Ordinary Council Meeting
Agenda
12 May 2020
Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that an Ordinary meeting of ORANGE CITY COUNCIL will be held in the Via online video conferencing platform Zoom on Tuesday, 12 May 2020 commencing at 7.00pm.
David Waddell
Chief Executive Officer
For apologies please contact Administration on 6393 8218.
Council Meeting 12 May 2020
1.1 Apologies and Leave of Absence
1.2 Livestreaming AND RECORDING
1.3 Acknowledgement of Country
COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURNS FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE OPEN FORUM
COUNCIL MEETING RESUMES
3 Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting
3.1 Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 21 April 2020
COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURNS FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE POLICY COMMITTEES
Planning and Development - Chaired by Cr Russell Turner
Employment and Economic Development - Chaired by Cr Tony Mileto
Infrastructure - Chaired by Cr Jeff Whitton
Sport and Recreation - Chaired by Cr Jason Hamling
Environmental Sustainability - Chaired by Cr Mario Previtera
Finance - NO ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION
Services - Chaired by Cr Scott Munro
4 Notices of Motion/Notices of Rescission
4.1 Notice of Motion - Policy Guidelines for Procurement
5.1 Election of Chairperson - Finance Policy Committee
6 Closed Meeting - See Closed Agenda
6.1 Request for Financial Assistance - Orange Uniting Church
6.2 Land Acquisition - Demolition
7 Resolutions from closed meeting
1 Introduction
1.1 Apologies and Leave of Absence
1.2 LIVESTREAMING AND RECORDING
This Council Meeting is being livestreamed and recorded. By speaking at the Council Meeting you agree to being livestreamed and recorded. Please ensure that if and when you speak at this Council Meeting that you ensure you are respectful to others and use appropriate language at all times. Orange City Council accepts no liability for any defamatory or offensive remarks or gestures made during the course of this Council Meeting. A recording will be made for administrative purposes and will be available to Councillors.
1.3 Acknowledgement of Country
1.4 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests
The provisions of Chapter 14 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (the Act) regulate the way in which Councillors and designated staff of Council conduct themselves to ensure that there is no conflict between their private interests and their public role.
The Act prescribes that where a member of Council (or a Committee of Council) has a direct or indirect financial (pecuniary) interest in a matter to be considered at a meeting of the Council (or Committee), that interest must be disclosed as soon as practicable after the start of the meeting and the reasons given for declaring such interest.
As members are aware, the provisions of the Local Government Act restrict any member who has declared a pecuniary interest in any matter from participating in the discussion or voting on that matter, and requires that member to vacate the Chamber.
Council’s Code of Conduct provides that if members have a non-pecuniary conflict of interest, the nature of the conflict must be disclosed. The Code of Conduct also provides for a number of ways in which a member may manage non pecuniary conflicts of interest.
Recommendation It is recommended that Councillors now disclose any conflicts of interest in matters under consideration by the Council at this meeting. |
3 Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting
RECOMMENDATION That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 21 April 2020 (copies of which were circulated to all members) be and are hereby confirmed as a true and accurate records of the proceedings of the Council meeting held on 21 April 2020. |
Attachments
1 Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 21 April 2020
ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE
Ordinary Council Meeting
HELD via ONLINE VIDEO CONFERENCING ZOOM
ON 21 April 2020
COMMENCING AT 7.00pm
Attendance
Cr R Kidd (Mayor), Cr S Romano (Deputy Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr J Hamling, Cr J McRae, Cr T Mileto, Cr S Munro (until 7.19pm), Cr S Nugent, Cr M Previtera, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner, Cr J Whitton
Chief Executive Officer, Acting Director Corporate and Commercial Services, Director Development Services, Director Community, Recreation and Cultural Services, Director Technical Services, Governance Coordinator, Administration Officer – Governance, Executive Support Manager, Manager Financial Services
RESOLVED - 20/113 Cr K Duffy/Cr J Hamling That the apology be accepted from 7.19pm onwards for Cr Munro for the Council Meeting of Orange City Council on 21 April 2020. |
1.2 LIVESTREAMING AND RECORDING
The Mayor advised that the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded.
Brant Waterson of the Lutheran Church led the Council in Prayer.
The Mayor conducted the Acknowledgement of Country.
1.5 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests
Cr M Previtera declared a Significant Pecuniary interest in item 5.7 (Development Application DA 18/2020(1) – 1185 Pinnacle Road) as it involves a property he owns.
Cr S Romano declared a Pecuniary Interest in item 5.7 (Development Application DA 18/2020(1) – 1185 Pinnacle Road) as he quoted on work associated with the development.
2 Mayoral Minutes
Nil
THE MAYOR DECLARED THE ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL ADJOURNED FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE OPEN FORUM AT 7.04PM
OPEN FORUM
Mr Len Banks (Orange Rotary Club)
Mr Banks spoke on the 2021 Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival.
THE MAYOR DECLARED THE COUNCIL RESUMED AT 7.10PM
3 Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting
4 Notices of Motion/Notices of Rescission
Nil
5 General Reports
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Munro, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Nil
TRIM Reference: 2019/2771 |
RESOLVED - 20/116 Cr S Nugent/Cr K Duffy That the report on Code of Conduct Complaint Reporting be acknowledged.
|
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Munro, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Nil
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Munro, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Nil
Cr Mileto requested information be circulated to Councillors on the uptake of the Vandalism Reporting Reward Scheme. |
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Munro, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Nil
Division of Voting |
|
Voted For |
Cr R Kidd (Mayor), Cr S Romano (Deputy Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr J Hamling, Cr J McRae, Cr T Mileto, Cr S Nugent, Cr M Previtera, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner, Cr J Whitton |
Voted Against |
Nil |
Absent |
Cr S Munro |
Division of Voting |
|
Voted For |
Cr R Kidd (Mayor), Cr S Romano (Deputy Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr J Hamling, Cr J McRae, Cr T Mileto, Cr S Nugent, Cr M Previtera, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner, Cr J Whitton |
Voted Against |
Nil |
Absent |
Cr S Munro |
Division of Voting |
|
Voted For |
Cr R Kidd (Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr J Hamling, Cr J McRae, Cr T Mileto, Cr S Nugent, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner, Cr J Whitton |
Voted Against |
Nil |
Absent |
Cr M Previtera, Cr S Romano (Deputy Mayor), Cr S Munro |
** Crs Previtera and Romano re-joined the online meeting.**
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr Taylor, Cr Romano, Cr Whitton, Cr Previtera
Against: Crs Turner, Cr Nugent, Cr McRae and Cr Mileto
Absent: Cr Munro
Cr McRae tendered her resignation as Chairperson of the Finance Policy Committee. |
In accordance with the Local Government Act 1993, and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005, in the opinion of the General Manager, the following business is of a kind as referred to in Section 10A(2) of the Act, and should be dealt with in a Confidential Session of the Council meeting closed to the press and public.
In response to a question from the Mayor, the Chief Executive Officer advised that no written submissions had been received relating to any item listed for consideration by the Closed Meeting of Council.
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Cr Munro
The Mayor declared the Ordinary Meeting of Council adjourned for the conduct of the Closed Meeting at 7.54pm.
The Mayor declared the Ordinary Meeting of Council resumed at 8.04pm
7 Resolutions from Closed Meeting
The Chief Executive Officer read out the following resolutions made in the Closed Meeting of Council.
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Cr Munro
For: Cr Kidd, Cr Duffy, Cr Hamling, Cr McRae, Cr Mileto, Cr Nugent, Cr Previtera, Cr Romano, Cr Taylor, Cr Turner, Cr Whitton
Against: Nil
Absent: Cr Munro
The Meeting Closed at 8.08PM
This is Page Number 7 and the Final Page of the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 21 April 2020.
4 Notices of Motion/Notices of Rescission
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/682
I, CR Jeff Whitton wish to move the following Notice of Motion at the Council Meeting of 12 May 2020:
That the Council write to the NSW Premier and Minister for Local Government to request that policy guidelines for procurement be relaxed to allow Orange City Council to award, where appropriate, all works to local suppliers. |
Background
Like all cities, Orange businesses and tradesman have been devastated by the events of COVID19 and this has had an impact across the Orange economy.
Orange City Council is about to approve the budget that includes capital works programs that include NSW treasury funded projects.
With strict oversight and framework, Orange City Council could offer these works to local organisations and tradesman under a "local stimulus" program.
The objective of this program is to support local jobs, businesses and to kick start the Orange economy. The spinoff from this initiative is that monies will stay in the local community being spent across the community and surrounding communities.
I realise there will need to be a tight process implemented to facilitate this initiative, but under the circumstances and the potential outcomes to our community and jobs, I believe the effort is worth the effort.
We need to think out of the box in an attempt to give our citizens hope and positivity post COVID19.
Signed Cr Jeff Whitton
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/678
AUTHOR: Samantha Freeman, Acting Director Corporate and Commercial Services
EXECUTIVE Summary
Cr Joanne McRae has resigned from the position of Chairperson of the Finance Policy Committee. As this position is now vacant, Council is required to elect a new Chairperson.
The Chairperson of the Finance Policy Committee will also be a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “17.1 Collaborate - Provide representative, responsible and accountable community governance”.
Financial Implications
Nil
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
That Council elect a Chairperson for the Finance Policy Committee Meeting. |
further considerations
Consideration has been given to the recommendation’s impact on Council’s service delivery; image and reputation; political; environmental; health and safety; employees; stakeholders and project management; and no further implications or risks have been identified.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
With the resignation of Cr McRae as Chairperson of the Finance Policy Committee, Council needs to elect a Chairperson for the remainder of this 12 month period (May-September 2020).
Council will elect new Chairpersons for all Policy Committees in September 2020 for the ensuing 12 month period.
The elected Councillor will also being a Committee member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
The Finance Policy Committee advises Council in relation to prudent financial planning for the City of Orange.
