Employment and Economic Development Policy Committee
Agenda
3 July 2018
Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that an Employment and Economic Development Policy Committee meeting of ORANGE CITY COUNCIL will be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange on Tuesday, 3 July 2018.
Garry Styles
General Manager
For apologies please contact Administration on 6393 8218.
Employment and Economic Development Policy Committee 3 July 2018
2.1 Australian Local Government Womens Association Conference bids
Employment and Economic Development Policy Committee 3 July 2018
1.1 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.
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Recommendation It is recommended that Committee Members now disclose any conflicts of interest in matters under consideration by the Employment and Economic Development Policy Committee at this meeting. |
RECORD NUMBER: 2018/1047
AUTHOR: Sharon D'Elboux, Manager Business Development
EXECUTIVE Summary
Council requested a report on the actions that can be taken to secure the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) conference. This report outlines usual conference bidding process for ALWGA based events and the history of Orange in hosting ALGWA events.
Recent and future conferences have been/are being held at:
· 2004 Parramatta
· 2005 Albury
· 2006 Coonabarabran
· 2007 Lismore
· 2008 Rockdale
· 2009 Queanbeyan
· 2010 Moree
· 2011 Blacktown
· 2012 Dubbo
· 2013 Gosford
· 2014 Broken Hill
· 2015 Wollongong
· 2016 Gunnedah
· 2017 Penrith
· 2018 Gundagai
· 2019 Liverpool
· 2020 Shellharbour
· 2021 City
· 2022 Country
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “11.2 Prosper - Develop and attract a variety of events, festivals, venues and activities for locals and visitors, ensuring accessibility for all”.
Financial Implications
A bid would require significant operational budget over 2 years in order to complete and deliver the event. In the latest Australian Local Government Women’s Association Guidelines to host the annual conference, it is stated the successful Council would need to be able to support a cash flow of approximately $50,000 and need to appoint a dedicated staff member within this budget.
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
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That Council acknowledge the report on the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) bids. |
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 bidding process and the subsequent delivery of the conference is resource intensive. In 2004 there were seven staff working on the ALGWA National Conference in Orange. |
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Stakeholders |
Council would be required to work with ALGWA and supply all the resources and funding. ALGWA retains any profit associated with the event. |
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Projects |
The scheduling of the conference would be critical. A desktop review found most conferences are held in March, April or May. March and April would be a difficult time to find accommodation for a large group of 150 to 180 people due to existing events held in Orange. |
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Council last hosted the ALGWA National conference in 2004. In bidding for that conference, the Council had seven staff working on the project team on a part-time basis. Council is unable to recoup these costs through the conference delivery.
Hosting the ALGWA would be an important opportunity to send a positive message to the local community and staff about the Council’s support for women working in a modern local government organisation. This could also be leveraged to incorporate or deliver parallel activities to encourage women to consider other Council positions.
The ALGWA NSW Branch Conference is held each year. The years ending in an even number are held in an inland location while years ending in an odd number are coastal. The process for hosting the ALGWA NSW Branch Conference and the National Conference is as follows:
1 The President or their delegate invites Councils to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for hosting in 2-years. The conference usually alternates between coastal and inland each conference for the NSW Branch Conference. The National Branch Conference alternates between States.
2 The expression of interest closes about a month before the conference.
3 A number of EOI are selected to present a bid at the conference (at their own cost).
4 After the bid presentation, the conference delegates vote to select the location of the next conference.
5 The conference preparation begins and takes approximately 2-years and 3 months to prepare, deliver and wrap up the conference.
6 If the conference actually makes a profit then the money has to be passed to the ALGWA. Staff costs cannot be met from the income of the conference.
The NSW ALGWA also has a number of stipulations that it puts on Council in terms of facilities and amenity. These include:
· Guarantee a minimum of 80 motel rooms for the duration of the conference.
· Rooms must be a minimum of 3-4 star.
· Payment will only be forthcoming for the rooms that are occupied.
· An auditorium that can hold up to 200 people with AV and PA facilities.
· Break-out rooms.
· An office with Wi-Fi, printer, photocopier, office furniture, space to conduct the ballot count, etc.
· Mobile telephone reception availability.
· Dinner venue within 15 minutes of the conference that can seat all delegates.
· Childcare through the day and for dinner functions.
· Abide by the ALGWA Ecological Sustainable Development Principles:
o Energy efficiency
o Water conservation
o Waste minimisation
o Pollution control
· Council arranges everything except ballots.
· Council is responsible for all facets of the conference but must discuss with the ALGWA first and get their agreement before firm plans are put in place.
· Council must develop and implement a partners program including morning and afternoon tea and possibly lunch.
· Secure speakers and cover the costs.
· All the marketing associated with the event.
· Designing and distributing the registration forms, take the bookings and manage all aspects of the delegates’ experience.
· Staff an enquiry desk during the conference.
· Arrange trade displays and seek sponsorships.
· Provide a Mayoral Civic Reception.
· Provide a dedicated staff member in the year leading up to the event and have a budget of at least $50,000 to support the cash flow required.
· Provision of an MC for the duration of the conference.
· Transporting speakers to and from the airport.
· Entertainment for functions.
While the conference would bring up to $97,200 (180 delegates x 3 days x $180/day) into the economy, the Council cannot recover any of the cost of staff resources. Further, as Council does not have the final say on the conference program, there is a risk that Council may incur unanticipated costs that are outside its control. Past experience has shown that the conference can become very resource intensive, particularly in the final weeks prior to the conference.
In applying to secure the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) conference in Orange, key considerations for Council are:
· There are potential benefits to bidding and hosting the conference in presenting Council as a modern local government organisation that embraces women in key leadership and operational roles, exposing visitors to the economy and promoting key Orange initiatives, and providing women in Orange with the opportunity to engage around the conference.
· Up to 180 visitors attend the conference (plus any traveling companions) are expected to staying in Orange for two or three nights and would generate economic activity in the accommodation, hospitality and retail sectors.
· Council takes all the risk on the event but does not share in any of the profits should this occur.
· Council would have to allocate new funds in Council’s operational budget to host the event.
· ALGWA has the final say on conference requirements and deliverables (although the Council would aim to negotiate with ALGWA to keep costs within its budget).
· If existing staff are used to resource the conference, this will have an impact on the delivery of other programs and services and would require reprioritisation of resources.
· If new staff are appointed to deliver the conference, this would have an impact on budgetary resources available for other programs and services.
· There could be other potential options available to the Council to promote women in local government where the budgetary and resource impacts could be better managed, but which would be less likely to generate the economic flow-on impacts in the local economy.
A copy of the Guidelines to host the ALGWA annual conference is attached.
Council staff receives and reviews requests to hold conferences, award presentations, workshops, families, etc. in Orange on a regular basis. Such events that require less resources and cash injections are favoured and followed up. Examples for 2018 include the Regional Tourism Awards (July) and Planning Institute Australia Conference (September) and the 2018 NSW/ ACT Regional Achievement and Community Awards.
1 Guidelines - ALGWA Conference 2021, D18/30543⇩
