Extraordinary Meeting
13 May 2025
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CFD 01
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For Public Exhibition - Draft Community
Strategic Plan 2025-2035, Draft Delivery Program 2025-2029 and Operational
Plan 2025-2026, Draft Long-Term Financial Plan and Revenue Pricing Policy
(Fees and Charges)
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Strategic
Objective
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Visionary,
Leading, Responsible
Demonstrate
a high standard of transparency and accountability through a comprehensive
governance framework
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File Ref
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149497.2025
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Report By
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Hiba Soueid
- Manager City Strategy and Performance
Vishwa Nadan
- Chief Financial Officer
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Approved
By
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Shayne
Mallard - Director City Futures
Farooq
Portelli – Director Corporate Support
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The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s
endorsement to publicly exhibit the Draft Community Strategic Plan
2025–2035, Draft Long-Term Financial Plan, the Draft Delivery Program
2025–2029, and the Draft Operational Plan 2025–2026 for community
feedback and submission.
Section 402 of
The Local Government Act
1993 requires each local
government area to have a Community Strategic Plan which is developed and
endorsed by Council.
The Community Strategic Plan (CSP) is the
highest-level plan that a council will prepare. The purpose of the CSP is to
identify the community’s main priorities and aspirations for the future
and to plan strategies for achieving these goals. It guides all remaining
strategies and plans and must be developed by councils with and on behalf of
the community.
Although Council has a custodial role in preparing the
plan for the community, the strategic objectives and accompanying strategies
may be delivered by a range of stakeholders including community members,
businesses and government departments.
The Delivery Program (DP) is Council’s statement
of commitment to the community and is developed in accordance with Section 404
of the Local Government Act (1993). It outlines Council’s response
to the CSP, its services to the community and how it will contribute to
achieving its goals during its term of office.
The Operational Plan (OP) is an annual plan developed
in accordance with Section 405 of the Local Government Act (1993). It
provides detailed actions for each of the services Council will undertake in
each year of the Delivery Program. The plan identifies the specific projects,
programs and activities that have been scheduled for the financial year.
The Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP) has been developed
in accordance with Section 403 of the Local Government Act (1993) and
includes both Council’s 2025-2026 budget and its financial projections
for the next ten years. The LTFP includes projected income and expenditure, a
balance sheet, a cash flow statement, and detailed information on the planning
assumptions that were applied in its development.
The Revenue Pricing Policy includes all of
Council’s fees and charges for the 2025-26 financial year. It encompasses
all proposed changes to fees and charges.
Council is required to undertake a comprehensive
review of its Delivery Program, Operational Plan, Long-Term Financial, Plan and
Revenue Pricing Policy (Fees and Charges) Plan by 30 June in the year following
a Council election. The plans must be exhibited for public comment and
submissions for a minimum of 28 days
The draft documents have been included in the
attachments.
That Council:
1. Endorses the Draft Community Strategic
Plan 2025-2035, Draft Delivery Program 2025-2029 and Operational Plan
2025-2026, Long Term Financial
Plan 2026-2035 and Revenue Pricing Policy (Fees and Charges) to be placed on public exhibition for 28 days from 14 May to 10 June 2025; and
2. Receives a further report at the June 2025
Council meeting to review public submissions and any associated changes.
Community Strategic Plan 2025-2035
The Local Government Act 1993 requires each local government area to have a Community Strategic Plan
which is developed and endorsed by Council. The Plan must cover a minimum
period of 10 years.
The CSP presents a shared vision for
Liverpool shaped by the community’s priorities and aspirations along with
the strategies to achieving them. It categorises these priorities using a balanced approach
based on the quadruple bottom line (social, economic, environmental, and
civic leadership) as the foundation for strategic objectives. The plan also
identifies 10-year strategies for Council to achieve the community’s
priorities.
The Plan needs to be reviewed with each
Council term and endorsed by June 30 following a Council election. The CSP
identifies the community’s main priorities and aspirations for the
future.