A copy of the Committee’s Charter is attached.
1 Charter - Finance Policy Committee, D17/59735⇩
Attachment 1 Charter - Finance Policy Committee
D17/59735 F2551
purpose
To advise Council in relation to prudent financial planning for the City of Orange.
cOMMUNITY COMMITTEE reports
Audit and Risk Management Committee
membership
All Councillors
Quorum
Seven Councillors
Meeting dates
First Tuesday of each month, during the Council Meeting
level of delegation
To determine all matters referred to it for consideration, with the exception of determining any matter that would cause expenditure outside the Council’s adopted budget (resolved by Council 23 October 2012).
election of chairperson
The Chairperson is elected each year by Council in September (or in the event of a replacement Chairperson, at some other meeting of Orange City Council).
function of chairperson
· It is the Chairperson’s role to preside at meetings of the Committee and ensure the meeting is conducted in accordance with the Code of Meeting Practice.
· The Chairperson has no specific delegation of authority, other than those responsibilities imposed by Council’s Code of Meeting Practice.
meetings
· All operations of the Committee shall be in accordance with Council’s adopted Code of Meeting Practice.
· Subject to the Local Government Act 1993 and Regulations, a meeting of the Finance Policy Committee shall be open to the press and public.
voting
Each member of the Committee is entitled to one vote only. In the event of an equality of votes, the matter is to be referred to Council for determination.
conflict of interests
· A conflict of interest exists where a reasonable and informed person would perceive that a member could be influenced by a private interest when carrying out public duty.
· A pecuniary interest is an interest that a person has in a matter because of the reasonable likelihood or expectation of appreciable financial gain or loss to the person.
· A member of the Committee shall not at meetings vote in, or take part in the discussion of matters in which the member, or the member’s partner or any relation of the member, has any pecuniary interest.
· In relation to non-pecuniary interests, members must manage this in one of two ways: remove the source of the conflict, or have no involvement in the matter.
· Refer to Council’s Code of Conduct for more information.
recording
Formal minutes of meetings of the Finance Policy Committee will be produced in accordance with Council’s Code of Meeting Practice.
5.2 Draft Delivery Program 2018/2019 to 2020/2021 and Operational Plan 2020/2021 (Year 3 of the Current Delivery Program)
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/685
AUTHOR: Jason Cooke, Manager Financial Services
EXECUTIVE Summary
Orange is a prosperous and growing City with a changing demographic as young families realise that Orange is a place to stay and grow with all of the opportunities offered by larger metropolitan centres with the added benefit of a country lifestyle. As Orange grows it is time to look ahead and build the social infrastructure that the City and its next generations will need in 2030 and beyond.
Through prudent investment and planning, previous Councils have built the Council finances into a solid state. With historically low interest rates and significant equity, it is considered that now is the time to spend and develop Orange into a City of the future. In addition the significant capital spend proposed will inject significant stimulus into the economy at a time where the COVID-19 issue is creating great uncertainty.
The Draft Budget has been developed through consultation with the community via the Community Strategic Plan, with Councillors over the last 6 months and with Managers and Directors via a budget bid process.
The proposed budget includes a capital spend of $78.9M in 2020/2021 and $226.6M over the four year period 2020/2021 to 2023/2024.
Whilst significant borrowings are proposed in the draft budget, these will not breach the Debt Service Cover Ratio recommended benchmark of 2.
Projects included in the proposed 2020/2024 spend include:
FutureCity CBD upscale and renewal - $15M (part of a 2 year $30M project). Council has committed $5M per year to this project |
Orange Regional Conservatorium - $20M over 2 years. Council has committed $5M to this project |
Showground amenities - $750K. Council has committed $250K to this project |
$4.4M in Airport upgrades and improvements |
Playground upgrades at Council child care centres - $200K |
Mount Canobolas Mountain Bike Trails - $500K committed for phase 1 of the project |
Sporting Precinct development - $25M all from NSW Government |
Glenroi Oval master plan implementation - $125K per year for two years |
Renewable projects - $500K per year for 3 years |
Gallery extension – $1M committed by Council out of a total $5M |
Clergate Rd – NDR to Canobolas Wooltop (Stage 2) $2.8M |
Forest Rd – Cadia Rd to Boundary $800K per year for four years |
Lone Pine and Wakeford St road construction - $1.4M |
Ophir Rd widening and barrier installation - $510K |
Phoenix Mine Rd widening - $335K |
Spring Creek Dam to Icely Rd WTP - $4.5M ($5M emergency water project 50% funded by NSW Government) |
Blackman’s Swamp stormwater harvesting Stage 2 - $5M (emergency water project 50% funded by NSW Government) |
Gosling Creek dam upgrade - $900K |
Icely Rd Water Treatment Plant - $1.1M |
Southern Feeder Rd works – An additional $1.5M committed
|
Sewerage Treatment Plant inlet works upgrade - $3M |
Spring Hill Lucknow sewer strategy - $800K |
Conversion of CWD Photos – $25K per annum |
Replacement Depot Building - $800K committed of total $1.4M cost |
All day car park located on Old Williams Shed site - $200K
|
Double Storey Carpark - $4.5M |
Aquatic Centre Expansion - $3M |
Industrial Land Projects – $2.5M |
Lake Canobolas Enhancements - $1M |
Wade Park and Grandstands - $1.2M |
Orange Civic Theatre - $6M |
Advancing Shiralee Community Infrastructure - $1.5M |
Footpaths – $900K year 1, $750K year 2 and $600K year 3. |
Sir Jack Brabham Park – $250K refurbishment of amenities blocks |
New and refurbished Playgrounds – $900K over 4 years |
|
Other smaller value projects include:
· An additional leash free area
· Appropriate signage and garden at Orange entrances
· Acknowledgement of Iconic Australian Locals
· Ploughman's Wetland - Elevated Boardwalk
· Somerset Park - Bridge at Northern End
· Columbarium Wall
· Gallery - Movable walls
· Villages development
Bulky Waste
Waste services are fully cost recovered through annual rates. Any additional bulky waste service will be recovered through an additional fee or charge per use or through an additional levy per ratepayer, depending on the preferred alternative.
A number of options have been proposed for a bulky waste pick-up service including:
1. Maintain the existing service of a user pays ticket for a single bulk waste collection at any time of the year @ $220.25 inc. GST, comparable to the cost of a skip bin service.
2. On Call user pays scheduled; that is the resident rings Council, books and pays for a clean-up of 2 cubic metres once or twice a year at predetermined dates. The price for this service is $82.50 inc. GST per waste stream (bulky, scrap steel & organics) per premise with a minimum number required of 30 combined services.
3. Council wide bulky waste pick up once a year and levied against all ratepayers regardless of whether it is utilised or not. The price of the service is $12.50 inc. GST and includes three passes - the first for any refrigerated bulky waste that requires degassing and can be recycled; the second for scrap steel that can be recycled; and the third for general bulky waste.
Council considers option 3 offers the best value for a council wide service and has therefore included this as a proposed service in the list of draft fees and charges, alongside the current service described in option 1.
Grant Funding
A number of projects in the Capital Works program are partially reliant on State and Federal government grant funding, so the actual built value will depend on the level of support provided by the State and Federal government to the Orange community.
Should State or Federal funding not be secured and Council wishes for the project to proceed, the project would be required to be modified, or additional funding sourced by Council through either increased loans, utilisation of reserves or deferral to future years.
In 2020-21 projects that are listed and have an unsecured grant component include:
· CBD Refurbishment: Full project is estimated at $30M with $20M to be secured. This project is able to be staged to reflect funding received / available
· Orange Regional Conservatorium: $20M project with $5M to be secured. This project is not able to be staged scalable and requires grant funding to proceed.
· Forest Road works: $4.8M project over 6 years. $800K to be secured. This project is able to be staged
· Showground Amenities and Kitchen: $750K project with $500K to be secured. This project is able to be staged to do the components separately.
Orange 360
The contract with TDO Limited trading as Orange 360 is due to end on June 30 this year. Earlier this year Orange 360 briefed Council on a proposal for a new contract. There was a strong focus on destination marketing, training and development and in-region event support.
The proposal included an increase in funding of $150,000 to $550,000 in year one rising to $592,290 in year 4. As the Orange 360 program covers Blayney and Cabonne, funding increases were also sought from those councils.
The Orange 360 proposal also put forward a four year contract period to align with the council elections schedule.
The COVID-19 predicament has necessitated a re-think on the way forward. Orange 360 has already developed a COVID-19 strategy focussed on the short term and recovery.
As part of this Delivery/Operational Plan it is proposed to extend the current contract for 18 months under the existing terms and payments and $400,000 has been included in the 20/21 year.
This extension will allow for the development of a more substantial recovery plan, ensure the continuing viability of Orange 360 and allow a new contract to be established to align with the new council election schedule and the post COVID-19 climate.
Post COVID-19 there will be an opportunity to promote regional destinations ahead of international travel. However Orange will not be the only voice in the market place promoting a destination of choice. A strong recovery plan through Orange 360 will be critical.
COVID-19
Given the COVID-19 situation is fluid, it is expected that variations through both additional funding and additional expenditure will be required to the Budget after adoption. The Council is able, through its quarterly variation process, to accommodate changes to the Budget moving forward, and it is expected that this will be used again to bring forward projects or make adjustments for COVID-19 impacts that are unable to be incorporated into the Annual Budget at 1 July 2020.
