Minister Knoll to present at LGA OGM | New LGA Constitution | Meeting with Minister | Rate capping | LGA office hours No Images? Click here Special weekly update from the LGA President Vol 3: Issue 13 - Monday 9 April 2018 Dear Mayors and CouncillorsThe CEO and I had our first opportunity to meet with our new Minister Stephan Knoll last Thursday. I feel it was very productive and we covered a huge range of topics in our 45 minutes. His portfolio mix of local government, infrastructure and planning makes him extremely pivotal to local government. It is terrific that Minister Knoll has agreed to speak at our OGM so let’s get a big crowd there. LGA President Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg Minister Knoll to present at 2018 LGA OGMWe are thrilled that our new Minister has agreed to present at our Ordinary General Meeting at Adelaide Town Hall this Friday morning. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear from the Minister about his vision for local government, and how we can work together to make SA better. We worked closely with the previous government on some terrific partnerships – including Public Health, CWMS, Regional Youth Traineeship Program, and State Local Government Infrastructure Partnership – and want to build on these achievements and explore new opportunities with the incoming government. Online registrations for this week’s Council Next Practice Showcase and LGA OGM have now closed but you can still register to attend by emailing rebecca.wake@lga.sa.gov.au. New LGA ConstitutionOur OGM will also include the opportunity to consider and vote on a range of issues for our sector, as well as the Association’s new Constitution. If you missed my special update on the new LGA Constitution last Friday, we’ve produced a video explaining the benefits of the changes that you can watch below. We’ve received a number of questions regarding the new Constitution in the last few days, and I would like to provide the below responses to address these. Q. The structure of the LGA Board is being promoted as a skills based board. Does this dilute the representation of the regions at the Board level? A. No, regional representation still occurs on the Board with five members being drawn from SAROC, and five members being drawn from GAROC. Reference in the Constitution to persons on the Board having relevant business and governance experience reflects the primary role of the Board being to oversee corporate governance of the LGA and provide strategic direction and leadership, rather than the primary role of representation. Q. How can the regions have the same level of representation they have now at the Board level? A. SAROC and GAROC will develop annual business plans that align with the LGA’s Strategic Management Framework. Through better planning and resourcing, SAROC and GAROC will ensure that policy development, advocacy and service delivery can happen at the council, regional and state-wide levels – in other words, at the right level, by the right people and at the right time. This new structure increases responsibility for SAROC and GAROC given their purpose is to lead policy development and advocacy for regional and metropolitan councils. Q. Does the requirement to have relevant business and governance experience create a barrier for some elected members from being on the Board? A. No. The continuing development of skills and experience to discharge the duties of a Board member will be important for all members of the Board, regardless of their background. The LGA will be providing continuing professional development opportunities for Board members during their term of office. This may include professional development through organisations such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Q. Why aren’t the ancillary documents being adopted at the same time as the Constitution? A. The Constitution and ancillary documents have been intentionally separated to provide the LGA and its members with greater flexibility to revise and refine key aspects of the LGA’s governance. Furthermore, given the new Constitution will not commence until 27 October 2018, it is intended that the suite of ancillary documents will be presented to the October 2018 Annual General Meeting for adoption, ratification or noting as required. This approach is providing the opportunity for further detailed consultation with member councils as well as to allow for transitional provisions to elect the new SAROC, GAROC and Board of Directors by 27 October 2018. Q. What consultation has been undertaken on the new Constitution? A. Multiple workshops with regional LGAs, SAROC, MLGG and the Board have been held in the development of the new Constitution. Furthermore, the draft Constitution was distributed as part of the Agenda at the November 2017 Annual General Meeting and was further distributed via circular on 1 March 2018. Reference to the new constitution has been made in various newsletters including in my newsletters, the LGA CEO’s newsletter, and Regional Topicals. Meeting with Minister KnollLast Thursday I met for the first time with our new Minister for Local Government Stephan Knoll. It was a very productive and encouraging meeting, with the Minister indicating a desire to work with the LGA and our sector. We agreed it was possible to work constructively and concurrently on other issues while the Minister seeks to progress rate capping legislation through the Parliament, and he agreed to meet with us bi-monthly. Other issues we discussed included the Code of Conduct and sector reform, supplementary road funding, waste, community housing rebates, NRM and Rubble Royalties. I look forward to further discussions around these issues and others with Minister Knoll, and working with him to help build a stronger, more efficient and transparent local government sector. Rate cappingI was pleased to hear that independent Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell told the Limestone Coast LGA Board last Friday that he would vote against any rate capping legislation introduced into Parliament. He shares the view that rate capping is a blunt tool and is unnecessary given the Minister already has sufficient powers that can be exercised to deal with issues within individual councils when they arise. We will continue to advocate to all members of Parliament – and in particular regional members whose local councils would be especially impacted by rate capping – to vote against the implementation of this policy. Reading the letters to the editor in The Advertiser and other regional papers since the election, I’ve noticed a slight shift in community perceptions of rate capping. A number of these letters have highlighted the pitfalls of removing local decision making, while others have pointed out how rate capping has failed interstate. It’s important to consider rate capping in light of the comprehensive research that has been undertaken around Australia, so the LGA provided University of Technology Sydney Lecturer Dr Joseph Drew with a copy of the SA Liberal Party’s rate capping policy, and invited him to provide a response. Joseph is the co-author of the book Local Government in Australia: History, Theory and Public Policy, and has been called as an expert witness for Australian State and Federal Government Upper House inquiries into local public finance. Here’s what he had to say... No evidence to support rate capping |