06 Jul 2017 Corryong Courier, Corryong VIC (General News) The Victorian government is helping local councils with their finances and accounting through a series of grants and collaborative projects and Towong Shire is at the forefront of the initiatives. Minister for Local Government, Natalie Hutchins, has announced new funding to strengthen the financial capacity of country councils and provide better value for money for ratepayers in Northern Victoria. The Finance and Accounting Support Team (FAST) program is supporting councils in need of specialist finances and accounting assistance and boosts collaboration and use of shared services, said Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes. Wangaratla heads a group of seven councils including Towong, Alpine, Indigo, Loddon, Mansfield and Murrindindi Shires which received $75,000 to develop a workplace planning framework. The framework can then be rolled out across each of these councils and ultimately across the Victorian local government sector. Towong, Indigo, Alpine, Mansfield and Moira Shires and the Rural Cities of Benalla, Wangaratta and Wodonga have received a $56,250 grant to develop a business case for a shared service delivery model in environmental health and planning services. Towong and Alpine Shires have received $75,000 to investigate a cloud based finance and accounting platform across the two councils. Led by the Alpine Shire, the project will identify the costs, opportunities and benefits to both Shires through a shared finance platform. Wangaratta also leads the Campaspe, Milchell and Wodonga councils in another project which received a $37,500 grant to investigate an accounts payable function being delivered via a shared services platform. Victorias councils employ more than 50,000 people and are a significant contributor to the economy, delivering $7 billion in services annually and managing more than S77 billion in vital community assets, The government understands that rural councils face unique challenges, thats why were investing to help them work together to overcome those challenges, Ms Symes said. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.