Agenda of Council Meeting

ORANGE CITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE

Ordinary Council Meeting

HELD IN Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange

ON 16 June 2015

COMMENCING AT 7.00pm

1 Introduction

Attendance

Cr J Davis OAM (Mayor), Cr C Gryllis (Deputy Mayor), Cr A Brown, Cr R Gander, Cr J Hamling, Cr R Kidd, Cr S Munro, Cr G Taylor (7.05pm), Cr R Turner

General Manager, Director Development Services, Director Community, Recreation and Cultural Services, Director Technical Services, Manager Administration and Governance, Manager Corporate and Community Relations, Works Manager, Assistant Works Manager

2.1 APOLOGIES

RESOLVED - 15/238 Cr C Gryllis/Cr R Gander

That the apologies be accepted from Cr K Duffy (representing Council at the National General Assembly), Cr N Jones and Cr J Whitton for the Council Meeting of Orange City Council on 16 June 2015.

2.2 OPENING PRAYER

Geoff Langdon of the West Orange Baptist Church led the Council in prayer.

2.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

2.4 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests

Nil

2 Mayoral Minutes

2.1 Electrolux Commemorative Book

TRIM Reference: 2015/1446

RESOLVED - 15/239 Cr S Munro/Cr C Gryllis

That Council place on exhibition a donation of $10,000 towards the publishing of a book commemorating the Electrolux Plant and its staff with the allocation to be from the remaining unspent donations and city promotions budgets.

QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE

Cr Hamling requested consideration be given to establishing a Facebook page for former Electrolux workers or an Electrolux Apprenticeship.

3 Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED - 15/240 Cr R Gander/Cr S Munro

That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 2 June 2015 (copies of which were circulated to all members) be and are hereby confirmed as a true and accurate record of the proceedings of the Council meeting held on 2 June 2015.

4 Notices of Motion/Notices of Rescission

Nil

5 General Reports

5.1 Memorandum of Understanding NSW Inland Forum and Evocities

TRIM Reference: 2015/1432

motion Cr C Gryllis/Cr A Brown

That Council enter into the Memorandum of Understanding with the other Evocities and grant authority to affix the Council Seal on any documents as required.

AMENDMENT Cr R Turner/Cr S Munro

1 That Council enter into the Memorandum of Understanding with the other Evocities and grant authority to affix the Council Seal on any documents as required.

2 That the Memorandum of Understanding be for a 12 month period followed by further assessment after that year.

THE AMENDMENT ON BEING PUT TO THE MEETING WAS CARRIED AND BECAME THE MOTION

THE MOTION ON BEING PUT TO THE MEETING WAS CARRIED

RESOLVED - 15/241 Cr R Turner/Cr S Munro

1 That Council enter into the Memorandum of Understanding with the other Evocities and grant authority to affix the Council Seal on any documents as required.

2 That the Memorandum of Understanding be for a 12 month period followed by further assessment after that year.

QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE

Cr Hamling requested the number of people that have relocated to Orange through the Evocities campaign.

MATTER ARISING

RESOLVED - 15/242 Cr C Gryllis/Cr R Turner

That a delegation from Orange City Council make representations to the Premier and Deputy Premier in order to seek State Government Funding for the campaign.

5.2 Statement of Investments - May 2015

TRIM Reference: 2015/1440

RESOLVED - 15/243 Cr R Gander/Cr S Munro

1 That Council receives the Statement of Investments as at 31 May 2015.

2 That Council receives and adopts the certification of the Responsible Accounting Officer.

5.3 Recommendations and Resolutions from Policy Committees

TRIM Reference: 2015/1438

RESOLVED - 15/244 Cr R Gander/Cr R Turner

1 That the resolutions made by the Sustainable Development Committee at its meeting held on 2 June 2015 be noted.

2 That the resolutions made by the Infrastructure Policy Committee at its meeting held on 2 June 2015 be noted.

3 That the resolutions made by the Services Policy Committee at its meeting held on 2 June 2015 be noted.

4 That the resolutions made by the Environment and Economic Development Committee at its meeting held on 2 June 2015 be noted.

5 That the resolutions made by the Finance Policy Committee at its meeting held on 2 June 2015 be noted.

5.4 Outstanding Questions Taken on Notice

TRIM Reference: 2015/1439

RESOLVED - 15/245 Cr C Gryllis/Cr S Munro

That the information provided in the report by the Manager Administration and Governance on Questions Taken on Notice be acknowledged.

QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE

Cr Kidd requested an update on plans for landscaping the triangle section of land between the Northern Distributor Road and the Mitchell Highway.

