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

programme that allows for planned replacement for all <strong>of</strong> Council’s plant which, whilst not
providing direct savings will prevent erosion in the value <strong>of</strong> Council’s plant thus ensuring
machinery capable <strong>of</strong> <strong>meeting</strong> Council’s requirements. Purchase <strong>of</strong> specialist broad acre
mowing equipment that has increased service levels whilst reducing labour input is a specific
example.
• Council has developed a procedure for managing aspects <strong>of</strong> risk and liability by allocating
funding <strong>to</strong> various asset areas on a priority basis. This has followed the eradication <strong>of</strong> the
ruling <strong>of</strong> non-feasance by the High Court and the introduction <strong>of</strong> the Civil Liability
(responsibility) Act 2002 relating <strong>to</strong> the awarding <strong>of</strong> damages relating <strong>to</strong> the death or injury.
The new prioritised approach <strong>to</strong> asset management has <strong>be</strong>en in place since May 2003, in the
road maintenance and repair programme
• A review <strong>of</strong> the street cleaning and drainage maintenance operations in 2003 identified saving
<strong>of</strong> $50,000, mainly attributed <strong>to</strong> a reduction in external plant hire. These savings have since
<strong>be</strong>en reinvested in<strong>to</strong> the drainage reserve <strong>to</strong> allow for the installation <strong>of</strong> new drainage works
and gross pollution control traps in future budgets.
In overall terms, during the period 2001/02 <strong>to</strong> 2004/05 the <strong>to</strong>tal num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> employees in Council has
<strong>be</strong>en reduced from 455 <strong>to</strong> 451. This has <strong>be</strong>en achieved, despite the requirement for additional
resources across key areas <strong>of</strong> Council including:
• The appointment <strong>of</strong> an Internal Ombudsman <strong>to</strong> ensure increased transparency <strong>of</strong> Council
processes and decision making.
• The appointment <strong>of</strong> a Corporate Lawyer <strong>to</strong> increase rigour in the case management <strong>of</strong> Land
and Environment Court appeals.
• An increase in the num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> assessment <strong>of</strong>ficers and particularly having the required skills <strong>to</strong>
address the high num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> outstanding development applications and the increasing
complexity <strong>of</strong> medium and higher density applications.
• An increase in the num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> strategic planners and the required skill sets has also <strong>be</strong>en
necessary <strong>to</strong> meet the requirements <strong>of</strong> the Minister assisting the Minister for Planning in
relation <strong>to</strong> progression <strong>of</strong> Council’s Residential Housing Strategy and in particular <strong>meeting</strong>
specified deadlines for planning for Council’s <strong>to</strong>wn centres.
Absorption <strong>of</strong> increased costs and increased services
Council has over the last four years absor<strong>be</strong>d significant increases in non-discretionary costs which
have <strong>be</strong>en funded and addressed whilst still maintaining existing service levels and programmes, and
in many areas increasing the services provided <strong>to</strong> our community. Examples since the
commencement <strong>of</strong> the 2001/2002 year include
I.T. System
Council had no choice but <strong>to</strong> implement new corporate s<strong>of</strong>tware systems as the previous S<strong>to</strong>we
AS400 system was no longer supported. Council originally joined a project syndicate with six other
<strong>council</strong>s still using the “S<strong>to</strong>we” system. The project was called “Councils on line”. It <strong>be</strong>came
apparent that forecast cost estimates were well <strong>be</strong>yond Council’s capacity <strong>to</strong> fund and accordingly, it
was necessary for Ku-ring-gai <strong>to</strong> obtain an alternative solution, one that had <strong>to</strong> <strong>be</strong> achieved without
the support and partnership <strong>of</strong> other Councils.
Subsequently, a full suite <strong>of</strong> systems has <strong>be</strong>en implemented for $1.5 million. Systems include:
• Trim Electronic Document Management System
• Finance One
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