Council has included a $1.8M loss of revenue provision in the 2020/2021 Delivery Plan for the first quarter. This covers activities including:
|
$ |
Child Care Centres |
280,000 |
OCT Closure |
325,000 |
Airport / Airlines reduction |
260,000 |
Parking Fines |
250,000 |
Pool Closure |
137,000 |
Caravan park Closure |
104,000 |
Museum Closure |
45,500 |
VIC Closure |
36,000 |
Function Centre Closure |
27,000 |
Ophir Carpark Closure |
21,450 |
Integrated Planning and Reporting
In accordance with the Integrated Planning and Reporting requirements set out in the Local Government Act 1993, this report presents:
1 Draft Operational Plan 2020/2021 under the current Delivery Program 2018/2019 to 2020/2021 (noting that the current Delivery Program has been extended by one year as the Local Government election will now be in 2021). This includes:
a 2020/21 Draft Budget
b 2020/21 Draft Statement of Revenue Policy
c 2020/21 Draft Fees and Charges
2 Resourcing Strategy – Long Term Financial Plan 2020/21 to 2029/30
3 Resourcing Strategy - Workforce Management Plan 2020/2021 to 2023/2024 (although this resourcing strategy is usually updated when the new Community Strategic Plan and Delivery Program are created after the next Local Government election, it can be changed if something extraordinary changes in the current period - in this case, this resourcing strategy has been updated for COVID-19 and has been projected forward)
The Annual Budget 2020/21 must normally be approved by the Council no later than 30 June 2020.
If approved for public exhibition by the Council, the attached drafts will be published for community feedback and response for 28 days. This is the period set out in the Act in which Councillors and the community are able to put forward new initiatives and changes to priorities.
Following exhibition, management will revise the Budget taking into account Councillor and community priorities.
Councillors have also flagged a preference to deliver as much of this program as possible using local business.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “17.2 Collaborate - Ensure financial stability and support efficient ongoing operation”.
Financial Implications
The proposed Delivery/Operational Plan identifies the operational and subsequent budgetary impacts arising in the delivery of the levels of service proposed. The financial implications of this investment are significant and ambitious. The finance team with the CEO and Executive have however modelled the proposed program of works so Council can continue its operational programmes whilst at the same time committing significant capital funds.
Policy and Governance Implications
The Local Government Act 1993 requires Council to exhibit the documents for a minimum of 28 days.
It is proposed to exhibit the plans for 28 days from 13 May 2020. Following exhibition, it is intended that community submissions and the draft budget documents will be brought back to a meeting on 23 June 2020.
That Council resolves: 1 To place the draft Operational Plan 2020/2021 and draft Budget 2020/2021 (including draft Statement of Revenue Policy 2020/2021 and draft Fees and Charges 2020/2021) and updated draft resourcing strategies Long Term Financial Plan 2020/2021 to 2029/2030 and Workforce Management Plan 2020/2021 to 2023/2024 on public exhibition for a minimum of 28 days. |
further considerations
The recommendation of this report has been assessed against Council’s other key risk categories and the following comments are provided:
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Service Delivery |
The Delivery/Operational Plan identifies levels of service for the range of Council’s operations. These levels of service are also identified as part of the Asset Management planning documents. The Delivery/Operational Plan identifies the key services Council will deliver over the term of the Plan, and quarterly performance indicators will provide a measure of Council’s performance in achieving these objectives. |
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Stakeholders |
The Delivery/Operational Plan identifies key agencies and other groups that are stakeholders in key Council activities. The Plan identifies the range of government agencies that provide advocacy, funding and partnerships to Council. |
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Since 2012, all NSW Councils have been required to prepare a suite of documents under the Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) framework outlined in the Local Government Act and its Regulations.
The Framework is outlined in the following diagram:
Source: Office Local Government
The following reproduces from the NSW Office of Local Government the requirements of the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework:
Community Strategic Plan (Term of Council)
“The Community Strategic Plan represents the highest level of strategic planning undertaken by a local council. All other plans developed by the council as part of the Integrated Planning and Reporting framework must reflect and support the implementation of the Community Strategic Plan.
The Community Strategic Plan should identify the main priorities and aspirations of the community, providing a clear set of strategies to achieve this vision of the future. Building the Community Strategic Plan takes time and must involve a whole-of-community engagement process.
The Community Strategic Plan must be based on the social justice principles of access, equity, participation and rights. It should also address the quadruple bottom line (social, environmental, economic and civic leadership) issues. It is recommended that a council uses a multi-disciplinary team to manage and implement the integrated planning process”.
The Council approved the Community Strategic Plan in 2018 following extensive community consultation.
Delivery Program (Term of Council)
“The Delivery Program turns the strategic goals found in the Community Strategic Plan into actions. It is the point where a council makes a commitment to the Community Strategic Plan, and act upon those issues that are within its area of responsibility.
The Delivery Program is the key ‘go to’ document for the Councillors. It identifies all of the key activities the council has committed to undertake over its four-year term. All plans, projects, activities and funding allocations of the council must be directly linked to the Delivery Program”.
Operational Plan (1 year)
“The Operational Plan details specific individual projects and activities that will be undertaken in the next year to achieve the commitments made in the Delivery Program.
The Operational Plan includes the Council’s detailed annual budget, along with the council’s Statement of Revenue Policy, which includes the proposed rates, fees and charges for that financial year”.
EXAMPLE OF HOW THE FRAMEWORK OPERATES
The 2018 Community Strategic Plan sets out an example of how the framework is implemented.
Community Strategic Plan 2018 Objective
Healthy and active community that is supported by sport and recreational infrastructure.
Delivery Program (Action)
Identify and deliver sport and recreation facilities to service the community into the future.
Flowing from the above, the other planning documents need to reflect the projects and activities that are proposed to be undertaken by Council each year, and the flow-on impacts to the budget, staff and long term financial capacity. They also need to reflect the actual costs of meeting the legislative obligations of Councillors to deliver core services (water, sewerage, waste, development applications) and other statutory obligations (e.g. WHS, EEO, Building Standards). For example, the action in the Delivery Program may be realised as follows:
Operational Plan
E.g. Seek State and Federal grant for Community Building X.
Asset Management Plan
This project will create an asset, and the costs of maintaining, repairing and replacing the asset must be included in the Asset Management Plans once the building is completed. As this will be a future cost to the Council and the community, the costs should be included in the Long Term Financial Plan and Annual Budget to ensure the Council is not taking on liabilities that it cannot afford in the future or unfairly passing costs to a future generation.
Workforce Management Plan
The operation of the facility will have an impact on staffing. The Workforce Management Plan must anticipate the likely skills, qualifications and experience the Council will need to operate and deliver the asset and services to be provided, including backend services such as IT, finance, building services, water and sewerage, corporate governance, audit, risk management, WHS etc. It needs to set out projected changes in technology, the employment market, staff satisfaction and other factors and the likely impact on the capacity of the Council to recruit and retain staff to deliver the project as well as ongoing core services, and propose actions to ensure the Council can demonstrate to the community that it can successfully deliver the project.
Long Term Financial Plan
The Long Term Financial Plan must include the Council’s anticipated costs in applying for funding (e.g. master planning, advocacy, legals, financial planning) and any expected Council capital co-contribution, as well as the operational costs of running the facility if approved (staff, depreciation, maintenance, asset renewal, contingencies) and any projected income to offset those costs (e.g. license for use of facilities, income from sales etc).
Draft Budget
The projected capital and operational income and expenditure for the development, construction and operation of the facility must be incorporated into the Budget for the years in which the income and expenditure is expected to accrue.
Rates, Charges and Fees
Rates, charges and fees for use of the facility may need to be incorporated in future years, and other rates and charges may need to be reviewed where expenditure is expected to exceed revenue.
PROPOSED 2020/21 APPROACH
The Chief Executive Officer determined the framework for the review of the Integrated Planning and Reporting documentation.
Community Strategic Plan
As the Community Strategic Plan was approved after community consultation in 2018, and no proposals or recommendations have been made for changes at this time; and because of the now extended election cycle it is recommended that the Plan be re-endorsed for the 2020/21 year.
Delivery Program
Minor updates have been made (e.g. CBD upgrade has included reference to FutureCity as the working title which has been deferred for one year pending a decision on grant funding).
Operational Plan
Changes to the Operational Plan have been made to reflect 2020/21 priorities (see below).
Resourcing Strategy
The documents required in the Resourcing Strategy are attached to this report.
The Resourcing Strategy must include:
· Asset Management Strategy
· Workforce Management Plan
· Long Term Financial Plan
Asset Management Strategy
The historic approach to the Asset Management Strategy is to submit this for adoption following approval of the draft delivery program and operational plan. Under the current budget framework, this influences the amount of money that may be available to fund asset management.
Long Term Financial Plan
The Long Term Financial Plan covers a ten year span as required by the Act. The Plan is re-set each year and projections regarding income and expenditure are then updated for the following ten years. The Long Term Financial Plan is based on a series of assumptions about future income and expenditure.
Workforce Management Plan
The Workforce Management Plan is required to be a rolling four year plan. It considers workplace issues such as staff sentiment, succession planning, training, future staffing needs, the impact of technology on future staffing and capabilities, the optimal organisation of staffing to deliver services and efficiency, and the workforce profile required in order to provide input into the structure and management of the Council’s operations.
2020/21 Rates
Tables in this report include the current financial year (2019/20) original budget as adopted in the current Delivery Program and Operational Plan.
A 2.6 percent increase in rates was decided by IPART for General Rates (Residential, Business, Farmland). The overall impact of this increase on an average assessment is:
1 Residential assessments will increase by $38.42, and total rates and charges $1.20 per week (or $62.22 per annum) which is 2.59 per cent.
2 Business assessments will increase by $133.47 or $2.57 per week.
Please note the above totals do not include water or non-residential sewer charges which are billed separately.
Proposed increases in water and sewer fees and charges are:
Fund |
2019/20 |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Water |
1.8% |
2.5% |
2.5% |
2.5% |
2.5% |
Sewer |
1.8% |
2.5% |
2.5% |
2.5% |
2.5% |
Pensioners receive a statutory reduction of $250 off their General Rates & $87.50 off both water and sewer charges. Council also offers a voluntary rebate of either ten per cent or five per cent of rates and charges. The additional voluntary rebate costs Council approximately $480,000 per annum.
