RESIDENTS now need to register online to receive Council’s community newsletter as the publication moves online to save trees and reduce costs.
Previously delivered to letterboxes four times a year, a printed copy of The Rural City of Murray Bridge publication Connected Communities will arrive with the rates notice in July every year, while three more seasonal editions will be available online only and emailed to residents who register.
Mayor Brenton Lewis said moving online would have the benefit of saving trees and reducing environmental pressure by cutting back on paper, and in turn, water, waste and other materials needed to get the word out.
“Ratepayers will also be happy to hear that moving to an online environment will save money in terms of decreased overheads for Council, while still delivering the same meaningful updates and messages,” he said.
Mayor Lewis said although the Council already had access to many residents’ email addresses, the Council’s Digital Strategy meant the organisation would not spam residents, and people would need to register online to receive the newsletter electronically.
“We can conduct a lot of business with our ratepayers online now, as we are a progressive organisation responsive to new technologies and efficiencies, and sensitive to preferences in the ways people want to interact with us,” he said.
“However, we are also an accessible organisation and we understand some people still like to hold the newsletter in their hands to read it, and so we will continue to print a small number of paper copies for those people.
“We’ll send out a printed copy to all ratepayers at the start of every financial year, but the three other seasonal updates will go online in what we feel is striking the right balance between tradition and new technologies, as we move forward into a new digital age.”
Printed copies of the Spring edition as mentioned by the Mayor are available at the Local Government Centre and the Murray Bridge Library.
Electronic copies of the Spring edition of Connected Communities is available on Council’s website at murraybridge.sa.gov.au/connectedcommunities
Register to receive future editions of Connected Communities delivered directly via email at murraybridge.sa.gov.au/connectedcommunities/register