What is community engagement?

    Community engagement, also known as ‘public participation’, is about involving people in decision-making.

    Community engagement helps Council to achieve more effective governance through balancing decision making with sensitivity to community needs, interests and aspirations.

    Well planned community engagement activities and processes enhance a vibrant local democracy and support the development of ongoing relationships with the people who visit, live and work in the City of Marion.


    Why is council seeking community feedback?

    Under Section 122 of the Local Government Act 1999 Council must develop and adopt plans for the management of the council area to be called Strategic Management Plans.

    Council developed a ‘Shape your Future’ campaign  to consult with the community in 2022 to understand community aspoirations. 

    Council is now seeking feedback on the Draft Business Plan 2023-2027 to see if it meets the expectations of the community as outlined in the earlier feedback. 

    Who is council seeking feedback from?

    Council is seeking feedback from residents, businesses, visitors and other stakeholders that help to deliver outcomes within the City of Marion.



    When will the council review my feedback?

    Council will review community feedback at its 13 June General Council meeting 

    How does Council prioritise all the feedback to develop a 4 Year Business Plan?

    As part of Section 122 of the LGA Act council must give consideration to regional, state, and national objectives and strategies that are relevant to the economic, social, physical, and environmental development and management of its area. 

    Council is also mandated to consider the sustainability of the council’s financial performance and position, the service levels required by council to achieve its objectives, extent to which infrastructure will need to be maintained replaced, or developed by the council.

    Council must also consider the demographic characteristics of its community to the extent that is reasonable taking into account the availability of appropriate and accurate data.

    Council’s Asset Management Plans and Long -Term Financial Plan must be considered in the development of its strategic plans and will be considered in the development of the 4 Year Business Plan. 

    Community feedback gives the council new up-to-date accurate data. This data is helpful to understand the sentiment of our residents, businesses, and visitors and to inform the council of any perceived gaps in services or whether there are other areas that the council must now focus. 

    Why has council already committed to some projects for the next 4 years?

    Throughout the 2022 State and Federal elections Council received several millions to support projects throughout the council area. In addition, economic stimulus funding provided by the Federal Government in 2021 will see the continued development of projects beyond 2022. 

    At its June 2022 General Council meetings the council committed to accepting the funding to support the delivery of significant projects thereby heavily reducing the impact of rate payers to support the delivery of the projects. 

    These projects include:

    • redevelopment of Glandore Oval, Glandore
    • upgrades to the Warradale Tennis Club, Warradale
    • rebuild of the ageing Marino Hall, Marino
    • South Adelaide Basketball redevelopment, Sturt
    • Stage 1 re-development of the Cove Sports and Community Club, Hallett Cove