2020/21 Operating Position
The draft Delivery/Operational Plan proposes a consolidated operating (before capital) deficit of $1,294,992 for 2020/21. The deficit position is due mainly to a loss of income contingency of $1.8 million raised to recognise the impacts of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020/21. This is reflected in the income reductions applied to the following services:
|
$ |
Child Care Centres |
280,000 |
OCT Closure |
325,000 |
Airport / Airlines reduction |
260,000 |
Parking Fines |
250,000 |
Pool Closure |
137,000 |
Caravan park Closure |
104,000 |
Museum Closure |
45,500 |
VIC Closure |
36,000 |
Function Centre Closure |
27,000 |
Ophir Carpark Closure |
21,450 |
The operating position shows how Council proposes to expend money on items other than those classified as capital. Operating expenditure is Council’s year to year expenditure on providing services.
The distribution across the funds is as follows with the table also showing the draft operating positions in the subsequent three years of the Plan:
Operating Result (by Fund) |
|||||
|
2019/2020 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
2022/2023 |
2023/2024 |
General Fund |
(158,152) |
2,102,374 |
(470,519) |
(724,320) |
(963,794) |
Water Fund |
(1,042,944) |
(15,011) |
(160,326) |
(136,229) |
(263,101) |
Sewer Fund |
(1,205,656) |
(792,371) |
(1,292,139) |
(1,362,790) |
(1,404,538) |
Total (All Funds) |
(2,406,752) |
1,294,992 |
(1,922,984) |
(2,223,339) |
(2,631,433) |
A surplus operating position is an indicator of financial sustainability and is indicated by red bracketed numbers in the table above. The table shows the deficit result expected for 2020/21.
2020/21 Overall Position (including capital)
The draft Delivery/Operational Plan proposes a consolidated overall (including capital) deficit of $2,815,126 for 2020/21, again impacted by the COVID-19 contingency of $1.8 million combined with the extensive planned capital program.
The distribution across the funds is as follows with the table also showing the draft operating positions in the subsequent three years of the Plan:
Overall Result (by Fund) |
|||||
|
2019/2020 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
2022/2023 |
2023/2024 |
General Fund |
(258,074) |
2,941,251 |
(1,488,276) |
645,259 |
235 |
Water Fund |
(50,220) |
(125,567) |
(1,904,912) |
1,249,907 |
(1,369,144) |
Sewer Fund |
(40,818) |
(558) |
(2,733,881) |
(422,047) |
(2,511,148) |
Total (All Funds) |
(349,112) |
2,815,126 |
(6,127,069) |
1,473,119 |
(3,880,057) |
The table above shows the deficit result expected for 2020/21.
The capital budget proposes to deliver a combined total of projects of $78.9M in 2020/21. This expenditure is distributed across the funds and the expenditure levels over the subsequent three years are also shown:
Fund |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
General |
$ 58,584,492 |
$ 64,505,507 |
$ 28,863,223 |
$ 23,287,221 |
Water |
$ 14,087,863 |
$ 2,454,552 |
$ 9,759,444 |
$ 3,151,507 |
Sewer |
$ 6,240,110 |
$ 2,358,860 |
$ 6,994,617 |
$ 6,351,345 |
Consolidated |
$ 78,912,465 |
$ 69,318,919 |
$ 45,617,284 |
$ 32,790,073 |
Over the next four years a total capital spend of $226.6 million is proposed. Council and Staff have proposed an ambitious works program that will see the following projects initiated in 2020/21 for completion over the four year period 2020/2021 to 2023/2024.
FutureCity CBD upscale and renewal - $15M (part of a 2 year $30M project). Council has committed $5M per year to this project |
Orange Regional Conservatorium - $20M over 2 years. Council has committed $5M to this project |
Showground amenities - $750K. Council has committed $250K to this project |
$4.4M in Airport upgrades and improvements |
Playground upgrades at Council child care centres - $200K |
Mount Canobolas Mountain Bike Trails - $500K committed for phase 1 of the project |
Sporting Precinct development - $25M all from NSW Government |
Glenroi Oval master plan implementation - $125K per year for two years |
Renewable projects - $500K per year for 3 years |
Gallery extension – $1M committed by Council out of a total $5M |
Clergate Rd – NDR to Canobolas Wooltop (Stage 2) $2.8M |
Forest Rd – Cadia Rd to Boundary $800K per year for four years |
Lone Pine and Wakeford St road construction - $1.4M |
Ophir Rd widening and barrier installation - $510K |
Phoenix Mine Rd widening - $335K |
Spring Creek Dam to Icely Rd WTP - $4.5M ($5M emergency water project 50% funded by NSW Government) |
Blackman’s Swamp stormwater harvesting Stage 2 - $5M (emergency water project 50% funded by NSW Government) |
Gosling Creek dam upgrade - $900K |
Icely Rd Water Treatment Plant - $1.1M |
Southern Feeder Rd works – An additional $1.5M committed
|
Sewerage Treatment Plant inlet works upgrade - $3M |
Spring Hill Lucknow sewer strategy - $800K |
Conversion of CWD Photos – $25K per annum |
Replacement Depot Building - $800K committed of total $1.4M cost |
All day car park located on Old Williams Shed site - $200K
|
Double Storey Carpark - $4.5M |
Aquatic Centre Expansion - $3M |
Industrial Land Projects – $2.5M |
Lake Canobolas Enhancements - $1M |
Wade Park and Grandstands - $1.2M
|
Orange Civic Theatre - $6M |
Advancing Shiralee Community Infrastructure - $1.5M |
Footpaths – $900K year 1, $750K year 2 and $600K year 3. |
Sir Jack Brabham Park – $250K refurbishment of amenities blocks |
New and refurbished Playgrounds – $900K over 4 years |
|
The delivery of this program is partially reliant on State and Federal government grant funding, so the actual value will depend on the level of support provided by the State and Federal government to the Orange community. Funding for the projects also comes from Council’s own funds and reserves, land/property sales and loans.
The funding sources for the Long Term Financial Plan anticipate additional loan funding required for the following purposes:
· 2020/21 $1M Regional Art Gallery extension
· 2020/21 $1.5M Southern Feeder Road
· 2020/21 $5M Future City project
· 2021/22 $5M Future City project
Funding through Land Sales
Land Sales will form an important component of the underpinning of the Budget. Key sites that will be sold include:
· Various residential sites;
· Old saleyards site;
· Remanent Narrambla blocks;
· Clergate Road Industrial blocks; and
· The remainder of the old hospital site
Contingent Funding Approach and Proposed Loans
While not all projects are assured of other funding, they are included to drive greater value for leverage funding provided by Council. Given the number and spread of projects reliant on co-funding and Council’s contribution to the projects, along with some current exposure to partial grant funding, it is necessary to consider a probability/contingent approach to such projects.
While it would be ideal to procure all co-funded projects, it may not happen, and while seeking such funding, Council revenue is reserved for the projects that may or may not occur.
In this regard, the draft Delivery Plan proposes loans towards a major co-funded project and coverage of some of the exposure to partial funding through loan capacity and or reserves. Additionally, should a project not eventuate which relies upon co-funding then it releases Council’s component of the project.
1 Community Strategic Plan 2018/2028 - 2019/2020 - Adopted 25 June 2019, D19/27651⇩
2 DRAFT - Delivery Operational Plan 2019-2022, D20/21750⇩
Rating Category Map, D20/25947
3 DRAFT - Long Term Financial Plan 2020/2021 to 2029/2030, D20/26094⇩
4 DRAFT - Fees and Charges 2020/2021, D20/25771⇩
5 DRAFT - Workforce Management Plan Strategy 2020/2021 to 2023/2024, D20/1875⇩
6 Strategic Policy - ST007 - Asset Management (Adopted 3 December 2019), D19/68330⇩
7 DRAFT - Asset Management Strategy 2020/21, D20/21248⇩
8 Strategic Policy - ST009 - Revenue and Pricing, D20/21367⇩
Council Meeting 12 May 2020
Attachment 1 Community Strategic Plan 2018/2028 - 2019/2020 - Adopted 25 June 2019
Attachment 5 DRAFT - Workforce Management Plan Strategy 2020/2021 to 2023/2024
CONTENTS
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2 INTEGRATED PLANNING AND REPORTING FRAMEWORK
3 WORKFORCE PLANNING
3.1 Workforce Analysis
3.2 Forecast Future Needs (demand)
3.3 Forecast Future Supply
3.4 Analyse Gaps
3.5 Develop Strategies
3.6 Implement Strategies
3.7 Monitor and Evaluate
4 ENGAGEMENT
4.1 Scope
4.2 Responsibilities
4.3 Approval
5 WORKFORCE ANALYSIS – Our Organisation
5.1 Values
5.2 Structure
5.2.1 Chief Executive Officer
5.2.2 Community, Recreation and Cultural Services
5.2.3 Corporate and Commercial Services. 11
5.2.4 Development Services
5.2.5 Technical Services
6 WORKFORCE ANALYSIS
6.1 Workforce Numbers
6.2 Gender Profile
6.3 Recruitment and Commencement
7 COMPARATIVE DATA
7.1 Age Profile
7.2 Tenure (length of service)
7.3 Separations
7.4 Leave
8 WORKFORCE ANALYSIS
8.1 Coronavirus (COVID-19)
8.2 Local Labour Market
8.3 Skill Shortages
8.4 Future of Work
8.5 Diversity
8.6 Climate Change
9 GAP ANALYSIS
9.1 Capacity Gaps
9.2 Capability Gaps
9.2.1 Culture and Values
9.2.2 Attraction and Retention
9.2.3 Leadership
9.2.4 Development
9.2.5 Health and Well Being
10 STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
11 STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
12 MONITOR, EVALUATE AND REVIEW
13 Appendix: Workforce Management Strategy – Action Plan
13.1 Strategy 1 – Attraction and Retention
13.2 Strategy 2 – Leadership
13.3 Strategy 3 – Development
13.4 Strategy 4 – Recognition
13.5 Strategy 5 – Work Health and Safety - Health and Well Being
13.6 Strategy 6 – Workplace Culture
This Workforce Management Strategy has been developed to build on the strong foundation laid down by our first Workforce Management Plan 2012-2016 and should be read in conjunction with the Resourcing Strategy and Community Strategic Plan.
