Venue for Special General Meeting | 2018/19 Council rates | Expansion of LGASA services | Media round up No Images? Click here Vol 3: Issue 24 - Monday 2 July 2018 The recently tabled Local Government (Rate Oversight) Amendment Bill is continuing to be a core focus for the LGA and councils across the State, especially now that some of the detail is available and can be analyzed and modelled. I’ve been meeting with members of various political parties, and tomorrow I’m meeting with the Minister for Local Government, the Hon Stephan Knoll MP, who has agreed to present at our Special General Meeting on Friday 13 July at the Adelaide Town Hall. I do hope that you and/or representatives from your council can attend this very important meeting. Rate capping has never been about party politics, because both Liberal and Labor parties across the country have entertained this populist policy. What is certain is that rate capping raises many questions – around the integrity of local democracy and local decision making; the continued need for red tape reduction; and councils’ engagement and connection with their communities. State government cost shifting - along with a reduction over time in federal funding - continue to both challenge and inform our sector’s approach to financial sustainability and service delivery. Here at the LGA, on behalf of our member councils, we are continually looking to drive further efficiencies, identify sensible reforms for local government, as well as expanding the services we offer councils - thereby providing worthwhile savings to our communities. Our local government sector is like a family and we need to be mindful of the particular challenges faced by our smaller and regional councils who have far less revenue raising capacity. Let’s ensure we support them and not hang them out to dry! I hope to see you at the Special General Meeting next week. LGA President Sue Clearihan Venue for Special General MeetingOur Special General Meeting to consider the Government’s Local Government (Rate Oversight) Amendment Bill 2018 will be held at Adelaide Town Hall on Friday 13 July from 9.30am until 2.00pm. This will be an opportunity for all members to hear directly from the Minister for Local Government, the Hon Stephan Knoll MP, about the proposed legislation, as well as other MPs and interstate speakers such as Local Government NSW President Councillor Linda Scott and University of Technology Professor Roberta Ryan. ESCOSA will share how they would approach the implementation of a rate capping scheme as proposed in the legislation. You may be interested in familiarising yourself with the current ESCOSA commission membership. The introduction of rate capping would be the biggest change for our sector in decades, and it’s important that we have a full understanding of what it would mean for communities before forming a sector-wide position on the draft Bill. If you haven’t already downloaded the LGA’s analysis of the Bill you can read this here, and we continue to receive feedback from all over the sector. Given that the SA Government’s proposed rate capping bill foresees such a significant role for ESCOSA, we have also developed an overview of the Victorian Essential Services Commission’s role, approach and decisions on rate capping. You can download this here. More information about the Special General Meeting is available on our website, and you can register to attend here. There is no cost to attend, and I hope to see as many of you there as possible. 2018/19 Council ratesToday’s Advertiser reports that the average rate increase for metropolitan councils in 2018/19 will be 2.3% - or around CPI. Minister Knoll has attributed this year’s relatively small increase to the debate around rate capping, but the reality is that annual rates increases across our sector have been steadily decreasing for several years. Councils in SA have done significant work over the past decade to improve their financial performance and sustainability. This work kicked off with the Independent Inquiry into Financial Sustainability of Local Government in 2005, which found that councils could improve planning and budgeting for the maintenance and renewal of community infrastructure. The LGA, with the support of councils, subsequently embarked on a comprehensive Financial Sustainability Program to implement the Inquiry's recommendations and support improved council performance, and we are now seeing the benefits of this work with better long term financial planning, and greater efficiencies across the sector. This hard work on financial sustainability has made us one of the strongest local government sectors in Australia. And the efficiencies councils are now achieving are in spite of the growth in state government cost shifting, including escalating taxes and levies. The 15% increase to the Solid Waste Levy alone will cost ratepayers an extra $4.5 million in 2018/19 – and that’s on top of the $29.5 million councils were already expected to pay. If ESCOSA end up with control for setting council rates under a rate capping system, it’s worth considering whether they should also be given responsibility for setting the state government fees and taxes that continue to put pressure on council budgets. Expansion of LGA of SA servicesThe LGASA is in the process of expanding the services it offers councils, and the business cases for the first three commercial proposals – LGASA Legal, LGASA Travel and LGASA Energy have now been completed. These business models are based on the LGASA engaging with a preferred provider to offer councils a unique pricing model and value proposition across each of these distinct areas. This month a select tender process will be conducted to identify a preferred legal partner, and expressions of interest will also be called to select a preferred travel booking partner. It’s our intention to start offering these services to members from September. LGASA Energy will proceed with Peak Services (a division of LGA Queensland), and proposals for electricity consumption reviews and energy audits will be distributed to councils for their consideration later this month. The goal with all of these new services is to assist councils to reduce costs and drive efficiencies through a coordinated sector approach. These services complement the excellent work being provided by LGA Procurement which recently procured a dredger for Kingston District Council! For further information about any of these new services please contact LGASA Executive Director Commercial Steve Nolis on 8224 2043 or at steve.nolis@lga.sa.gov.au; and for more information on LGA Procurement please contact the team on 8224 2000 or at procurement@lga.sa.gov.au. Media round upLast week the State Government announced a number of programs initiated by the previous Government – including Fund My Neighbourhood – would not be continued. In Tasmania, the Property Council has called for the implementation of council rate capping. The Liberal government has rejected the call, stating that “Rates are entirely a matter for councils,” while the Labor Opposition have said “Local councils are democratically elected and should retain the capacity to set their own rates”. This is a great piece on the work the City of Unley is doing to improve their community for older residents. The LGA is currently consulting with members on the current legislation around food trucks, with a focus on the impact on regional small businesses. The Municipal Association of Victoria is calling on all parties and candidates in their upcoming state election to commit to “policies that ensure communities have equal access to local services regardless of where they live”, as “rate capping has caused some councils to opt out of discretionary community services and invest less into the maintenance and renewal of ageing roads, infrastructure and facilities.” For further information or to submit |