Wodonga Council residents are being asked to have their say on proposed changes to local laws that could mean higher fines and a decrease in the number of pets allowed to be kept without a permit.
There are nine areas of focus, with each section providing detailed information about the existing law and the identified areas for improvement.
Council is responsible for making and enforcing local laws on issues not governed by state or federal laws.
Council’s Team Leader Compliance, Craig McClanahan, said it was vital to consider the current and future needs of the community because once the local laws were adopted, they would be in place for 10 years.
“Community members benefit from the protections available under the Local Law and should abide by the controls it contains,” he said.
“The community can influence the Local Law and as part of this review, there is opportunity to introduce or amend local laws that were previously developed by the community.”
An online forum will be held on Wednesday, July 19, from 5pm to 6pm, and those interested in registering can click here. Please register before noon on July 19.
Residents can have their say on the proposed changes by completing an online survey, click here.
The survey asks questions around nine focus areas:
- Infringement notices and penalties
- Burning off
- Keeping of and number of animals
- Long vehicle parking in residential streets
- Permits
- Long grass and overhanging branches
- Activities in public places
- Street trading and advertising
- Site management and environmental protection
Under the infringement notices and penalties, the survey asks how you feel about increasing the penalty for a corporation or entity to $500 instead of remaining the same as an individual.
The survey also asks if residents support, are neutral or oppose increasing the penalties from one penalty unit ($100) to two penalty units ($200) for an individual, to be more in line with the standard penalty unit under the Monetary Units Act 2004.
The alternative is that penalty unit increases annually in line with the annual CPI increase under the Monetary Units Act 2014. Currently one penalty is $192.
The reason for considering this change is that, currently, the individual penalty in the same as a corporation penalty and penalties have remained unchanged for more than 10 years.
Mr McClanahan said the consultation period would run until July25.
“Feedback will then be reviewed and a draft document will be developed,” he said.
Council will consider the feedback from the community and adopt the final version of the Environment and Community Protection Local Law 2024.