This document will support long-term workforce strategies for Council’s workforce and human resources needs which will likely remain unchanged over the next four years. However, changes to community priorities and the local government industry require the Workforce Management Strategy to be updated on an annual basis.
The ongoing focus for this document is on ensuring Orange City Council has the right people, with the right skills, doing the right jobs, at the right time. This requires having systems in place to attract, develop and support workers to support Council to succeed. This plan also links with the key initiatives of the NSW Local Government Workforce Strategy.
Key workforce challenges include:
1. meeting increasing community expectations around service-delivery and scope,
2. improving alignment between our culture and strategy,
3. support staff to transition to the future of work and the future workplace,
4. attracting skills and talent in a more competitive labour market by becoming an employer of choice,
5. addressing workforce ageing,
6. addressing skills shortages,
7. and improving productivity and organisational systems to ensure community value for money.
Workforce planning enables Council to respond to these changes in a planned and strategic manner.
A high level review of Council’s workforce needs now and into the future has been completed as part of the development of this document. Council has a workforce of 500 people, and provides a range of traditional and non-traditional local government services. The workforce ranges in age from under 20 to over 70 years.
The components of this strategy set out our ongoing commitment to deliver on:
· Workplace Culture and Staff Satisfaction
· Attraction and Retention of Staff
· Staff Leadership and Internal Communication
· Staff Development and Transition
· Staff Recognition
· Staff Health and Wellness
While many actions arising in this document identify Human Resources as responsible for implementation, all workers have a role to play in ensuring that outcomes are realised.
I encourage all staff to read the Workforce Management Strategy, and participate where possible in its implementation.
David Waddell
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
2 INTEGRATED PLANNING AND REPORTING FRAMEWORK
The NSW Government requires all councils to prepare a suite of documents to satisfy the reporting outcomes within the Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) Framework.
The framework is shown in the diagram below.
The output of Workforce Management Planning is the Workforce Management Strategy. The Workforce Management Strategy makes up part of the Resourcing Strategy which along with the Assets Management Plan and Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) provide the assumptions and background to assist in the completion of Council’s program of works and services.
Workforce planning helps ensure that the community’s strategic goals – as expressed in the Community Strategic Plan – will be met. The development of an effective workforce strategy will enable the council to focus on the medium and long term while providing a framework for dealing with immediate challenges in a consistent way.
The strategy aims to provide council with the people best able to inform its strategic direction, develop innovative approaches and deliver appropriate services effectively and efficiently.
The approach taken to develop the Workforce Management Strategy has been based on the Office of Local Government Steps for Workforce Management Planning[1].
Workforce analysis involves establishing a clear understanding of Council’s direction and the internal and external factors that influence current and future labour demand and supply. Analysis undertaken includes reviewing the external environment, the organisation direction, the current workforce and its trends.
3.2 Forecast Future Needs (demand)
Forecasting future needs involves identifying impacts on the service delivery requirements of Council. This involves estimating the capability and capacity of workforce requirements into the future.
Forecasting the future supply of the workforce involves using the results of workforce analysis and forecasting trends into the future to identify the projected capability and capacity of the workforce in the event that no strategies were implemented.
Analysing gaps involves using the workforce analysis, supply and demand to identify current and future gaps between current and required positions / skills / resources.
Developing strategies involves planning and designing specific programs and projects to address the identified gaps to enable Council to develop and maintain a workforce capable of delivering the Community Strategic Plan Objectives.
Implementing strategies is the execution of the specific programs and projects. The implementation of these strategies is integrated into the broader business planning and operational management activities.
Monitoring and evaluation is conducted to determine the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of the strategies. Monitoring and evaluating is used to identify what works and issues / opportunities to be considered in future Workforce Strategies.
In December 2018 Council conducted an employee survey to continue our ongoing process of engagement with our workforce. 190 employees participated.
The Survey identified a number of areas of strength, and key areas for attention that have been a focus at a leadership level and across the organisation. Key focus areas from the survey results have been included in the action plan (see below)
In late 2019 Managers in consultation with Human Resources updated their workforce planning needs for 2020/21. Directors also contributed to strategies for the workforce planning in early 2020. This included a review of their overall salaries budget, vacant positions, temporary positions, casual employees, proposed new positions, any known employee turnover and any proposed job redesign. This process also provided Managers with tools for making human resource decisions now and into the future.
The Workforce Management Strategy is a four year plan to support medium to long term workforce strategies to align with and support Council’s four year Delivery Operational Plan.
The Human Resources team have overall responsibility for developing and implementing the Workforce Management Strategy. The Strategy is developed based on consultation with workers and management.
The Orange City Council Employee Consultative Committee also has a key role in assisting in the implementation and monitoring progress of the Plan.
All employees can play a part in assisting the implementation of this Plan, and providing feedback to monitor progress.
While the Chief Executive Officer has the delegation to approve the Workforce Management Strategy, Directors are also involved the review.
5 WORKFORCE ANALYSIS – Our Organisation
As a values-based organisation, Council demonstrates its values through workplace behaviours. These behaviours provide a framework for employee to model behaviour across the organisation. Underpinning the behaviours is the Orange City Council Code of Conduct. Council’s corporate values are:
Our values are considered as part of our recruitment processes, and are linked to our Position Descriptions and various organisational policies and procedures.
Council delivers services to the community through four divisions, overseen by the Chief Executive Officer. The activities undertaken by these divisions are guided by the Delivery Operational Plan. An overview of these activities is provided below:
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the organisation and for ensuring the implementation, without undue delay, of decisions of Council. The Chief Executive Officer has the following functions[2]:
a) to conduct the day-to-day management of the council in accordance with the strategic plans, programs, strategies and policies of the council,
b) to implement, without undue delay, lawful decisions of the council,
c) to advise the mayor and the governing body on the development and implementation of the strategic plans, programs, strategies and policies of the council,
d) to advise the mayor and the governing body on the appropriate form of community consultation on the strategic plans, programs, strategies and policies of the council and other matters related to the council,
e) to prepare, in consultation with the mayor and the governing body, the council’s community strategic plan, community engagement strategy, resourcing strategy, delivery program, operational plan and annual report,
f) to ensure that the mayor and other councillors are given timely information and advice and the administrative and professional support necessary to effectively discharge their functions,
g) to exercise any of the functions of the council that are delegated by the council to the Chief Executive Officer,
h) to appoint employee in accordance with the organisation structure determined under this Chapter and the resources approved by the council,
i) to direct and dismiss employee,
j) to implement the council’s workforce management strategy,
k) any other functions that are conferred or imposed on the Chief Executive Officer by or under this or any other Act.
5.2.2 Community, Recreation and Cultural Services
The Community, Recreation and Cultural Services Division includes the functions of Community Services, Central West Libraries, Cultural Services (Art Gallery and Museum), Performing Arts and Venues, Aquatic Centre and City Presentation.
5.2.3 Corporate and Commercial Services
The Corporate and Commercial Services Division includes the functions of Corporate and Community Relations, Corporate Governance, Human Resources, Business Development, Financial Services, Internal Audit and Information Technology.
The Development Services Division includes the functions of Building and Environment, Development and Assessment and Natural Resources.
The Technical Services Division includes the functions of Building Services, Engineering Services, Operations and Major Projects, Depot Airport and Emergency Services, Waste Services and Technical Support, Water and Sewer Strategic, Water Treatment and Works.
The following information is based on the workforce data for the calendar period of 2019 unless stated otherwise.
The organisational structure as at 30 December 2019 comprises 552 employees working with a 443.91 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees across the four divisions. Of which 323 were full-time, 144 were part-time and 85 were casual.
In addition to this Council had 5 apprentices employed through Skillset.
Division |
Full-Time |
Part-Time |
Casuals |
TOTAL |
Development Services |
31 |
4 |
3 |
38 |
Community Recreation and Cultural Services |
96 |
104 |
77 |
277 |
Corporate and Commercial Services |
61 |
30 |
2 |
93 |
Technical Services |
135 |
6 |
3 |
144 |
TOTAL |
323 |
144 |
85 |
552 |
6.2 Gender Profile
Council is committed to diversity in the workplace to reflect the current and changing diversity of our community. Council has work to do to increase female participation in leadership positions, and provide improved pathways for women and other target groups to senior roles, and this is included in the Action Plan.
Trainees - Grade 5 |
Grade 6-12 |
Grade 13-Senior Staff |
||
Development Services |
Female |
52% |
48% |
0% |
Male |
40% |
52% |
8% |
|
Community, Recreation & Cultural Services |
Female |
76% |
23% |
1% |
Male |
83% |
15% |
2% |
|
Corporate & Commercial Services |
Female |
59% |
39% |
2% |
Male |
19% |
50% |
31% |
|
Technical Services |
Female |
27% |
67% |
7% |
Male |
52% |
40% |
9% |
|
TOTAL |
Female |
70% |
28% |
1% |
Male |
62% |
31% |
8% |
Note: Percentage add up to 100% for each Division by adding the numbers across each line.
6.3 Recruitment and Commencement
154 employees commenced in 2019 as follows:
Division |
Permanent |
Temporary |
Casual |
TOTAL |
Development Services |
9 |
6 |
4 |
19 |
Community Recreation and Cultural Services |
35 |
11 |
65 |
111 |
Corporate and Commercial Services |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
Technical Services |
12 |
5 |
3 |
20 |
TOTAL |
57 |
23 |
74 |
154 |
The majority of casual recruitment in 2019 was as a result of the operational or seasonal needs of positions for the Aquatic Centre, Children’s Services, and the Theatre/Hospitality areas. 16 employees that commenced in 2019, also left within the same year which demonstrates the casual/seasonal nature of the work.
