A NEW plan for thriving Loddon communities has gone out for public comment.
A special meeting of shire councillors on Tuesday received the draft community vision 2035 and council plan for 2025-2029.
The plan says Loddon will have thriving communities “where everyone is welcome and all have the opportunity to live, work and create experiences.”
A reference group helped council with the community vision that feeds into the new council plan.
The plan is the framework for council to  operate for the next four years and is developed by each incoming council. 
It outlines council’s strategic direction around five themes, in order to deliver the Community Vision: Thriving, Welcome, Live, Work and Experience.
It outlines the steps needed to achieve these goals.
Mayor Dan Straub said the draft document, which also for the first time incorporates the municipal public health and wellbeing plan, had been many months in the making.
“We held community workshops to develop the community vision and plan in April, June and August, and now we would really like to hear what the public think of the draft,” he said.
“This is the key document each incoming council develops and everything we do in the next four years will be guided by it in some way.”
Following submissions, a final plan will be prepared and tabled for adoption at the October council meeting.
Meanwhile, council has also released the Draft Financial Plan 2025-2026 to 2034-2035 for public comment.
Cr Straub said he also encouraged the community to have their say on this plan, which also supports the community vision and council plan.
“This plan provides the framework for council’s finances for the next 10 years and will be the guiding document for the annual budget,” Cr Straub said.
“It will steer our long-term decision making and provides us with a long-term view of our financial position from which we can make more informed decisions about how we allocate our resources.
“Council is not immune to the challenge facing local government throughout Australia, that of long-term financial sustainability.
“We acknowledge that rates and external grant funding make up a large proportion of our income while costs are rising,” Cr Straub said.