Tom Ingleton
A city-wide clean-up is on the cards in Hume as council throws its support behind a proactive blitz on waste, graffiti and unsightly public spaces.
The proposed program includes funding for four additional city laws officers and $200,000 in extra contractor costs to ramp up graffiti removal and waste management.
It comes as an interim step toward a broader “amenity blitz” strategy aimed at improving the appearance and up-keep of entire suburbs in the municipality.
Speaking during the June 10 council meeting, councillor Naim Kurt said the blitz-style approach had delivered results in the past.
“Last year we came up with the idea of an amenity blitz proposal for different parts of the city and it’s something that our council has done before quite successfully,” Cr Kurt explained.
“We’ve done amenity blitzes with shopping trolleys, we’ve done it before with real estate signs – and this is just really taking it to the next level.”
Cr Kurt said the full-scale blitz would cost about $1.5 million, which council is not yet in a position to fund.
However, the interim version focuses on mobilising multiple department s– from the trees and parks team to city laws and waste crews –to improve entire neighbourhoods in a co-ordinated push.
“As an interim measure we have put in for additional hard waste collection, and we will be trailing this to see what difference this does make to our city,” Cr Kurt said.
“We also ran a very successful program in Craigieburn which we were hoping to expand to other areas as well…I’m hopeful it does make a difference.”
Cr Karen Sherry said it was a step toward restoring pride in Hume’s public spaces.
“Along with the waste management response team, I believe that this interim measure which has been proposed by Cr Kurt will ensure there is more amenity and cleanliness in the municipality,” Cr Sherry said.
Council will track data from the initiative and report back in 12 months to assess its success.