There has been limited increase in ongoing roles in Council’s organisation structure as detailed below:
· 2016/17 - increase of 3.9 FTE roles.
· 2017/18 - increase of 9.6 FTE roles.
· 2018/19 - increase of 11.68 FTE roles (with the majority converting temporary or casual hours to ongoing).
· 2019/20 - increase of 12.77 FTE roles with 4 positions as a result of bringing services in house and 3.37 FTE trainee positions.
· 2020/21 – proposed increase of 5 positions (Weeds Trainee, Project and Corporate Information Officer, Community Engagement Officer, Apprentice Mechanic and Town Planner).
All comparative data is based on the financial year 2018/2019 unless stated otherwise.
Orange City Council’s workforce age profile is similar to that of the NSW local government,[3] a feature of which is a low proportion of young employees under the age of 25 compared with the proportion of older workers aged 55 and above.
Age |
Orange City Council |
NSW Local Government |
2018 Orange LGA Population * [4] |
15-25 |
4.91% |
6.21% |
12.4% |
26-35 |
14.23% |
16.68% |
14% |
36-45 |
20.1% |
22.23% |
12.4% |
46-55 |
33.32% |
28.21% |
11.9% |
56-65 |
22.08% |
22.96% |
11% |
Over 65 |
4.43% |
3.73% |
16.4% |
The above table demonstrates a significant retirement risk and lower percentage of young people within the workforce that is not exclusive to Orange City Council.
7.2 Tenure (length of service)
The average length of service of permanent employees in Council is 11.69 years compared to the NSW Local Government average of 10.23 years.
This information suggests that employees are looking for a career with Council. This provides an opportunity for Council to develop a range of tools to assist employee in planning a career, and developing professionally within Council’s framework of training, education and development.
7.3 Separations
In 2018/19, 109 employees (34 full time, 33 part time and 42 casual employees) ceased employment with Council. Of these full and part time employees, 21 were engaged in temporary positions and therefore expected to cease employment with Council.
Council’s permanent separation rate (excluding casual staff) is 10.74 per cent compared to 11.38 per cent in 2018/19, 13.57 per cent in 2017/18 and 12.18 per cent in 2016.
A recent survey conducted by the Local Government NSW provides an average turnover rate for NSW Councils of 14.16 per cent for the 2017/18 financial year.[5]
Council utilises temporary contracts to manage seasonal and project based employment as an efficient employment option to ensure that it is employing and utilising staff in the appropriate way.
7.4 Leave
Council proactively monitors and manages employee leave. This includes providing quarterly leave reports to Managers and Directors. As part of the annual workforce planning cycle discussions are held with Managers regarding excess annual and long service leave balances including the need to implement leave plans where necessary.
In the 2018/19 year 14 employees took parental leave. 11 of these employees were female and 3 male.
The number of sick leave hours taken (per FTE) over the past five years is:
· 2014 / 15 – 63.46 hours
· 2015 / 16 – 57.87 hours
· 2016 / 17 – 61.49 hours
· 2017/18 – 57.01 hours
· 2018/19 - 60.16 hours
By way of comparison, the average NSW Council rate for the 2017/18 financial year (11.35 days per FTE or an estimated 79 hours based on 35 hour week[6]) and the 2018/19 NSW State Government rate is 64.1 hours.[7]
In planning our workforce needs into the future, it is critical to identify and understand factors influencing the external environment, and therefore, impacting on Council’s workforce. Scanning the external environment entails obtaining information on the business environments in which Orange City Council is operating. It is a process of considering what will affect Council’s ability to provide services.
Additional information about Orange’s community profile and lifestyle facts can also be found in Council’s Community Strategic Plan.
A major impact on our workforce and operations is the current coronavirus pandemic. While it is too early to determine its full impact on our workforce the following impacts are already occurring:
· More staff working from home and the need to be more agile
· High level of resources, especially in Management, Information Technology and Human Resources, focused on supporting staff and supervisors on Coronavirus workforce matters to ensure delivery of essential services to the community continue.
· Impact on staff mental health and greater use of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
· Social distancing impacts on changes to work activities
· Technology impacts with more people working remotely
· Increase in use of sick leave and special leave
· Impact on revenue where some workplaces have been required to be closed
Medium term impacts may also include reduced staff turnover and more applications for job vacancies with an expected increase in unemployment.
The City of Orange has a broad economic base, comprising manufacturing, mining, health and education, service industries, finance and agriculture industries, and additionally provides services at the Federal, State and Local Government levels.
In the 1966 Census, agriculture was one of the largest employing sector in Orange. 50 years later, it is the smallest employing industry and health, education and government services are now Orange’s largest and fastest growing sectors. Labourers and tradespersons were our largest occupation group in 1966, but now it is knowledge and service workers.
As at 2016 Orange had a total population of 41,384, with 62.3 per cent of this population of working age (25,783 people).[8] Of these people 17,805 reported that they are employed and 1,204 are unemployed and looking for work. In supporting this Census data, as at June 2019 the unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent per cent[9].
A key challenges for Orange City Council moving forward is managing its rapid growth as a City. An increase in employment in public administration roles in government, health and education services has increased competition for skilled staff. Looking forward, the Department of Jobs and Small Business regional employment projections estimates that employment in government, education, health, administration and professional and scientific roles will increase by 6,400 jobs by 2023 across Central NSW. Coupled with increasing retirements due to ageing, the Council will need to be able to compete with other agencies to attract and retain talent.
8.3 Skill Shortages
Orange City Council’s recruitment experience has identified minimal challenges attracting suitably qualified applicants especially in professional roles to date. The roles that required re-advertising in the 2019 year were:
· Horticulture Team Leader,
· Community Development Officer
· OSHC Educator
· Aboriginal Support Programs Worker
· Mechanic
· Project Engineer
As noted above, competition for skilled staff is expected to increase as Orange grows requiring a stronger focus on attraction and retention. There is therefore a need to review the salary structure for some positions in order to be competitive with the open market.
In addition, according to the Local Government Workforce and Future Skills Report New South Wales – September 2018 the top 5 areas of skill shortages are Engineers, Urban and Town Planners, Building Surveyors, Project Managers and Environmental Health Officers.
8.4 Future of Work
Traditional models of business will continue to be disrupted. The speed at which our residents will consume new technology, and their expectations about the way we provide services, will continue to grow.
The OECD estimates that as a result of technological change 13 percent of existing jobs will not exist in 15-20 years, and 32 percent will be significantly changed.
Local Government NSW reports that 40.9 percent of NSW jobs are in the highest risk category for being computerised within 10-15 years (in Council that equates to 176 positions). The largest impacts will be felt by labourers, machine operators, technical and trade workers and administrative officers.
The types of technologies being rolled-out across government, or in the pipeline, include:
· Virtual assistants that can answer most basic inquiries,
· Smart water meters and lighting,
· Autonomous equipment such as lawn mowers
· Cloud computing,
· Virtual libraries,
· GPS tracking of animals.
Council needs to continue to review and implement new forms of technology to improve service delivery and efficiency in response to community expectation.
However, the Council has an obligation to its staff to support them grow their skills for the future as the nature of their work changes. In the context of increased competition for skilled labour Council must ensure that we identify those roles that are likely to be impacted, identify the new capabilities staff will need and develop training and development programs to ensure staff are equipped to thrive in a changing workplace. This includes evaluating new organisational models and team based approaches that allow staff to build experience and knowledge outside their traditional areas of expertise.
8.5 Diversity
The proportion of Indigenous people, people with disabilities, people from non-English speaking, migrant and LGBTQI residents is expected to grow reflecting the changing face of industry and workforce composition.
A high proportion of the City’s population (83.5 per cent) is Australian born; this is higher than the NSW and Australia proportions (65.5 and 66.7 per cent respectively).
The majority of overseas born persons are from England, India, New Zealand, Philippines and South Africa (in order). Approximately 7.4 per cent of the population speak languages other than English at home; this is significantly lower than the NSW and Australia proportions (26.5 and 22.2 per cent respectively).
The Aboriginal community is also represented in the local government area, comprising 6.3 per cent of the population; this is significantly higher than the NSW and Australia rates (2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively).
However, school participation, completions and employment in the Indigenous community all remain significantly below the rate for non-Indigenous people. There is a risk that Orange is not realising the benefits of full economic participation of all its residents.
New policies to encourage population distribution to regions, increase overseas student numbers and decentralisation of services will all drive increasing diversity. This will require Council to develop inclusion strategies to support a more diverse workforce and community.
Climate change will have a significant impact on the region and will increase costs for maintenance of infrastructure, and the development of new infrastructure, to ensure liveability and productivity. New emission reduction targets will be introduced, and price increases for energy will have a significant impact on the Council’s budgetary capacity.
The Council will need to be proactive in identifying new skills, technologies and innovations that will help the Council to improve the way we manage our energy, finances and responsibilities.
9.1 Capacity Gaps
Over the life of this Plan, required employee levels are anticipated to stay relatively stable although as outlined earlier in the report the skills required will change.
9.2 Capability Gaps
In addition to the capacity gaps, a number of capability gaps have been identified including:
9.2.1 Culture and Values
The last Staff Survey found that staff had a strong awareness of the existing corporate values. However, it also identified behaviours such as perceived bullying, focus on improvement and an ‘us and them’ mentality that is inconsistent with those values.
To ensure that Council nurtures and promotes an organisational culture that aligns with Council’s strategy, and reflects best practice in contemporary leadership and management, a number of activities are being implemented including:
· Collaborative review and update of Corporate Values and alignment with the Strategy
· The alignment of Human Resource activities, documents and decision-making processes to the Values.
· Development of an Inclusion Commitment that defines the principles for our approach to staff diversity.
· Reinforce the Council zero tolerance of bullying and harassment.
