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25 Bass Coast Shire Council Annual Report 2010/11

Our People

Council Planning & Support Manager Sharon Fowles

CEO Allan Bawden

Environment Manager Paul Smith

Development Services Manager

Martin Gill

Property Valuations Manager Russell Anthony

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT DIRECTOR

Hannah Duncan-Jones

COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Steven Piasente

INFRASTRUCTURE DIRECTOR

Felicity Sist

Keitha van’t Hof Tracie Pert Cindy Pizzol

Tourism Manager Ken Hore

Economic Development Manager

Peter Francis

Community Services Manager

Antoinette Mitchell

Arts & Leisure Manager Jenny Churchill

Community Safety Manager Philippa O'Halloran

Infrastructure & Property Manager

Mark Simpson

Waste Services Manager David Owen

Infrastructure Maintenance Manager

Jamie Sutherland

Infrastructure Projects Manager

Derek Peters

Business DevelopmentSpecial Events

HACC Services & AssessmentEarly Years FacilitationMaternal & Child HealthYouthDisabilityCommunity & Social PlanningCommunity SupportEducation

Local LawsEnvironmental HealthEmergency ManagementImmunisationsSchool Crossings

Arts & CultureLibrariesCemeteriesRecreation reservesPlaygrounds

CORPORATE SERVICES DIRECTOR

Danny Luna

Finance Manager Jim Farr

Organisation Development Manager

John Wynen

Information Services Manager Brian Olden

Procurement Manager Peter Beaumont

TourismVisitor Information Services

InfrastructurePlanning & PolicyCapital Works PlanningFleetProperty Titles & SalesGIS

Capital Works CoordinationCivil Construction DesignSpecial Charge SchemesTechnical Support

Waste CollectionRecyclingLandfill/Transfer Stations

Road, Footpath & DrainageMaintenanceParks & Gardens MaintenanceBuildings Maintenance

Our People: Organisation chart

- Council Planning

- Councillor Management

- Civic Functions

- Governance

- CEO Support

- Special Projects

BudgetReportingCreditorsRates & Property

Coastal & Bushland ManagementLandcare / Rural Rate RebateEnvironment & SustainabilityClimate Change AdaptionCrown Land Caravan ParksRecreational Boating Facilities

Strategic Land Use PlanningDevelopment ApprovalsPlanning SchemesBuilding ApprovalsEnforcement & Liaison

PurchasingTenderingContract AdminSupplier Prequalification

Information TechnologyCorporate InformationService Planning

Property ValuationsInsurance ValuationsAsset Valuations

Human ResourcesCommunicationOH &SPayrollCustomer Service Risk Management / Insurance



Our People: Senior Management Team

Allan BawdenAllan Bawden has served as Chief Executive Officer of Bass Coast Shire Council since March 1995, following the creation of the Shire in December 1994. Allan has over 35 years experience working in diverse communities in both regional Victoria and suburban Melbourne. Allan holds a Master of Business Administration and qualifications in Local Government Management.

As Chief Executive Officer, Allan is responsible for establishing and developing an organisation capable of providing sound advice to Council, implementing Council policy and responding to the challenges involved in planning and providing services for one of the fastest growing municipalities in Victoria.

Danny LunaDanny Luna has held a number of management positions within Bass Coast Shire Council over the past 16 years. He has more than 30 years of experience in a range of local government positions including Chief Executive. He holds degrees in Accounting and Local Government Management.

As Corporate Services Director, Danny is responsible for providing services that enable the organisation to function effectively. These include Finance, Revenue Collection, Information Communication and Technology, Property Valuations, Communications, Organisation Development, Procurement, Risk Management and Customer Service.

His role includes the development of strategy and policy for the organisation as well as high level advice on a range of organisational matters.

Steven PiasenteSteven has 19 years local government experience at Bass Coast Shire Council and former local shires. He became Community and Economic Development Director in November 2010, after three years as Infrastructure Director. Steven has a degree in Civil Engineering and graduate certificate in Business Administration.

Steven is responsible for community development; social planning; arts, recreation and leisure services; family and aged services; local laws, environmental health and emergency management. His role includes fostering sustainable economic development, assisting the growth and retention of local businesses and attracting new investment to the Shire. Steven also oversees Council’s Visitor Information Centres and tourism functions.

