Agenda of Extraordinary Meeting

Extraordinary Meeting 4 May 2016

Chief Financial Officer

CFO 01

Draft Delivery Program and 2016-17 Operational Plan and Budget (including Revenue Pricing Policy)

Strategic Direction	Leading Proactive Council Position Council as an industry leader, delivering best practice and innovation
Key Policy	Long-Term Financial Plan
File Ref	110357.2016
Report By	Vishwa Nadan - Manager Financial Services
Approved By	Gary Grantham - Chief Financial Officer / Director Corporate Services

Executive Summary

Council at its meeting on 27 April 2016 considered a report on the Draft Delivery Program and 2016-17 Operational Plan and Budget (including Revenue Pricing Policy).

The resolution from that meeting is shown below in italics.

A report was to come back to an Extraordinary Meeting. Prior to that, a Councillors Briefing Session will be held on Monday 2 May 2016 to discuss the matter following which a supplementary report will be provided prior to the Extraordinary Meeting.

RECOMMENDATION

That the matter be considered.

REPORT

Council at its meeting on 27 April 2016 resolved:

That:

1. A report (in relation to point 1) to come back to an Extraordinary Council meeting on the reduction of costs and options on how the deficit can be reduced by the CEO in the following areas:

i. reducing the Business Improvement Directorate budget by $250,000

ii. reducing the CEOs budget by $100,000 in the research area.

iii. reducing the Strategic Communications & Research budget by 50% and/or $570,000 whichever is higher.

2. Eliminate expenditure on all consultants in the Strategic Communications and Research budget.

3. Redirect the money from item 1 above to employ six new staff for the Carnes Hill Library rather than redeploy staff from our existing libraries which will put a strain on our resources and impact services to the community.

4. Eliminate the $500,000 efficiency savings from the budget numbers as these numbers are not real and cannot be quantified.

5. Eliminate the $800,000 efficiency savings from salaries as there is no specific detail behind the reality of these numbers. At a time when we are already short staffed in many of our front line services, we cannot put at risk our service level agreements with our ratepayers.

6. No rates are to be increased via the domestic waste charge with savings to come from departments and options to be presented by the CEO at the next Council meeting rather than our ratepayers bearing this cost.

7. Review the $1,425,000 asbestos cleanup cost item in the budget to show supporting working papers on how that item was determined. Considering that $5,000,000 has been spent in this financial year and that the total cleanup cost are estimated around $13,000,000, this item needs to be verified. A report is to be provided at the next Council meeting on the estimated clean-up costs of asbestos over the next 5 years. How these numbers were determined considering 6 months ago Councillors were advised that it wasn't even a $1.

8. No funding to be allocated to the stadium proposal from the budget given the concerns of Oasis in the past and its impact on the budget. Let’s not forget that an Administrator was appointed to the Council when our rates went through the roof to pay for the Oasis. This motion will protect ratepayers from the risk associated with the Mayor’s stadium funding model as our rates are one of the highest in SW Sydney. If we have $400m to spend on a stadium let’s spend it on rates relief, roads and parks. Council writes to all media in particular the Liverpool Leader and Daily Telegraph advising them of same.

9. Remove all funding for the night markets until the budget is brought back to surplus.

10. Charge a commercial rent on the coffee shop immediately as the current annual rental is only $1.

11. A 12 month freeze on all non-essential frontline service consultant fees.

12. Reduce the expenditure of the Destination Management Plan by $200,000.

13. Delete participation in the US studies project and cease all payments to the Mayor advisor Professor Blakely – (that’s over $65,000 a year currently).

14. Mayoral ball to be cost neutral (whatever gets raised is donated over the redemption of costs of the event.)

15. 50% reduction of funding to Starry Sari night whilst the budget is in deficit.

16. Cease budget funding for CCTV whilst the budget is in deficit (this is housed in the police station and has not reduced crime as it was being reduced anyway).

17. A complete analysis of the budget item listed as additional salary savings depot of $1.2m focusing on how it was calculated and what impact this will have on front line services?

18. Council prepare and submit a reconciliation for the period from 1 July 2015 to 31January 2016 showing total payments to Propel and details of the savings achieved for the same period focusing on:

i. breakdown of how the savings were generated

ii. confirm that these savings were made from the first month of the operation of the Alliance

iii. Council provide a breakdown of all expenses incurred by Council relating to Propel employed staff for the period 1 July 2015 to date and details on whether Council was reimbursed for these costs

iv. confirm if a substantial payment was made to Propel in January 2016

v. confirm if a purchase order for $48,000 to buy laptops for the Propel employed management team was raised this month and paid by our ratepayers.

19. The above changes to be incorporated into a new budget with the changes to be brought back to an Extraordinary Council meeting for review.

CONSIDERATIONS

Economic and Financial	Further develop a commercial centre that accommodates a variety of employment opportunities. Deliver and maintain a range of transport related infrastructure such as footpaths, bus shelters and bikeways. Encourage and promote businesses to develop in the hospital, health and medical precinct (of the City Centre). Provide efficient parking for the City Centre. Enhance the environmental performance of buildings and homes. Deliver a high quality local road system including provision and maintenance of infrastructure and management of traffic issues. Facilitate economic development. Facilitate the development of new tourism based on local attractions, culture and creative industries. Further develop a commercial centre that accommodates a variety of employment opportunities (in the City Centre).
Environmental and Sustainability	Minimise household and commercial waste. Manage the environmental health of waterways. Manage air, water, noise and chemical pollution. Retain viable opportunities for local food production while managing land use to meet urban growth. Enhance the environmental performance of buildings and homes. Protect, enhance and maintain areas of endangered ecological communities and high quality bushland as part of an attractive mix of land uses. Raise community awareness and support action in relation to environmental issues. Promote an integrated and user friendly public transport service. Support the delivery of a range of transport options.
Social and Cultural	Raise awareness in the community about the available services and facilities. Provide cultural centres and activities for the enjoyment of the arts. Support policies and plans that prevent crime. Preserve and maintain heritage, both landscape and cultural as urban development takes place. Regulate for a mix of housing types that responds to different population groups such as young families and older people. Support community organisations, groups and volunteers to deliver coordinated services to the community. Promote community harmony and address discrimination. Support access and services for people with a disability. Deliver high quality services for children and their families.
Civic Leadership and Governance	Act as an environmental leader in the community. Undertake communication practices with the community and stakeholders across a range of media. Foster neighbourhood pride and a sense of responsibility. Facilitate the development of community leaders. Encourage the community to engage in Council initiatives and actions. Provide information about Council’s services, roles and decision making processes. Deliver services that are customer focused. Operate a well developed governance system that demonstrates accountability, transparency and ethical conduct. Actively advocate for federal and state government support, funding and services.

ATTACHMENTS

Nil