· Education and reinforcement of the Code of Conduct and Values including using scenario based examples and behavioural examples to clarify the intent.
9.2.2 Attraction and Retention
The attraction and retention of Council’s workforce is vital to the success of the organisation. Without employees, particularly the right employees, Council would not be able to meet its business expectations. It is important to hire suitable employees and retain high performing employees. The cost of separation of employees, particularly employees with short lengths of service comes at a significant cost to Council, particularly considering recruitment, advertisement, on-boarding, induction and training costs (including the investment of employee hours to coordinate these activities). When employees with considerable tenure leave the organisation there is additional risk surrounding the loss of corporate knowledge, the gap left behind and potential expectations on replacement staff. All of this needs to be managed appropriately by the business with the support of Human Resources.
9.2.3 Leadership
Over the last decades, Orange has evolved into a major centre of commerce and services across the region. The management and leadership approaches that worked in a smaller Council organisation are no longer appropriate for a larger, more complex and sophisticated Council. Staff expect to be engaged, they want better communication to understand the big picture, work across multiple fields and have opportunities for structured career advancement. To ensure that Council leaders of the future have the skills required for these responsibilities, Council needs to ensure that the leaders are supported to develop the capabilities and knowledge required for managing a modern workforce and organisation.
Development refers to a number of elements including the development of current staff in current roles, the development of the future required workforce and the development of tools to support the workforce to effectively complete their position requirements. Employee development includes:
· Compliance training
· Corporate Training
· Conferences/Seminars/Workshops/Short Courses
· Qualifications
· On the job development.
· External courses (personal development).
The creation of a learning and development plan each year assists in budgeting, career planning and succession planning. This is undertaken through the annual performance management review process and detailed training needs analysis with Managers.
In 2018/19 Council spent an average $1159 per full time equivalent employee which is comparable to the NSW Council average of $1084.
The Council will also need to develop mentoring programs, particularly for women, Indigenous people and others, to support future leaders to acquire the exposure, knowledge and skills to advance their careers within the Council and better define career paths by introducing intermediate roles that bridge the gaps between management and leadership.
5.2.1 Recognition
Recognition is an important element of successful work practices and places a strong impact on the engagement and satisfaction level of employees. Council is committed to employee recognition. Employees respond positively to appreciation and recognition of not only their good work but the recognition of others good work. It reinforces that good work is valued, not only by immediate management but also publicly. When employees and their work are valued, satisfaction and productivity rise, and all employees are motivated to maintain or improve their good work.
9.2.5 Health and Well Being
Council’s focus over the period of this plan is to review and transition from AS / NZS 4801:2001 to ISO45001 and continue to improve systems and work practices to ensure the safety and wellbeing of workers and visitors.
In the staff survey undertaken in 2018 staff rated the safety questions an average positive response of 82%. A positive score of 93% was recorded for providing effective wellness programs, 83% believe they would be supported if they raised a concern about health and safety and 79% agree that Council has a strong safety culture.
Key WHS initiatives during the life of this strategy include:
· Create a positive culture for incident and near miss reporting.
· Create an action plan for the transition from AS / NZS4801 to ISO45001.
· Reduce illness and prevent disease and injury through health and wellbeing initiatives.
· Implement online WHS processes to improve reporting timeframes, consultation process and ease of access of WHS information.
The process of developing strategies and actions is as a result of the identification of issues, risks and gaps throughout the analysis stage. All of these considerations inform our approach to workforce management and in particular ensuring we have the right number of people with the right capabilities to deliver effective operations and services to our community. In addition to this a review of the actions of the previous strategy are considered if they are required to continue to be included.
In addition to the strategies recommended to address the identified gaps and risks Council have considered the issues recommended by the Office of Local Government[10];
· An ageing workforce.
· Succession planning.
· How to provide opportunities to create and retain positions for local young people.
· Incentives and other programs that will support the council to be an employer of choice.
· Learning and development.
· Performance management.
· Recruitment strategies to fill skills gaps.
· Workforce diversity.
· Future of Work.
While many actions identify the Human Resources team as responsible for implementation, all staff have a role to play in ensuring that outcomes are realised.
12 MONITOR, EVALUATE AND REVIEW
The monitoring, evaluation and review process is embedded into the annual workforce planning cycle. In the development of new actions the actions from the previous year are reviewed and re included if relevant. This stage also includes measuring effectiveness, determining success and reporting on key performance indicators.
Workforce Management Strategies are reviewed by the Human Resources Team during the annual budget preparation, and amended to recognise any change in organisational needs and / or resources available to implement the annual actions. The Workforce Management Strategy – Action Plan is reviewed by the Staff Consultative Committee on an annual basis to validate ongoing relevance and progress towards objectives and timeframes.
13 Appendix: Workforce Management Strategy – Action Plan
The below four year implementation plan (linked to the Delivery Operational Plan) supports the ongoing implementation of both new and continuing workforce strategies identified in the Workforce Management Strategy.
13.1 Strategy 1 – Attraction and Retention
Ref |
Gap / Risk |
Action |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Responsibility |
Employee involvement |
Measures |
1.1 |
Lack of trend data on employee satisfaction |
Undertake employee satisfaction survey and embed into planning cycle, linking results into the review of the Workforce Management Strategy. |
|
ü |
|
|
Director Corporate and Commercial Services |
Manager Human Resources |
Improved data collection and participation |
1.2 |
Negative perception or lack of awareness by staff and supervisors on flexible working arrangements |
Promote the use of flexible working arrangements including the use of case studies and staff profiles to increase the understanding of the benefits of workforce flexibility and the options available under the Award and Council Policy. |
|
ü |
|
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Perception and use of flexible working arrangements |
1.3 |
Council is not seen as an employer of choice |
Review and promote employee conditions and benefits of Council as an attractive career option. |
ü |
|
|
|
Senior Human Resources Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Benefits of working at Council developed and visibility of advertised jobs electronically |
1.4 |
Develop and implement strategies and programs to support Council to be an employer of choice and improve the employee value proposition. |
ü |
|
|
|
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Staff Engagement/Positive Satisfaction ->80% and number of job applications received per position |
|
1.5 |
Support work experience and community and school careers events. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Number of work experience placements and attendance at school and community career events. |
|
1.6 |
Council is not aware of how it compares to other Councils and organisations in terms of remuneration and turnover |
Benchmark Council’s Salary System against like councils/industry to measure ongoing competitiveness by participating in the Local Government NSW Remuneration survey.
Benchmark retention and employee separation rates by participating in the Local Government NSW HR Metrics Benchmarking. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Benchmarking is completed and reported on |
1.7 |
High retirement risk and high employee separation rates |
Ensure succession plans are in place for key roles to transfer corporate knowledge and upskill employees to address the retirement and separation risk. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Succession plans are developed and implemented |
1.8 |
Review Employee Exit Interview process |
ü |
|
|
|
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
|
|
1.9 |
Workforce not reflective of the local community |
Implement recruitment strategies to attract and retain local young people as well as EEO target groups identified in the EEO Management Plan. |
ü |
|
|
|
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Application and retention of local young people and EEO target groups. |
1.10 |
Skills gaps |
Undertake a skills gap analysis to identify the skills needed for the future and implement relevant learning and development programs. |
|
ü |
|
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer |
Reduction in skills gaps |
13.2 Strategy 2 – Leadership
Ref |
Gap / Risk |
Action |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Responsibility |
Employee involvement |
Measures |
2.1 |
Managers may not have all the essential skills to manage their team. |
Development and implementation of corporate management training. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer WHS Coordinator |
Implementation, attendance and participation |
2.2 |
Promote the use of the Managers Helpline as part of the Employee Assistance Program for supporting Supervisors with people challenges including workplace conflict, change management and performance management. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
WHS Coordinator |
Number of calls to the managers helpline |
|
2.3 |
Develop Change Management Guideline |
ü |
|
|
|
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Guideline developed |
|
2.4 |
Staff do not fully understand and/or participate in the performance management cycle. |
Improve understanding of performance management and the ease of use of the system.
