Local government reform | Ratepayer Protection Bill | Waste and recycling | GAROC elections | Emergency management No Images? Click here Vol 4: Issue 5 - Tuesday 5 March 2019 Last week I was in Kimba attending the Eyre Peninsula LGA’s 2019 Conference with LGA CEO Matt Pinnegar. Congratulations to the District Council of Kimba for hosting this well run event. You can download Kimba Mayor Dean Johnson's Mayoral Address from the conference here. Matt and I also had the opportunity to visit six councils on the Eyre Peninsula, and I appreciate the time they gave us, and updates they provided on the issues their councils and communities are facing. One of the issues which I’ve had a lot of recent feedback on is jetties, and the ongoing costs incurred by many councils in maintaining them. The lease agreements on many of the regional jetties will soon expire in upcoming years, and there needs to be a sustainable arrangement in place to ensure that these vital pieces of infrastructure are kept in place. This is one of the situations where it is clear why we need to continue to support ALGA’s call for a $300 million local government community infrastructure program, as well as pushing for the continuation of supplementary road funding for SA. The election is potentially less than three months away so now is the time for us to mobilise as a sector and make sure our voice is heard. LGA President Sam Telfer Local government reformOn Wednesday 20 February, Mayors and chairs from across SA met with the Premier and the Minister in Adelaide to discuss local government reform. This is a pivotal time for us, with the Government committed to reviewing and updating the Local Government Act this year, in collaboration with councils. As an Association and a sector, we’ve identified our own ideas for change, which are outlined in this briefing paper. We look forward to hearing more of your ideas, and we’ll be sharing details shortly on how we’ll be working with councils to further develop a reform agenda over the coming months. We want to work with members, the Government and the Parliament on reforms that will improve efficiency within local government, alleviate external cost pressures on councils, and ultimately drive downward pressure on council rates. With strong support from councils, the LGA opposed the Government’s proposal for a legislated rate capping scheme, as centralised, State Government-administered rate capping systems have had negative impacts on communities interstate. However, every council already has the power to cap its own rates each year, and we all have an important responsibility to deliver excellent value to our communities, and to keep rate increases as low as possible. Ratepayer Protection BillLast Wednesday the Government announced that it will vote down the Local Government (Ratepayer Protection and Related Measures) Amendment Bill introduced by Labor and supported by SA Best and the Greens. While some proposals were supported by councils, there was also concern in the sector that these measures held councils to a higher standard than state and federal government, and would have created additional cost pressures on councils without provided a material benefit to communities. This was the view that the LGA presented in its submission on the Bill, which was endorsed by the Board of Directors in January. This submission, which has been provided to all parties, reinforced that we want to work together to develop a package of reforms that will ultimately be supported by the Parliament and deliver lasting benefits to communities. Waste and recyclingThe difficulties faced by SKM are impacting on a number of South Australian councils, (subscriber link) and over the past week the LGA has been in discussions with the affected councils, the State Government and waste sector about the short and longer term implications. These discussions have covered the impact on affected councils, including increased transport and gate fees, and highlighted the need for a third Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in South Australia, based in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. More than $2.5 million in funding has recently been approved by Green Industries for nine recycling infrastructure projects (including at Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority and Adelaide Hills Region Waste Management Authority). A third funding round is now open, with applications closing on 5 April. Green Industries has also advised us that it is considering opening a second round of Regional Transport Relief Funding. A second round of transport funding would be very helpful to regional councils, and we will be sure to let you know if this occurs. In recent weeks the LGA has also attended meetings with the Green Industry Procurement Group, where we’ve further explored our pilot project on the adoption of sustainable procurement targets by councils. LGA staff have also attended a Recycling Education Working Group meeting, where a presentation was provided on the creative material being developed for an upcoming statewide recycling education campaign. While we appreciate the contributions from the State Government and waste industry in addressing the impact of China’s National Sword, we believe more investment is needed in worthwhile waste and recycling initiatives. We’re again calling on the State Government to release more of the funding collected from councils through the Solid Waste Levy, to shield ratepayers from the increased cost of processing kerbside recycling. Ratepayers will contribute $34 million to the levy this financial year, and this money should be reinvested in local initiatives that will reduce costs and bring greater stability to the recycling industry. Without increased assistance from the State Government, many ratepayers will receive “bill shock” when they get their 2019/20 council rates, as a result of the increased waste and recycling costs councils are incurring. We are calling on the State Government to do the right thing and take pressure off council budgets by releasing the funds that have already paid by ratepayers. GAROC electionsWe have received ten nominations to fill two casual vacancies on the Greater Adelaide Regional Organisation of Councils (GAROC). This body has been established under the LGA’s new Constitution to consider and progress policy priorities for metropolitan councils, and provide advice to the LGA Board. It’s fantastic to see such strong interest from metropolitan councils in GAROC, and I’d like to thank each of the following mayors and councillors for putting themselves forward.
Ballot papers have been distributed to all metropolitan councils, and are due back by 5pm on Thursday 11 April. The counting of votes will take place the next day at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, where we’ll also be holding our 2019 Ordinary General Meeting. GAROC, and its regional counterpart SAROC, are progressing their four year Strategic Plans and 2019/20 Annual Business Plans. These draft documents will be out for consultation with councils shortly, and I encourage your feedback. Emergency management The local government sector has a long history of acting to reduce disaster risk in the community, preparing for emergency events, and supporting communities when emergencies happen. Over the last nine months, the LGA Council Ready program has engaged more than 550 council staff members from all 68 councils in emergency management ‘health checks’ to better understand what we are currently doing, and the needs of our sector. A key finding has been that councils make the biggest contributions well before the disasters strike - through everyday asset management, planning, public health, community development and coastal management that strengthen the resilience of our communities. We’re pleased to announce that the LGA has secured $2.6M of funding from Natural Disaster Resilience Program and the LGA Mutual Liability Scheme for Stage 2, which will allow us to work with councils over the next two years to further strengthen our planning for emergency management. For more information, visit the Council Ready webpage or contact Michael Arman on 0436 691 123. For further information or to submit |