5.5 Jobs Creation Strategy Update

TRIM Reference: 2015/1448

RESOLVED - 15/246 Cr J Hamling/Cr S Munro

The update report on the Jobs Creation Strategy be noted.

6 Closed Meeting

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 General Manager advised that no written submissions had been received relating to any item listed for consideration by the Closed Meeting of Council.

The Mayor extended an invitation to any member of the public present at the meeting to make a presentation to the Council as to whether the meeting should be closed for a particular item.

RESOLVED - 15/247 Cr C Gryllis/Cr R Turner

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 Tender for Sprayed Bituminous Surfacing

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 (c) information that would, if disclosed, confer a commercial advantage on a person with whom the Council is conducting (or proposes to conduct) business.

6.2 Tender for Provision of Traffic Control Services

6.3 Construction of New Helicopter Hangar - Expression of Interest

6.4 Acquisition of Open Space - Golden Downs Estate, Dean Drive/Silverdown Way, Orange

6.5 Senior Staff Annual Report

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).

THE MAYOR DECLARED THE ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL ADJOURNED FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE CLOSED MEETING AT 7.52PM

THE MAYOR DECLARED THE ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL RESUMED AT 8.25PM

7 Resolutions from Closed Meeting

The General Manager read out the following resolutions made in the Closed Meeting of Council.

6.1 Tender for Sprayed Bituminous Surfacing

TRIM Reference: 2015/1370

RESOLVED - 15/248 Cr R Kidd/Cr R Turner

1 That the contract for the provision of sprayed bituminous surfacing be awarded to Fulton Hogan Pty Ltd for a period of two years commencing 1 July 2015 with provision of a one year extension option.

2 That permission be granted to use the Council Seal on all relevant documents.

Division of Voting
Voted For	Cr J Davis (Mayor), Cr R Gander, Cr C Gryllis, Cr J Hamling, Cr R Kidd, Cr S Munro, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner, Cr A Brown
Voted Against	Nil
Absent	Cr K Duffy, Cr N Jones, Cr J Whitton

6.2 Tender for Provision of Traffic Control Services

TRIM Reference: 2015/1339

RESOLVED - 15/249 Cr J Davis/Cr R Gander

1 That Council award the contract for the provision of traffic control services to Midwest Traffic Management for a period of one year with two one year options commencing 1 July 2015.

2 That permission be granted to affix the Council Seal to any relevant document.

Division of Voting
Voted For	Cr J Davis (Mayor), Cr R Gander, Cr C Gryllis, Cr J Hamling, Cr R Kidd, Cr S Munro, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner, Cr A Brown
Voted Against	Nil
Absent	Cr K Duffy, Cr N Jones, Cr J Whitton

6.3 Construction of New Helicopter Hangar - Expression of Interest

TRIM Reference: 2015/1443

RESOLVED - 15/250 Cr C Gryllis/Cr S Munro

That Council invite Tenders for “Construction of the Emergency Helicopter Hangar at the Orange Airport” from;

· F K Gardener & Sons

· Zauner Constructions

· Bermagui Constructions

· Hines Constructions

· Paterson Building Group

· David Payne Constructions

6.4 Acquisition of Open Space - Golden Downs Estate, Dean Drive/Silverdown Way, Orange

TRIM Reference: 2015/1485

RESOLVED - 15/251 Cr R Turner/Cr J Hamling

1 That Council authorise the acquisition of the open space as shown on the approved subdivision plan for DA 249/2012(1) at the price of $271,300.

2 That the acquisition be funded from Development Contribution Funds/Plan.

3 That the General Manager be authorised to finalise the acquisition of the property.

4 That upon acquisition, the land identified above, be classified as operational.

6.5 Senior Staff Annual Report

TRIM Reference: 2015/1444

RESOLVED - 15/252 Cr C Gryllis/Cr R Turner

That the information provided to Council under Section 339 of the Local Government Act 1993 with respect to the contractual arrangements of Senior Staff be received and noted.

The Meeting Closed at 8.30pm

This is Page Number 8 and the Final Page of the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 16 June 2015.

ORANGE CITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE

Extraordinary Council Meeting

HELD IN Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange

ON 23 June 2015

COMMENCING AT 7.00am

1 Introduction

Attendance

Cr J Davis OAM (Mayor), Cr C Gryllis (Deputy Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr J Hamling, Cr R Kidd, Cr S Munro, Cr G Taylor, Cr R Turner

General Manager, Director Corporate and Commercial Services, Director Development Services, Director Community, Recreation and Cultural Services, Director Technical Services, Manager Administration and Governance, Manager Corporate and Community Relations, Manager Financial Services

2.1 APOLOGIES

RESOLVED - 15/253 Cr J Hamling/Cr C Gryllis

That the apologies be accepted from Cr R Gander, Cr N Jones and Cr J Whitton for the Council Meeting of Orange City Council on 23 June 2015.