Provide more opportunities for staff to have discussions relating to transition to retirement and process to capture corporate knowledge. |
|
ü |
|
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer Human Resource Business Partners |
Completion rates of performance reviews and reduced Human Resources intervention with performance management. |
2.5 |
Separation and retirement risk of current leaders leaving a leadership gap |
Continue to develop high potential “future leaders” via development programs such as mentoring, Emerging Leaders or similar Programs and soft skill training. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer |
Participation and interest in program |
2.6 |
Managers do not have a broad understanding of Council’s operations or initiatives |
Maintain “Managers Forum” quarterly meetings to discuss current issues and initiatives with Managers. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources
Senior HR Business Partner |
Managers |
Attendance and participation at forums |
Implement Supervisors Forum |
|||||||||
2.7 |
Employees don’t have an opportunity to engage or provide feedback on matters that affect them |
Continually improve the Staff Consultative Committee and Health and Safety Committee to ensure active members, staff engagement and policy consultation. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Consultative Committees Health and Safety Committee |
Consultative Committees Health and Safety Committee |
Awareness of committees and active involvement |
2.8 |
Deliver actions from the Internal Communications Working Party |
ü |
|
|
|
Manager Human Resources |
Working Party |
Plan implemented |
|
|
|
Ensure visibility and accessibility to the Human Resources team so support can be readily accessed by supervisors and employees |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Human Resources Team |
Employees ability to access the Human Resource services they require |
2.9 |
Ensure meet Council reporting requirements |
Report senior staff contractual conditions to Council annually. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Chief Executive Officer |
Manager Human Resources |
Reports provided on time |
13.3 Strategy 3 – Development
Ref |
Gap / Risk |
Action |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Responsibility |
Employee involvement |
Measures |
3.1 |
Employees are not provided with all relevant Council information/processes on commencement |
Review and update the corporate induction and on-boarding program for all new employees including core corporate and compliance training to ensure relevance. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer |
All new employees complete required training within 3 months of commencing employment |
3.2 |
Ability to identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that employees need to do their job well |
Review the Local Government capability framework, its potential to be utilised at Orange City Council and implement as appropriate. |
ü |
|
|
|
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Senior Human Resource Officer |
Understanding and utilisation of the frameworks |
3.3 |
Lack of easy to access people data and learning system and solutions |
Implementation and development of an integrated Human Resource System including on-boarding and performance reviews. |
ü |
|
|
|
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner /Learning and Development Officer |
Access to and use of ELMO for learning, recruitment, performance management and on boarding |
3.4 |
Development and implementation of eLearning solutions to assist with educating staff, including governance related issues. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer |
Number of modules developed and use of eLearning modules by staff |
|
3.5 |
Apprentices / trainees and their Supervisors are consistently supported |
Human Resources and Group Training provider to provide ongoing support to apprentices / trainees and their Supervisors across Council. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer |
Satisfaction level of apprentices / trainees and their Supervisors and completion rates
|
3.6 |
Learning and development activities are not planned for |
Develop the annual learning and development plan. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Learning and Development Officer |
Completion of nominated courses within the Plan |
3.7 |
Time spent on administrative tasks that could be reduced with modernisation and automation of Human Resource processes |
Improve functionality of Human Resources Information System including in the areas of online time sheets and leave. Review of staffing costing allocation process |
ü
ü |
ü |
|
|
Senior Payroll Officer
Manager Financial Services Manager Human Resources |
Payroll Officer |
Number of staff transferred to online processes. Completion of review of process. |
Ref |
Gap / Risk |
Action |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Responsibility |
Employee involvement |
Measures |
4.1 |
Lack of immediate recognition impacts on satisfaction and productivity |
Promote the Employee Recognition Policy with a focus on immediate recognition. |
|
ü |
|
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Regular informal immediate recognition of staff |
4.2 |
Recognition and celebration of staff achievements |
Conduct annual staff excellence awards and service recognition. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Directors |
Number of nominations for excellence awards |
4.3 |
Provide oversight on Council wide employee events including Picnic Day and Christmas event. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Human Resources Team |
Relevant Committees |
Participation in cross Council celebrations |
13.5 Strategy 5 – Work Health and Safety - Health and Well Being
Ref |
Gap / Risk |
Action |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Responsibility |
Employee involvement |
Measures |
5.1 |
Non-compliance with WHS legislation and WHS Standard |
Ensure a safe workplace through the implementation of the Work Health and Safety Management System. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
WHS Team members |
Satisfactory AS4801 accreditation Number of safe work improvement notices Number of WHS audits and inspections Percentage of staff accessing employee assistance program Number of well-being programs conducted Percentage of staff accessing well-being programs Number of staff trained in WHS courses Workers Compensation Claims Frequency Rate |
5.2 |
Develop and implement updated Safety Policies and Procedures |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
WHS Coordinator |
Implemented |
|
5.3 |
Compliance with change of standard from AS / NZ4801 to ISO45001 |
Develop action plan for transition. Undertake ISO45001 audit gap analysis. Maintain accreditation to new standard. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
WHS Team Supervisors |
Satisfactorily complete audit |
5.4 |
Compliance with legislative health surveillance requirements |
Deliver health surveillance to workers and contractors as per legislative schedule. Maintain health records of workers and contractors as required under regulations. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
Safety Education and Liaison Officer |
All staff have undertaken required health surveillance programs |
Develop and deliver annual wellbeing program |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
Safety Education and Liaison Officer |
Program developed following staff consultation |
||
5.5 |
Compliance with workers compensation legislation |
Ensure offers of suitable duties for workers commencing recover at work programs are based on workers skills, experience and operational need. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
Safety Education and Liaison Officer WHS Team Supervisors / Managers |
Programs meet skills, experience and operational needs |
Continue with regular medical and claims reviews |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
Safety Education and Liaison Officer
|
Quarterly reviews conducted |
||
5.6 |
Compliance with WHS legislation Compliance with WHS legislation |
Ensure health and safety committee inspections and outstanding actions are completed and implemented. If any actions remain unclosed ensure that actions are progressed to executive management level. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
WHS Coordinator |
WHS Team Health and safety committee members Managers and supervisors |
Reduction in number of days actions are overdue |
5.7 |
Implement action plan to deliver electronic Work Health and Safety Management System including training, monitoring and review. |
ü |
|
|
|
WHS Coordinator |
WHS Coordinator and team |
Electronic system in place and being used |
13.6 Strategy 6 – Workplace Culture
Ref |
Gap / Risk |
Action |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Responsibility |
Employee involvement |
Measures |
6.1 |
Corporate Values to be meaningful and relate to how we act towards each other and the public and achievement of Strategy |
Review and update corporate values.
|
ü |
|
|
|
Manager Human Resources |
Human Resources Team, Directors and Managers |
Corporate Values updated and implemented |
6.2 |
Employees unknowingly breaching or not adhering to Values and Code of Conduct |
Educate and reinforce Council’s Corporate Values and Code of Conduct. |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Manager Human Resources |
Directors, Managers, Supervisors |
Increased understanding of Values and Code of Conduct |
6.3 |
Align Human Resources Policies and Procedures, training activities, performance management and promotions to Council’s Corporate Values. |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Increased understanding of Values and Code of Conduct |
|
6.4 |
Promote process for the early resolution of complaints or concerns in the workplace including Grievance Policy |
|
ü |
|
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Staff Engagement/Positive Satisfaction ->80% |
|
6.5 |
The workforce is not reflective of the local community’s diversity. |
Develop an Inclusion Commitment and complete the action plan outlined in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Management Plan including increasing community awareness of the diversity of jobs within Council and promoting the benefits of a diverse workforce. |
ü |
|
|
ü |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Human Resource Business Partners |
Action plan completed
|
6.6 |
Develop and implement programs to improve gender equality with a focus on increasing women in senior leadership roles. |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Manager Human Resources |
Senior Human Resource Business Partner |
Increase in women in senior leadership roles. |
|
6.7 |
Employees feeling that they are being bullied / harassed |
Develop programs and initiatives with a focus on zero tolerance to bullying and harassment and equal treatment of employees including face to face, eLearning sessions and implementation of contact officers. |
|
ü |
|
ü |
Manager Human Resources |
Learning and Development Officer, Managers Forum |
Reduction in bullying / harassment |
Attachment 6 Strategic Policy - ST007 - Asset Management (Adopted 3 December 2019)
6 Closed Meeting - See Closed Agenda
The Chief Executive Officer will advise the Council if any written submissions have been received relating to any item advertised for consideration by a closed meeting of Orange City Council.
The Mayor will extend an invitation to any member of the public present at the meeting to make a representation to Council as to whether the meeting should be closed for a particular item. In accordance with the Local Government Act 1993, and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005, in the opinion of the General Manager, the following business is of a kind as referred to in Section 10A(2) of the Act, and should be dealt with in a Confidential Session of the Council meeting closed to the press and public.
Recommendation That Council adjourn into a Closed Meeting and members of the press and public be excluded from the Closed Meeting, and access to the correspondence and reports relating to the items considered during the course of the Closed Meeting be withheld unless declassified by separate resolution. This action is taken in accordance with Section 10A(2) of the Local Government Act, 1993 as the items listed come within the following provisions: 6.1 Request for Financial Assistance - Orange Uniting Church This item is classified CONFIDENTIAL under the provisions of Section 10A(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, which permits the meeting to be closed to the public for business relating to (d)i commercial information of a confidential nature that would, if disclosed prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it. 6.2 Land Acquisition - Demolition This item is classified CONFIDENTIAL under the provisions of Section 10A(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, which permits the meeting to be closed to the public for business relating to (a) personnel matters concerning particular individuals (other than councillors). |
6.1 Request for Financial Assistance - Orange Uniting Church
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/695
AUTHOR: Samantha Freeman, Acting Director Corporate and Commercial Services
Reason for Confidentiality
This item is classified CONFIDENTIAL under the provisions of Section 10A(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, which permits the meeting to be closed to the public for business relating to (d)i commercial information of a confidential nature that would, if disclosed prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it.
6.2 Land Acquisition - Demolition
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/723
AUTHOR: Mark Hodges, Director Development Services
Reason for Confidentiality
This item is classified CONFIDENTIAL under the provisions of Section 10A(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, which permits the meeting to be closed to the public for business relating to (a) personnel matters concerning particular individuals (other than councillors).
[1] https: / / www.olg.nsw.gov.au / councils / integrated-planning-and-reporting / workforce-planning / workforce-planning-developing-workforce-strategy-steps-take
[2] LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1993 – SECTION 335 Functions of a General Manager
[3] 2019 NSW Local Government HR Metris Benchmarking Generic Summary Report which has been prepared by Local Government Management Solutions (LGMS) and based on information received from councils that contributed to the LGNSW HR Metrics 2018-2019 Benchmarking Survey.
[4] This is based on the population % for the Orange LGA for 2018 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics “Orange ( C)(LGA)(16150)”, https://itt.abs.gov.au/itt/r.jsp?RegionSummary®ion=16150&dataset=ABS_REGIONAL_LGA2018&geoconcept=LGA_2018&maplayerid=LGA2018&measure=MEASURE&datasetASGS=ABS_REGIONAL_ASGS2016&datasetLGA=ABS_REGIONAL_LGA2018®ionLGA=LGA_2018®ionASGS=ASGS_2016
[5] 2018 NSW Local Government HR Metris Benchmarking Generic Summary Report January 2019
[6] 2018 NSW Local Government HR Metris Benchmarking Generic Summary Report January 2019
[7] NSW Government Workforce Profile Report 2019
[8] http: / / www.abs.gov.au 2024.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Australia Revealed
[9] https: / / docs.employment.gov.au / documents / lga-data-tables-small-area-labour-markets-june-quarter-2019