Annual Report

Annual Report 2012-2013

Banyule City Council Annual Report 2012-2013 Page 97

SERVICE CENTRES

Ivanhoe: 275 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe 3079

Rosanna: 44 Turnham Avenue, Rosanna 3084

Greensborough: 9 13 Flintoff Street, Greensborough 3088

Parks and Buildings: 268 Banksia Street, Heidelberg West 3081

Operations Centre: Corner Banksia Street and Waterdale Road, Heidelberg West 3081

Postal Address: PO Box 51, Ivanhoe 3079

DX:97904 Ivanhoe

Telephone:9490 4222

National Relay: If your hearing or speech is impaired, you can call us via the National Relay Service

on 133 677 (TTY) or 1300 555 727 (ordinary handset) and ask for 9490 4222

Fax:9499 9475

Email:enquiries@banyule.vic.gov.au

Internet:www.banyule.vic.gov.au

Contents

Page No

MAYOR AND CEO STATEMENT

3

CITY PLAN CONTEXT

6

BANYULES PROFILE

9

OUR COUNCIL

13

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

15

Processes of Governance

15

Delegation of Powers

15

Councillors Legal Obligations

15

Disclosure of Interests

15

Councillor Code of Conduct

16

Staff Code of Conduct

17

Assembly of Councillors

17

Councillor Remuneration

17

Council Meetings

18

Public Participation in Council Meetings

18

Councillor Briefing Sessions

18

Committees

18

Council Committees

19

External Committees

21

Councillor Attendance of Council Meetings

23

Ward Funding

24

Community Engagement and Social Research

29

An overview of our consultation approach

29

Additional sources of data that inform Council decision making

31

Local Government Planning and Accountability Framework

34

Audit Committee

36

Community Grants

38

Public Information

39

Freedom of Information

39

Protected Disclosure Act 2012 (replacement of Whistleblower Act 2001)

39

Reporting of Disclosures during 2012-2013

40

Information Privacy Act 2000

40

Documents available for public inspection

40

Contents

Page No

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (continued)

Local Laws

41

Codes of Practice

41

Orders of Council

42

Our Professional Advisors

42

National Competition Policy Compliance

43

Carers Recognition Act 2012 Local Government Reporting Requirements

44

THE ORGANISATION

46

The Structure

46

Human Resources

47

Workforce Strategy and Action Plan

47

Organisational Development

47

Employee Relations

48

Equal Employment Opportunity Program

48

Risk Management and Occupational Health and Safety

48

Staff Profile

50

CALENDAR OF COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY EVENTS 2012-2013

51

A SUMMARY OF OUR PERFORMANCE

52

Introduction

52

What success looks like to us

53

Our Activities and Services

54

Our Objectives

58

People Community Strengthening and Support

58

Planet Environmental Sustainability

71

Place Sustainable Amenity and Built Environment

77

Prosperity Prosperous and Sustainable Local Economy

86

Participation Community Involvement in Community Life

91

Strategic Resource Plan Use our Resources Wisely

97

BANYULES STRATEGIC INDICATORS

113

VICTORIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT INDICATORS

127

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT

128

GLOSSARY

159

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

161

STANDARD STATEMENTS

228

Mayor and CEO Statement

Welcome to the Annual Report 2012-2013

The last 12 months have been busy and productive as we implemented the last of a wide range of commitments and initiatives within our 4-year City Plan 2009-2013 and began work on developing its successor, the City Plan 2013-2017.

Our work over this time has focused on five interlinked objectives:

People community strengthening and support

Planet environmental sustainability

Place sustainable amenity and built environment

Prosperity prosperous and sustainable local economy

Participation community involvement in community life

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to contributing to a Banyule that is a green, liveable and prosperous city sustaining a healthy and engaged community. We want to ensure that our community has the services and facilities it needs; that people are satisfied with the natural and built environment in which they live, work and play; and that they have every opportunity to prosper both economically and socially.

Financial results

This financial year we achieved a good operating result with a surplus of $4.4 million that we have been able to carry forward for our capital works program. This is a sound result given the previous years deficit of $2.67 million which arose because of our requirement, as with other councils, to pay a superannuation liability as part of our mandatory participation in a Vision Super Defined Benefit Plan. The fact that we have been able to return a surplus, while at the same time completing major projects and continuing to deliver high quality services, is testimony to our strong financial management and governance.

We hold assets of $1.27 billion, of which $1.21 billion comprises infrastructure, property, plant and equipment. This year, we also recorded unrestricted cash assets of $26.7 million at year end, down from $48.6 million last year in part as a result of the superannuation liability which is now paid in full, saving ongoing payments and interest over a 15 year term. We will continue to consolidate our financial position next year as we move into a capital intensive program of work.

Major projects

Our end of year result was also pleasing given we finalised a number of major infrastructure projects, which will serve the Banyule and broader community well into the future. In September 2012, we opened the new WaterMarc regional aquatic and leisure facility in Greensborough, which has helped boost attendance figures at all our leisure facilities from 575,094 in 2011/12 to just over 1.4 million this year (a 147% increase), and attract people from across Melbourne to its now iconic indoor water slides.

Our $6 million project to establish one of Melbournes largest stormwater harvesting projects at Kalparrin Gardens in Greensborough, Chelsworth Park in Ivanhoe, and DeWinton Park in Rosanna is all but complete. The project will capture, filter and store stormwater underground to irrigate sport fields and open spaces in these parks keeping them green all year round, as well as reducing the amount of pollutants entering our precious waterways by filtering tonnes of litter, sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous. The project will also greatly reduce our use of drinking water and save on ongoing water costs.

Mayor and CEO Statement

Just as important as our building major infrastructure is building community and this year, we celebrated the final year of the eight-year Heidelberg West Neighbourhood Renewal program, where we worked in partnership with residents, community groups, agencies, the State Government and other stakeholders. This very successful project has brought many physical improvements to the suburb; has empowered people to solve problems; and has inspired much community spirit and community connection. We will build on the great results achieved by continuing to work with the community, but this time through a group aptly named 3081 Connect.

Service delivery

At the same time as delivering major projects we were hard at work ensuring we continued to deliver and develop our high quality services across the spectrum of life, from infants to older people, and across every facet of life, from garbage collection to health and environmental services, and of course the festivals and events that bring our community together.

It is often a surprise to many when they discover the extent of our services. For example, our Customer Service Team managed 141,707 enquiries, while our Maternal and Child Health team provided 20,368 consultations, and our Home and Community Care team ensured that 4,500 older residents were given the support they need to stay at home and be more independent in the community.

We also braved all weather to maintain Banyules much loved outdoor assets, including 70,000 street trees, 80,000 parkland trees, 200 parks and reserves, 164 playgrounds, 52 sports grounds and a network of pavements and roads that if placed end to end would travel from Melbourne to Sydney and half way back to Melbourne!

In 2012/13 we also registered 20,000 animals, carried out 7,426 building inspections, issued 1,583 building permits, assessed 1,250 planning permit applications and managed 1,245 transport and road safety requests, as well as 410 health/nuisance related complaints.

Our fleet of trucks, in conjunction with the Banyule Waste Recovery Centre, processed 22,430 tonnes of kerbside garbage, 15,040 tonnes of recyclable materials and 12,715 tonnes of green organic waste.

Community satisfaction

In the 2013 Community Satisfaction Survey,