Narrogin Dollars idea is sensible to most in the community as Shire president says the concept is on track to help local economy

Shire of Narrogin president Leigh Ballard says the Narrogin Dollars concept is on track to inject $150,000 into the local economy. Under the initiative, which started last week, Narrogin electors can pick up five vouchers with a value of 10 Narrogin dollars from the library. An estimated 3177 electors in the shire can then spend the vouchers at any of the more than 100 participating Narrogin Chamber of Commerce businesses. Cr Ballard said the concept was getting a lot of traction. “We’ve had more than 1000 electors come pick their vouchers up which equates to around $50,000 worth of vouchers in the community already,” he said. At last month’s council meeting, councillors discussed the possibility of not every elector getting involved. “I find it hard to believe every single elector will go and collect their vouchers, which is fine, it’s not a drama,” Cr Ballard said. “We’ll do some more work in two weeks’ time when we can try and predict the curve of who’s coming through and get those that haven’t to pick them up.” Some locals have praised the Narrogin Dollars concept, calling for other shires to get on board. Trish Moulton said anyone who got the vouchers should be grateful. “Narrogin is the only town that has done this. If it helps the local businesses who are doing it tough, then I think it’s a fabulous idea,” she said. However, some locals were disappointed the scheme did not apply to everyone. Wendy McLaren said everyone who lives in the shire should receive the vouchers. “This has not been thought out very well and is causing a division in town for those who didn’t get the vouchers and for those businesses who are not members of the chamber,” she said. Robyn Lyneham said she was not eligible for the vouchers and had “no incentive to shop local and stay loyal to Narrogin”. But Cr Ballard said if people lived in the shire and were on the electoral role then they were eligible. “So if you’re an elector on the electoral roll in Narrogin, go down to the library and pick up your vouchers.” Electors have until August to spend their vouchers.