Description: C:\Users\stivalak\Desktop\Business Paper Backgrounds\Council business papers3.jpgLiverpool City Council

Addendum

 

 

 

 

Council Agenda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary Council Meeting

17 June 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Francis Greenway Centre

170 George Street

Liverpool

 


 

 

 


Items

 

                                                                                                              PAGE

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

CFO 01           Fit for the Future............................................................................................... 3

                       

 

CFO 05           Future Cities Collaborative overseas mission to the United States and appointment of Acting Deputy Mayor during Mayor and Deputy Mayor's absence............... 13...........   


3

Ordinary Meeting 17 June 2015

Chief Financial Officer

 

CFO 01

Fit for the Future

 

Strategic Direction

Leading Proactive Council

Provide business excellence and financial sustainability to deliver services that meet community expectations

Key Policy

Long-Term Financial Plan

File Ref

134876.2015

Report By

Hiba Soueid - Manager Corporate Strategy and Performance

Approved By

Gary Grantham - Chief Financial Officer

 

 

Executive Summary

 

Fit for the Future (FFF) is a reform process which is aimed at ensuring NSW councils are financially sound, operating efficiently and in a strong position to guide growth and deliver quality services into the future.

 

In order to demonstrate that it is FFF, Council’s must outline their performance against the following criteria:

 

·    Scale and capacity

·    Financial sustainability

·    Infrastructure management

·    Efficiency

 

In its final report, “Revitalising Local Government” the NSW Independent Local Government Review Panel (ILGRP) recommended the following options for Liverpool City Council:

 

1.       Council amalgamate with Fairfield Council or alternatively

2.       Create a ‘Joint Organisation’ in conjunction with (and requiring agreement from) Fairfield, Bankstown, Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils.

 

Council must clearly demonstrate that it has considered these options in its FFF submission.

 

In-depth analysis, community consultation and research were undertaken regarding these various options. After careful consideration Council determined that:

 

·    An amalgamation with Fairfield City Council would be unlikely to generate sufficient financial savings and community benefits due to the competing priorities of the two organisations. Whereas Council’s priority over the next 5 years is to plan for the projected growth, develop its city centre to attract jobs and investment which service the whole of the South West Sydney region and partner with the State and Federal governments to plan for the Western Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek. Fairfield City Council’s focus is to address its high levels of social disadvantage, provide accessible community services, programs and facilities and advocate against the airport.

 

·    An amalgamation with a council in the South West corridor would have more merit due to greater strategic alignment and population synergies.

 

·    The development of a Joint Organisation has merit and could result in significant community benefits and shared services, however it was difficult to secure agreement from all five proposed councils.

 

 

The closing date for FFF proposals is 30 June 2015. As the final methodology for assessing Council proposals was released by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) on 5 June 2015, Council staff are still in the process of finalising Council’s submission to ensure it adequately responds to the methodology. A draft proposal has been attached to this report (refer to confidential Attachment 1). It is not anticipated that any significant changes will be made to the body of the draft.

 

Before the submission is lodged, a Council resolution endorsing Council’s submission is required. As 17 June 2015 is the last Council meeting prior to submission deadline, Council’s approval is sought for a ‘Template 2: Council Improvement Proposal (existing Structure)’ submission.

 

Council’s Improvement Proposal within the submission provides a detailed rationale on Council’s response to the ILGRP’s recommendations for Liverpool, including its reasons for not amalgamating with Fairfield City Council or forming a Joint Organisation with Fairfield, Bankstown, Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils.

 

The submission will also include Council’s response to the “Scale and Capacity” criteria and a detailed improvement plan on how Council will achieve the FFF benchmarks. 

 

A draft 10-year Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) was prepared to support the FFF submission as it contains Council’s performance against FFF benchmark over the 10-year period.

 


RECOMMENDATION

 

That Council:

 

1.   Endorses Council’s Fit for the Future submission which supports Liverpool as a stand-alone Council.

 

2.   Approve the Long Term Financial Plan.

 

3.   Delegates the CEO to make further minor changes to the draft template and authorise the submission of the template on or prior to 30 June 2015.

 

 

REPORT

 

Fit for the Future Program Overview


Fit for the Future (FFF)
is a reform process which is aimed at ensuring NSW councils are financially sound, operating efficiently and in a strong position to guide growth and deliver quality services into the future.


As part of FFF each council is being asked to:

 

·    Review its situation, starting with whether the council has scale and capacity to meet the challenges ahead.

·    Prepare a Fit for the Future submission by 30 June 2015. This submission must be endorsed by Council.