2.2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

2.3 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests

Nil

2 General Reports

2.1 Fit for Future Submission

TRIM Reference: 2015/1552

RESOLVED - 15/254 Cr S Munro/Cr K Duffy

That Council endorse the Fit for Future submission outlining:

1 A standalone proposal showing that Council satisfies the criteria noting that both Blayney and Cabonne declined to proceed with a merger option as recommended by the Independent Local Government Review Panel; and that should a merger not occur, Council identify to the NSW Government a desire to see full consideration of appropriate boundary changes.

2 That should the NSW Government determine a merger is required for Orange City Council, the Council is willing to work with all parties to complete a thorough due diligence assessment which fully assesses levels of service, risks, costs and long term financial sustainability issues, and that Council suggest to the NSW Government that the due diligence be established as a next step in any merger process along with provision of appropriate funding.

3 That Council request of the NSW Government that in the event the NSW Government determines that a merger proceed that incentive funding remain on offer given Orange City Council’s willingness to consider a merger.

4 That should a merger be determined by the NSW Government, and pending appropriate due diligence assessment, that Council would seek consideration of logical boundary adjustments in consultation with neighbours.

MATTER ARISING

RESOLVED - 15/255 Cr C Gryllis/Cr S Munro

That the role of Councillors, as set out in the Local Government Act 1993, be displayed in the Civic Centre.

3 Closed Meeting

Nil

The Meeting Closed at 7.23pm

This is Page Number 2 and the Final Page of the Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of Orange City Council held on 23 June 2015.

Council Meeting 7 July 2015

5 General Reports

5.1 Freeze on Financial Assistance Grants

TRIM REFERENCE: 2015/1652

AUTHOR: Nick Redmond, Manager Corporate and Community Relations

EXECUTIVE Summary

At the last Federal budget the Australian Government froze the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants until 2017/18. The cost of this freeze to Orange City Council across this period will be in the order of $1.2 million.

This report seeks a Council resolution to acknowledge the importance of this grant source and to make representations to the Australian Government through the Member for Calare The Hon. John Cobb to revisit this matter.

Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan

The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “14.1 Our Environment – Design and construct new infrastructure assets as specified with the Asset Management Plan to agreed levels of service”.

Financial Implications

The freeze on indexation has been included in future budgets.

Policy and Governance Implications

Nil

Recommendation

That Council make a submission to the Australian Government through Member for Calare The Hon John Cobb seeking a reinstatement of indexation for Financial Assistance Grants.

further considerations

The recommendation of this report has been assessed against Council’s other key risk categories and the following comments are provided:


Service Delivery	The indexation freeze will have implications for service delivery.
Political	If the resolution is carried the intention is to raise this matter through political channels.
Stakeholders	The matter is also being pursued by the Australian Local Government Association and Local Government NSW.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Financial Assistance Grants (FAGS) are untied payments to Councils from the Australian Government. They are invested in a variety of community infrastructure including roads, parks and sporting and cultural facilities.

As part of the 2014/15 Federal Budget the Government announced that it “…will achieve savings if $925.2 million by pausing indexation of the Local Government Financial Assistance Grants Program for three years commencing 1 July 2014.”

This year councils across Australia will receive $2.3 billion from the Australian Government as part of this program.

Impact of pausing indexation to Orange City Council is as follows:

	Estimated (no indexation)	CPI	Calculated (Indexed by CPI)	Lost revenue due to "pausing"
2013/14	$4,628,906 (Actual)		$4,628,906	$0
2014/15	$4,532,885 (Actual)	1.30%	$4,689,082	-$156,197
2015/16	$4,520,646 (Estimate)	2.40%	$4,801,620	-$280,974
2016/17	$4,507,536 (Estimate)	2.40%	$4,916,859	-$409,323
2017/18	$4,687,837 (Estimate)	2.40%	$5,034,863	-$347,026
Total	$22,877,810		$24,071,329	-$1,193,519

The NSW Grants Commission has also advised that a decrease in the FAGs is due to NSW population not growing at the same level as the other states.

It is worth noting that if in future years FAGs are increased at a level lower than CPI, then the funding gap for 2017/18 will never be recouped.

While there are concerns around the level of funding in the FAGs program it should also be noted that Council has received significant support from the Australian Government in recent years on a number of capital projects including the Indoor Aquatic Centre, the Orange Airport and Macquarie River to Orange Pipeline Project.

The report does however recommend a submission be prepared on the topic.