The plan must address social, economic,
environmental, and civic leadership issues in an integrated manner. It must
also be based on the social justice principles of equity, access,
participation, and rights.
Community Consultation
The Draft CSP 2025-2039 has been developed
through extensive consultation with the community, stakeholders, and Council
staff over the past eight months (phase one engagement).
Feedback gathered during this period was
carefully reviewed, and common themes were identified to inform the draft plan.
This process ensures that
Council’s strategic documents reflect the community’s priorities,
aspirations, and long-term vision for the local government area supporting an
evidence-based approach to planning and informed decision-making.
To date, more than 3000 community members
have shared their views on the future of Liverpool through a range of
engagement methods including face-to-face interactions at Council events
including Family Fun Days and Community Drop-In Sessions, workshops focus
groups, telephone, and online surveys, interviews, and creatively through
children’s drawings.
A community engagement report (Phase one)
is attached to this report for reference.
Draft Delivery Program (DP) 2025-2025 and
Operational Plan (OP) 2025-2026
Actions and
activities which Council will undertake to achieve the community’s
priorities outlined in the draft CSP will be detailed in the new DP&OP.
The Draft DP 2025-2029 is a statement of
commitment to the community from a newly elected Council that outlines the
principal activities (services) that Council will deliver to implement the
10-year CSP during its term of office.
The DP cascades down from the CSP and
identifies actions that Council must undertake to deliver the vision and
aspirations of the Community, and aligns with the NSW Government’s State
Priorities and Regional plans.
The Draft OP is Council’s annual
action plan for each of the services outlined in the Delivery Program. The
Operational Plan also includes Council’s capital works program 2025-2026.
The Draft DP&OP addresses social
justice principles of access, equity, participation and rights and outlines how
Council will engage with the community and other stakeholders to determine
service level expectations and identify appropriate measures.
It also identifies the service areas
Council will review during its term of office, major projects and addresses
ongoing improvements in efficiency, productivity, financial management and
governance of Council.
Council engaged with senior staff through a
series of consultations and workshops to inform the draft plans, building on
community sentiments gathered to date.
Council has a custodial role in initiating,
preparing and maintaining the DP&OP on behalf of the community. Council
will monitor the progress and delivery of actions, and report against the
progress of the Delivery Program at least every six months in accordance with
Essential Element 4.9 of the Integrated Planning and Reporting Guidelines for
Local Government NSW through Biannual Progress Reports.
Long-Term Financial Plan and Revenue Policy
(Fees and Charges)
The Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP) is a
10-year rolling plan that informs decision-making and demonstrates how the
objectives of the CSP and services in the DP and OP will be resourced and
funded.
The LTFP includes:
· Council’s 2025-2026 budget
· projected income and expenditure, balance
sheet and cash flow statement
· planning assumptions
· sensitivity analysis, highlighting factors
and assumptions most likely to impact the LTFP
· financial modelling for different scenarios
· major capital and operational expenditure
implications
The Revenue Policy (fees and charges) is
included in the operational plan providing information about Council’s
services, budget, roles and decision-making processes.
The Statement of Revenue includes:
· a statement with respect to each ordinary
rate and each special rate proposed to be levied
· information on each charge proposed to be
levied
· Council’s proposed pricing
methodology for determining the prices of goods and services and the approved
fees
Public Exhibition
The draft CSP, DP&OP, LTFP and Revenue
Policy (Fees and Charges) will be placed on public exhibition for feedback from
14 May to 10 June 2025. The
community will be invited to review the draft plans and formally submit their
feedback in writing.
All documents on public exhibition will be
available online and will be accessible for download and feedback through
Council’s website and Liverpool Listens. Hardcopies will also be
available at Council’s Customer Service Centre and Libraries. All
submissions and comments will be reported back to Council at its meeting in
June 2025.