Hannah Duncan-JonesHannah Duncan-Jones has 17 years experience in State and Local Government and has been Bass Coast’s Planning and Environment Director since September 2007.

Hannah’s responsibilities include environmental and coastal management, planning and building. Planning and environment issues are increasingly important within Bass Coast given the rapid growth of the Shire and the need to balance development with protection of the Shire’s unique environment.

Hannah’s experience in Hospitality Management and the State Government Office of Housing brings a wealth of knowledge in developing and delivering Government policy, program management, working with community and stakeholders, developing and monitoring substantial budgets and development of corporate planning frameworks.

Felicity Sist Felicity has 15 years local government experience at Bass Coast Shire Council in various positions and directorates. She came to local government after working in the construction industry, Telstra and Melbourne Water. Felicity has qualifications in Civil Engineering and Business Administration.

Felicity acted in the role from November 2010 until June 2011. She was appointed as Infrastructure Director on 1 July 2011.

Felicity is responsible for the provision and maintenance of infrastructure, including roads, footpaths, buildings, parks and recycling and waste collection services. She oversees the development of long term asset management plans to protect the community’s major assets for the benefit of current and future generations.

Steven Piasente, Felicity Sist, Allan Bawden, Hannah Duncan-Jones, Danny Luna


The Chief Executive Officer is employed directly by Council to carry out the functions and manage the business of Council. The Chief Executive Officer subsequently appoints a team of employees to help with this.

Employees are under the general direction of a senior management team. Employment terms are provided by Council’s Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.

Employees are employed on a permanent basis (full time or part time) where the work is continuous and ongoing, on a temporary basis where there is a finite ending to the work or on a casual basis where the work is of a relieving or intermittent nature.

Employee numbers are best measured by the number of Equivalent Full Time (EFT) positions. At 30 June 2011 there were 310.8 EFT positions. There were a total of 420 individual employees working in those 310.8 positions. This is an increase of 5.9 (or 2 per cent) EFT positions from the previous year. This increase is predominately driven by population growth (4.6 per cent for the same period), the shifting of responsibilities from other levels of government, projects funded by government grants and legislative changes.

2010 Full Time Part Time Temporary Casual Total

Female 23% 25% 4% 12% 64%

Male 36% 4% 2% 3% 46%

Staff gender and status

2010 Full Time Part Time Temporary Casual Total

CEO 12 0.4 0.0 0.0 12.4

Corporate Services

51 3.6 .6 1.3 56.5

Planning & Environment

21 7 6.6 0.2 34.8

Community & Economic Development

41 54 5 7.3 107.3

Infrastructure 95 1.1 0.4 3.3 99.8

Total 220 66.1 12.6 12.1 310.8

Staff numbers (equivalent full time)

30+ Les Swift, Hans Kamphuis, Trevor Luke

25+ Cheryl Russell, Charlie Ware

20+ Glennis Anderson, Paul Cummings

15+ Terry Turner, Bob Street, Terry Corcoran, Felicity Sist, Colleen Walch, Dawn Lonergan, Chris Wutzke, Jim Farr, Janette Elder

10+ Jenni McMillan, Deborah Millar, Jacqueline Winter, Craig Stevens, Lisa Tonello, Matthew Hill, Matthew Hull, Grant Curtin, Shane Anderson, Lyn O’Halloran, Richard Clarkson, Ken Hore, Tony Boreham, Helen Bowes, Alan Wright, Arthur Turton

The following staff received service recognition awards this year:

Our People: Council employees


Senior officer remuneration and performance Senior Officers are employed on performance based contracts with fixed terms of up to five years. Their salaries are reviewed annually based on their performance, any changes in the Consumer Price Index, salary packages of comparable positions at other councils and the development of new skills.

Details of senior officers’ remuneration are contained in the Financial Report, Note 38.

Volunteers Bass Coast has approximately 50 volunteers who assist primarily in our Visitor Information Centres and the Aged and Disability team. They undertake duties including driving community buses, helping with Planned Aged Group activities and providing information and assistance to visitors to our Shire.

