise projects and investment so that we’re using our community’s money wisely,” Mr Doyle said.

“Rising costs for essentials like concrete, timber, fuel, plant and equipment, as well as the increasing value of our existing assets, such as our roads, buildings and stormwater, means the cost of upgrading and replacing infrastructure is increasing. At the same time, we’re required to spend money on things we didn’t plan to fix, thanks to vandalism, graffiti and illegal dumping.”

“We will continue to focus on improving our services so that we can deliver on our promise of creating an extraordinary Wollongong. I want to thank Council staff and our community for their contributions to the achievements set out in our Quarterly Review Statement. It’s a window into an incredible amount of work done by Council for our community.”