·    Make the transition to a new structure by September 2016 or implement an improvement plan

 

In order to demonstrate financial sustainability, Council’s must outline their performance against the following Fit for the Future criteria:

 

·    Scale and capacity

·    Financial sustainability

·    Infrastructure management

·    Efficiency

Council’s internal assessments have found that by implementing operational improvement activities and efficiency savings, Council will meet the FFF benchmarks in 2018/19, well within the FFF time-frames. This demonstrates that Liverpool City Council is in a sound financial position as a stand-alone option.

 

FFF also proposes a range of structural changes to Councils with the Independent Local Government Review Panel’s (ILGRP) preferred option for Liverpool being an amalgamation of Liverpool-Fairfield. An alternative option being proposed is forming a joint organisation with Fairfield, Liverpool, Bankstown, Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly.

 

Council must clearly demonstrate that it has considered these options in its FFF submission. Council has undertaken a range of initiatives to consider the above options including:

 

·    Engaging SGS Economics to complete a comprehensive study on potential boundary options, the benefits and the risks.

·    Several Councillor briefings.

·    Report to Council in March.

·    Community engagement campaign to seek community feedback on a range of amalgamation options, including a telephone survey, survey at the night markets Liverpool Listens campaign and Public Exhibition of Council’s Delivery Program and Operational Plan.

 

 

 

Liverpool’s Situation

 

Liverpool is experiencing rapid growth and high levels of investment as the regional city of South West Sydney. However, in its final report, Revitalising Local Government the NSW ILGRP recommended the following options for Liverpool City Council:

 

·        Council amalgamate with Fairfield Council

·        Create a ‘Joint Organisation’ in conjunction with (and requiring agreement from) Fairfield, Bankstown, Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils.

 

In-depth analysis, community consultation and research were undertaken regarding these various options. After careful consideration Council determined that:

 

·    An amalgamation with Fairfield City Council would be unlikely to generate sufficient financial savings and community benefits due to the competing priorities of the two organisations. Whereas Council’s priority over the next 5 years is to plan for the projected growth, develop its city centre to attract jobs and investment which service the whole of the South West Sydney region and partner with the State and Federal governments to plan for the Western Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek. Fairfield City Council’s focus is to address its high levels of social disadvantage, provide accessible community services, programs and facilities and advocate against the airport.

·    An amalgamation with a council in the South West corridor would have more merit due to greater strategic alignment and population synergies

·    The development of a Joint Organisation has merit and could result in significant community benefits and shared services, however it was difficult to secure agreement from the five proposed councils.

 

Community Engagement Undertaken

 

Council conducted community consultation throughout April and May, using multiple channels to distribute a uniform survey consisting of 7 targeted questions; assessing the respondents support or opposition for amalgamations, their awareness of the issue, preferred options and opinions on benefits and effects. A total of 1884 responses were received.

 

A ReachTEL, random telephone amalgamation poll was completed on the 16th April 2015 1538 residents/responses.

 

The survey was also conducted through the following means, collecting 346 responses:

 

-     In person at the Liverpool Night Markets 2 May 2015

-     Facebook posts

-     Liverpool Listens Page

-     Direct e-mail to Liverpool Listens members

 

Council also placed information in the Liverpool Leader, South West advertiser and posted information on its Facebook page encouraging people to gain awareness of FFF and provide feedback.

 


Community Engagement Results

 

Key results from the 1,884 polled and surveyed are:

 

-     35.8% were aware of the NSW Government’s intention to implement amalgamations, 57.6% were unaware, 6.6% were unsure.

 

-     53.3% either opposed or strongly opposed Liverpool being merged with other Council’s, 33.3% supported or strongly supported and 13.3% were indifferent.

-     30.2% of respondents would prefer Liverpool to merge with Camden, 22.1% with Fairfield, 22.4% with Camden and Fairfield, and 25.3% no amalgamation at all.

-     24.7% said that financial gains would be the greatest benefit, 15.5% the streamlined planning, 43.0% the increase in resources and services and 16.9% the increased delivery of housing planning. 

 

-     An overwhelming 75.3% stated that loss of local focus was their major concern stemming from possible amalgamations, 8.9% chose the loss of historical identity, 7.5% disruptions from the merger and 8.4% leadership issues.

 

-     47.2% rated Council’s current performance as either good or very good, 36.3% as satisfactory and 16.4% as poor or very poor.

 

-     82.6% of respondents currently owned their property, 17.4% were renting.

 

-     Respondents were also asked their age bracket and sex, to determine any demographic variance in the data.

 

 

Long Term Financial Plan

 

Attachment 2 of this report is the draft Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP). The 10-year LTFP compliments the 4-year Delivery Program which was adopted by Council at its meeting dated 26 May 2015. The LTFP supports the FFF submission as it contains Council’s performance against FFF benchmark over the 10-year period.

 

 

CONSIDERATIONS

 

Economic and Financial

Further develop a commercial centre that accommodates a variety There are no economic and financial considerations.

Environmental and Sustainability

There are no environmental and sustainability considerations.


