One letter called into question the way that council allocates its community grants. All applications are considered by community assessment panels, which are made up of volunteer community members.

All members of the panels are appointed by council following a public expression of interest process.

The panels consider all applications and make recommendations to council about which applications should receive funding.

The panels use assessment frameworks that assist them to make decisions. They consider things like the project’s alignment with council’s strategic objectives and the application’s thoroughness. It is a rigorous and transparent process that ensures a fair result.

When no or only partial funding is recommended, it is generally because the panel has assessed an application as not demonstrating sufficient merit or the amount of funding applied for by a single organisation is above the policy maximum amount. The organisation referred to in the letter submitted two applications for total funding above the maximum allowed and received partial funding for both applications.

Another issue that was raised is the funding that council allocated to the Bendigo Inventors Awards. 

While it is correct that at its most recent meeting council decided to allocate $250,000 to the awards over four years,  the writer failed to mention this was because council decided to hand over the operation of the awards to the Bendigo Business Council. The $250,000 is the same amount council had already allocated to continue to operate the awards internally over that period. 

This decision was made because council felt the awards had reached a point where further development would be constrained by council continuing to operate them.

Council believes that handing over the awards to the Bendigo Business Council will give the awards the greatest chance for future development. The City will continue to have an active role in the awards.  

I am writing to say a big thank you to the local residents and all road users for their patience and support while we carried out major improvement works on sections of McIvor Highway and Chapel Street over recent weeks.  

During this time we have:

Remodelled the intersection to include additional turning lanes at McIvor Highway / Reservoir Road / Powells Avenue; Renewed the deck and strengthened the bridge near the Grassy Flat reservoir and undertaken major asphalt resurfacing works along McIvor Highway and Chapel Street 

Significantly, by closing parts of McIvor Highway, we were able to complete the works much sooner and safer than alternative methods.

We have also refreshed the linemarking through other parts of the city, extending to Kangaroo Flat and Big Hill (where you may notice the new yellow reflective markers).

All these improvement works are now effectively completed and in the next few months, we will be carrying out more major resurfacing works along the Strathfieldsaye Road. So again, thanks to everyone for your support....we are doing our best to look after your roads and safety.