2018 Council Next Practice Showcase & LGA OGM | The value in membership | China's National Sword Policy | Rate Capping | Update to LGA Constitution | Annual Member's Survey | LG Reform Forum No Images? Click here Special weekly update from the LGA President Vol 3: Issue 12 - Tuesday 3 April 2018 Dear Mayors and CouncillorsI hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter break. I enjoyed my time with friends and family but also missed some loved ones during this time. I look forward to my first meeting with our new Minister this week and building a strong relationship as a base to do great work and partnerships into the future. LGA President Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg 2018 Council Next Practice Showcase and LGA OGMThere’s only a little more than a week to go until our 2018 Council Next Practice Showcase and LGA Ordinary General Meeting on 12 and 13 April. This year both events will be held for the first time at Adelaide Town Hall, with the networking dinner on Thursday night at the Intercontinental Adelaide. I would again like to thank the City of Adelaide for all of their efforts in working with us to help make this event the best it can be. Remember, if your council registers additional delegates for the full 2018 Showcase and OGM (including dinner) compared to 2017 they will receive one free registration. In addition, for every four delegates you register for the full event (both days and dinner) the fifth registration is free. You can download the program and register to attend on our website. Online registrations close Thursday 5 April. The value in membershipLast March UHY Haines Norton independently estimated the average annual benefit of LGA services to member councils as being worth more than $1.5 million. We asked them to again review our value proposition in 2018, and they’ve found that the value of LGA membership is just over $2 million per council per year. This increase is largely due to the LGA understanding more about how our services add value to councils, and was also assisted by some key advocacy wins, such as working with ALGA to secure the return of supplementary road funding for South Australia in the 2017/18 Federal Budget. This report will now be an annual event, with a requirement to undertake this work being included in the Membership Proposition as part of the LGA’s new Constitution and ancillary documents. This is an important commitment from your LGA. It will continuously require us to examine the value of our services to members. The full report breaking down the value of all LGA services will be distributed to councils in the next week. If you would like an LGA staff member to present to your council on the value of membership please let me know. China's National Sword PolicyChina’s new stricter regulations around accepting foreign waste have the potential to add millions of dollars to recycling costs in SA, and the LGA will strongly advocate for support from the State Government to help address this issue. A large proportion of Australia’s recyclables (mixed plastics and paper) have historically been exported to China to meet the country’s demand for packaging. However, in late 2017, under its Revised Waste Import Policy – also known as the National Sword Policy – China dramatically raised its standards for the contamination of imported products to 0.5% contamination. As a result, China no longer accepts the types of waste products that Australia can viably export, and Australia can no longer rely on China as a destination for its recyclable materials. Until Australian recyclers can find new markets for their materials, they can either stockpile their products, or accept a reduced price. Both of these options will lead to higher costs for councils and their ratepayers. The Victorian and NSW governments recently announced funding support packages of $13 million and $47 million respectively to address the impact of China’s “National Sword” policy. The LGA has established a working group to look at this issue, and we’ll be commissioning a market analysis of SA’s waste management industry to see how councils are exposed and how we can best tailor our response. This work is a priority and we’re hoping to finalise a report in the next month. Once we’ve got a better understanding of how much this policy will cost South Australian councils and their communities, we’ll be undertaking further discussions with the waste sector and new government around what a support package for our State might include. We’ll also be investigating alternative demand sources for recyclates, including the extent to which local government procurement policies could be improved to give preference to products manufactured from recycled materials. We’ve already highlighted that there’s more than $100 million sitting in the State Government’s Green Industry Fund that could be used to shield ratepayers from inevitable increases in the cost of recycling. These funds have accumulated due to exponential increases in the Solid Waste Levy in recent years, and we’ve asked the State Government to freeze and review the Levy as part of the Liberal Party’s commitment to stop cost shifting to councils and communities. The Levy is set to raise from $87 to $100 a tonne in metro areas (and half this amount in regions) on 1 July, and this will be just another external – and unnecessary - cost pressure on councils as they seek to minimise rates increases for the coming financial year. Premier Marshall has indicated through the media that he is prepared act on this issue, and the LGA is working with the state government and its agencies the EPA and Green Industries SA as well as industry to avert this costly crisis. Rate cappingIt’s fantastic to see mayors standing up for our sector, and we should all be ready to explain what this policy would mean for our councils and communities – including in the short, medium and long term. We have confirmed a meeting with the new Minister, and we are hoping to work with him and his government on a range of local government reforms that will deliver improved transparency and efficiency. However, the reality is that if rate capping is introduced in SA, then it will be here forever. Rate capping would lock us into a system that will take away any flexibility that councils have to deal with unforeseen circumstances such as the China waste ban or natural disasters, as well as expose our most vulnerable regional councils that have a small rate payer base and a lack of diversified income streams. Rate capping might be smart politics but it’s bad public policy, and I urge you to continue to support your sector on this issue. Update to LGA ConstitutionAs you are aware, the LGA has been consulting with members over the past two years on a new Constitution to modernise the Association’s governance, and enhance our ability to advocate for, assist and advance our sector. The new draft Constitution will be considered at next week's Ordinary General Meeting (OGM), and was distributed with the OGM agenda on 14 March. However, since then we have received some additional and constructive feedback, and so will be re-issuing the report this coming Thursday 5 April following its consideration and endorsement by the Executive Committee. Annual Member's SurveyLast week our annual member’s survey was sent to all mayors, councillors, and council CEOs. If you haven’t already filled this in, please take a couple of minutes to provide us with your feedback. The survey is being conducted by a third party, and all submissions will remain confidential. The responses we receive will inform the LGA’s business planning for 2018/19, so we can put our resources into providing the services that are most relevant and useful to our members. As with our work on our value proposition, this survey will be an annual event to ensure we keep delivering and improving the value of your membership. LG Reform ForumUnfortunately we had to cancel our planned LG Reform Forum at the Stamford Plaza last Thursday due to lower than expected registrations. We will reschedule this event once our Showcase and OGM events have passed, and will make sure we provide plenty of notice to ensure a strong turnout. In the meantime, I will continue to provide you with updates on LGA activities, including local government reform, through this weekly newsletter. For further information or to submit |