Social and Cultural

There are no social and cultural considerations.


Civic Leadership and Governance

Encourage the community to engage in Council initiatives and actions.

Operate a well developed governance system that demonstrates accountability, transparency and ethical conduct.

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

1.         Long Term Financial PlanView

2.         Draft FFF Template 2 Existing StructureView - Confidential

3.         Asset Management PlanView - Confidential

4.         Workforce Management PlanView - Confidential

 

Attachments 2, 3 and 4 to Item CFO 01 are confidential pursuant to the provisions of s10(A)(2)(d i) of the Local Government Act because it contains commercial information of a confidential nature that would, if disclosed prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it.


9

CFO 01

Fit for the Future

Attachment 1

Long Term Financial Plan

 


 


 


 


13

Ordinary Meeting 17 June 2015

Chief Financial Officer

 

CFO 05

Future Cities Collaborative overseas mission to the United States and appointment of Acting Deputy Mayor during Mayor and Deputy Mayor's absence

 

Strategic Direction

Vibrant Prosperous City

Activate the city centre and develop vibrant places that attract people to Liverpool

Key Policy

Economic Development Strategy

File Ref

141970.2015

Report By

George Georgakis - Manager Council and Executive Services

Approved By

Gary Grantham - Chief Financial Officer

 

 

Executive Summary

 

Council at its meeting on 16 December 2014 approved the attendance of the Mayor and the CEO or his delegate and Councillors Balloot, Hadchiti, Karnib and Ristevski at the Future Cities Collaborative overseas mission to the USA in June-July 2015.

 

This report notes that Councillors Hadchiti, Karnib and Ristevski will now not be attending and recommends that Council nominate a replacement Councillor or Councillors to attend. The report also recommends that Council appoint an Acting Deputy Mayor for the period 20 June 2015 – 6 July 2015 while the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are overseas at the mission.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That Council:

 

1.   Note that Councillors Karnib, Ristevski and Hadchiti will not be attending the Future Cities Collaborative overseas mission to the United States and nominate a replacement Councillor or Councillors to attend the mission.

 

2.   Council appoint an Acting Deputy Mayor for the period 20 June 2015 – 6 July 2015 while the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are overseas at the mission.

 

REPORT

 

Council at its meeting on 16 December 2014 considered a report on the participation by Liverpool City Council in the Future Cities Collaborative overseas mission to the United States to examine Local Infrastructure Finance Mechanisms and resolved (in part):

 

“That Council:

 

1.    Notes that Liverpool Council has been invited as a targeted participant for the Future

Cities Collaborative mission to the United States given that the initiative will provide insights into projects aligned with Liverpool’s current growth prospects.

 

2.   Notes the benefits from Council participation in the US Study Tour of July 2013 that included guiding Council’s Building Our New City project, providing access to independent urban design expertise and building collaborative relationships with other Councils.

 

3.   Approves the participation of the Mayor and the CEO or his delegate and Councillors Balloot, Hadchiti, Karnib and the Deputy Mayor Councillor Ristevski in the Future Cities Collaborative overseas mission to the United States in June 2015”.

 

Councillors Karnib, Ristevski and Hadchiti have advised that they will now not be attending.

Councillor Harle has expressed an interest in attending and it is recommended that Council note that Councillors Karnib, Ristevski and Hadchiti will not be attending and nominate a replacement Councillor or Councillors to attend the mission.

 

As both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be attending the mission, it is also recommended that Council appoint an Acting Deputy Mayor for the period that they are away as provided for under the Local Government Act, as per s231(4) below.

 

There is no provision in the Act to appoint another Mayor for the period of absence, but the Deputy Mayor will be able to undertake the mayoral functions as the Mayor will be away.

 

231 Deputy Mayor

     (1) The councillors may elect a person from among their number to be the deputy mayor.

     (2) The person may be elected for the mayoral term or a shorter term.

     (3) The deputy mayor may exercise any function of the mayor at the request of the mayor or if the mayor is prevented by illness, absence or otherwise from exercising the function or if there is a casual vacancy in the office of mayor.

     (4) The councillors may elect a person from among their number to act as deputy mayor if the deputy mayor is prevented by illness, absence or otherwise from exercising a function under this section, or if no deputy mayor has been elected.

 

CONSIDERATIONS

 

Economic and Financial

Participation in the Future Cities Collaborative mission will provide insights to Council on successful practice in raising funds for local infrastructure. Funds of $40,000 were previously allocated towards the costs.

Environmental and Sustainability

There are no environmental and sustainability considerations.


Social and Cultural

Participation in the Future Cities Collaborative mission will provide advice on successful practice to assist the funding of community facilities.


Civic Leadership and Governance

Participation in the Future Cities Collaborative mission will provide insights to Council participants on governance mechanisms appropriate to various local infrastructure financing options.

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

Nil