Thank you to those who completed the Christmas Review survey. A total of 269 community members responded to the survey.
The majority of survey respondents were supportive of Council continuing to fund Christmas initiatives. 246 respondents (91%) agreed that Council should provide this funding and 23 disagreed (9%).
The complete report can be found in the agenda for the Extraordinary Meeting of Council which was held on 4 May 2022. The agenda, including report, can be found here.
At the Extraordinary Meeting held on 4 May 2022, the following motion was moved by the Interim Administrator:
THAT
- Council provides $103,500 funding for Christmas celebrations across the Shire as a part of the 2022/23 draft budget.
- Funding continue to be provided on the same basis as the 2021 activities for Village Associations including Medway.
- An amount of $15,000 from the funding be provided for the Corbett Gardens Festival of Lights subject to Council receiving appropriate recognition for the use of public funds.
- The General Manager enter into discussion with Business Southern Highlands and the Moss Vale and Rural Chamber of Commerce in relation to the utilisation of $42,000 prior to commencing community consultation on the matter.
Having consulted with Business Southern Highlands and Moss Vale and Rural Chamber of Commerce, Council is now seeking your response to the use of $42,000 towards Christmas celebrations.
We would like to know if you would prefer:
- Rental of three Christmas trees to be placed in Mittagong, Moss Vale and Bowral, or
- No Christmas Trees in the three town centres and the funds be put towards other Christmas elements that you consider as better utilisation of the funds.
To have your say, please fill in the quick survey.
The survey will close at 4.30 pm on Friday 24 June 2022.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS
At the Council meeting held on 23 June 2021, the Interim Administrator announced a reallocation of discretionary funds towards Shire-wide Christmas celebrations for either infrastructure or community-led activities. These funds are in addition to the funds already allocated annually to Christmas and aim to expand celebrations of Christmas across the Shire, particularly in villages.
Council would now like to hear from the community to see if this initiative should continue in the future. We have received feedback from the Village Associations and Business Southern Highlands but would also like feedback from the community.
Council’s Christmas funding was allocated to:
- Installing and dismantling new Christmas trees in Mittagong, Bowral, and Moss Vale
- Installing and dismantling older Christmas trees in Robertson, Berrima, and Bundanoon
- Providing Council led family-friendly Lighting of the Christmas Tree events in Mittagong, Bowral, and Moss Vale
- Funding to 13 villages to organise community-led Christmas events in their communities
- New Christmas branding to promote events across the Shire
Have your say
To help Council with its review, we have a short survey. The below survey will take no more than 2 minutes to complete and we'd appreciate your feedback.
The survey will close at 9am on Thursday 24 February 2022.