In addition, consultation with community members will continue to
ensure ongoing input, including face-to-face engagement through pop up stands
at key locations across the LGA, focus groups, online workshops, a writing
competition and a roundtable session where local business and government
agencies will be invited to provide input
on the CSP, aligning it with the broader Liverpool2050 vision.
All
financial implications have been comprehensively included in the Long Term
Financial Plan and 2025-2026 budget which is attached to this report.
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Governance
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The Community Strategic Plan encompasses
a series of economic, environmental, social and civic leadership
considerations. It outlines strategies for achieving these.
The Delivery Program and Operational Plan
set the direction for Council’s strategic agenda, including all
economic, environmental, social and civic leadership requirements.
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Legislative
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The Community Strategic Plan has
been developed in line with the Local Government Act 1993.
Section 402 of the Local
Government Act states:
(1) Each local government area must have a community
strategic plan that has been developed and endorsed by the council. A
community strategic plan is a plan that identifies the main priorities and
aspirations for the future of the local government area covering a period of
at least 10 years from when the plan is endorsed.
(2) A community strategic plan is to establish
strategic objectives together with strategies for achieving those objectives
Furthermore, Section 406 states:
(1) The regulations may make provision for or
with respect to integrated planning and reporting guidelines (referred to in
this Chapter as "the guidelines" ) to be complied with
by councils.
The Integrated Planning and Reporting
Essential elements checklist ascertains the following:
1.6 The council must place the draft Community
Strategic Plan on public exhibition for a period of at least 28 days and
comments from the community must be accepted and considered prior to the
endorsement of the final Community Strategic Plan.
The Delivery Program and Operational
Plan have been developed in line with Section 404 and 405 of the
Local Government Act 1993.
Section 404 of the Local Government Act states:
“A council must have a program (called its "delivery
program”) detailing the principal activities to be undertaken by the
council to perform its functions (including implementing the strategies set
out in the community strategic plan) within the resources available under the
resourcing strategy.”
“The council must establish a new
delivery program after each ordinary election of Councillors to cover the
principal activities of the council for the 4-year period commencing on 1
July following the election”.
Essential Element 4.13 of the Integrated Planning and Reporting Guidelines for Local Government NSW states:
“Where an amendment to the Delivery
Program is proposed, it must be included in a Council business paper which
outlines the reasons for the amendment and be tabled and resolved to be noted
at that meeting and considered by the council at its next meeting.”
Section 405 of the Local
Government Act (1993) states that:
‘A council must have a plan (called its
"operational plan") that is adopted before the beginning of each
year and details the activities to be engaged in by the council during the
year as part of the delivery program covering that year’.
Essential Element 4.25 of the Integrated Planning
and Reporting Guidelines for
Local Government NSW states:
“The draft Operational Plan must be publicly exhibited
for at least 28 days, and submissions received by the council in that period
must be considered, before the final Operational Plan is adopted by the
council”.
The LTFP has been developed in
line with Section 403 of the Local Government Act 1993. A council
must have a long-term Resourcing Strategy for the provision of the resources
required to perform its functions.
Essential Element 3.10 of the Integrated Planning and Reporting Guidelines for Local Government NSW state that The Long-Term Financial Plan must be publicly exhibited for at least 28
days and submissions received by the council in that period must be accepted
and considered before the final Long-Term Financial Plan is adopted by the
council.
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Risk
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The risk is deemed to be High. Failure to
develop the Community Strategic Plan,
Delivery Program and Operational Plan, Long-Term Financial Plan and Revenue
(Fees and Charges) and place the drafts on public exhibition for a least 28
days may result in non-compliance with the above legislation and may result
in enforceable action by the Office of Local Government, Planning Policy.
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1. Community
Engagement Report (Phase one)
2. Draft
Community Strategic Plan 2025-2035
3. Draft
Delivery Program 2025-2029 and Operational Plan 2025-2026
4. Draft
2025-26 Budget and LTFP 2026-2035
5. Draft
2025-26 Revenue Policy (incl. Fees and Charges)
