ordinary meeting of council to be held on tuesday, 26 april 2005 at ...

Ordinary Meeting <strong>of</strong> Council - 26 April 2005 3 / 4
Item 3
S03096
21 March 2005
CONSULTATION
The Draft Management Plan will <strong>be</strong> placed on public exhibition for twenty eight days <strong>to</strong> allow for
community feedback.
Preliminary consultation on the 2005/09 Management Plan has <strong>be</strong>en occurring throughout the year
via a num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> Council’s advisory committees and local interest groups. These discussions have
helped refine the overall direction and identify tasks and key performance indica<strong>to</strong>rs for the coming
year.
The proposal <strong>to</strong> introduce a special rate variation for environmental improvements requires that
community consultation <strong>be</strong> undertaken in conjunction with the public exhibition <strong>of</strong> the Draft
Management Plan. As part <strong>of</strong> a broader strategy <strong>to</strong> ascertain residents’ views and support for the
proposal, a range <strong>of</strong> consultative techniques and public notification has already taken place. The
response <strong>to</strong> a mail survey <strong>to</strong> 3000 households on the environment levy across all suburbs has
generated 930 responses with 57% in support. This is consistent with the results from a survey
posted on the internet and collated from responses from late February <strong>to</strong> end <strong>of</strong> March. Appendix C
contains a report on the consultation and results as at 30 March 2005.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Proposed Operating Budget
The operating budget for 2005/2006 has <strong>be</strong>en developed within the framework established by the
10 Year Financial Model, adopted by Council on 14 Decem<strong>be</strong>r 2004. This framework includes:
• An estimated employee award increase <strong>of</strong> 3.5%
• Net debt repayment <strong>of</strong> $138,500
• New borrowings capped at $1,400,000
• Rate peg increase <strong>of</strong> 3.5%
• $1,130,000 allocated <strong>to</strong> Council’s depreciation reserves
• Interest earned on depreciation and property reserves restricted <strong>to</strong> those reserves ($669,500)
• 0.5% <strong>of</strong> general rate revenue maintained in the contingency reserve ($183,000)
• Capital works program <strong>to</strong>taling $9,762,300
• $4,328,000 allocated <strong>to</strong> road projects
• Reductions in debt servicing costs allocated <strong>to</strong> projects <strong>of</strong> direct community <strong>be</strong>nefit
($2,176,600)
• Land and Environment Court legal costs budgeted at $1,700,000
• Fees and Charges increased by 3% where appropriate
Council’s proposed headline surplus for 2005/2006 is $31,483,100. This represents an increase <strong>of</strong>
$20,753,800 compared <strong>to</strong> the budget adopted in the Management Plan for 2004/2005. This variation
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