OHS In preparation for new OH&S legislation being introduced in 2012, we carried out an audit of our OH&S systems. The audit helped prioritise actions for compliance as well as actions for the review of Council’s OHS Management Plan.

Improvement priorities will focus on a process for reporting serious OHS incidents (Notifiable Incidents), strengthening communications on the roles of Health and Safety Representatives and improving issue resolution procedures.

Training and developmentContinuous improvement is entrenched in thinking across the organisation. The training and development of employees is integral to this thinking.

During the year a leadership training program was introduced. All directors and managers participated in the program which was held over six months. A group of emerging leaders will undertake a similar program in 2011/12.

A leadership training program was also undertaken by team leaders at our works depots.

Other development initiatives that featured during the year included training on OH&S, disability awareness, discrimination, harassment and bullying, conflict resolution, writing and presentation.

CEO Allan Bawden and Mayor, Cr Veronica Dowman presented 32 service recognition awards this year and are pictured here with Les Swift and his manger, Mark Simpson.

Financial Overview


Financial Overview

Financial overviewBass Coast Shire Council is the fastest growing municipality in regional Victoria. A major challenge for 2010/11 has been to continue to meet the growing demand for works and services from our community and the large number of visitors to our Shire. This growth is expected to continue and Council is investing in business planning in order to ensure that it has the capacity and capability to respond to these needs.

As part of this, Council is preparing a 10 year financial plan that will guide the organisation in meeting the community’s needs in a realistic and affordable manner. This plan is designed to:

» Ensure that rates and charges levels are affordable for our ratepayers

» Ensure that we can provide the services required by our community

» Achieve consistent operating surpluses

» Achieve strong working capital and liquidity positions

» Ensure that debt levels are managed responsibly

» Ensure that our assets are maintained in an appropriate manner

» Ensure that we can fund any upgrade or creation of new assets required by the community

Financial snapshot » $12.573 million operating surplus which provides funding for capital works

» $64.230 million in revenue with $34.569 million or 53.8% coming from rates and charges

» Net assets $449.053 million

» $15.691 million total capital works program

» Borrowings $7.797 million

» Cash holdings $21.676 million

Net Sustaining a surplus operating result is a critical financial strategy that provides capacity to renew community assets under Council’s control. The surplus occurs because Council generates more operating revenue (which includes capital related grants and contributions) than operating expenditure in order to fund these capital works.

Council’s $12.573 million surplus compares favourably to the original budget surplus of $12.562 million. The favourable budget surplus variance of $0.011 million is made up of a net increase in revenue of $0.637 million offset by a net increase in expenditure of $0.626 million.

Council revenue and expenditure for the year Revenue (Total $64.3M)

Expenditure (Total $51.7M)

Other revenue $0.8m 1%Interest $0.9m 1%Rates (incl garbage) $34.6m 54%Statutory fees and fines $1.8m 3%User fees & charges $2.8m 4%Grants - operating $7.8m 12%Gain on asset disposals $0.4m 1%Grants - capital $5.1m 8%Contributions and reimbursements $10.1m 16%

Finance costs $0.5m 1%Loss on asset disposals 0%Employee expenses $20.4m 39%Materials and services $19.7m 38%Depreciation $9.5m 18%Other expenses $1.6m 3%


Major variances in revenue include:

» Additional funds from the Victorian Grants Commission Grant - $0.571 million

» Additional interest received on investments - $0.352 million

» Land contributed and infrastructure built by private developers (mainly relating to subdivisions) - $6.114 million

» Net gain on disposal of assets - $0.444 million

» Contribution to works from the Desalination project deferred to 2011/12 - $2.095 million (unfavourable)

» Special charge scheme levies deferred to 2011/12 - $5.950 million (unfavourable)

Major variances in expenditure include:

» Savings on budget for employee costs - $0.424 million

» Savings on budget for materials, services & supplies - $1.711 million

» Additional depreciation of $2.713 million (unfavourable)

Climatic impact on infrastructure assets during 2010/11

During the year, Council experienced considerable road and drainage infrastructure damage from significant storm events, excessive rainfall and resultant flooding. In particular, a serious storm event caused major flooding of the Bunyip River (which is north of this Shire) causing flooding to other rivers within the Shire in early 2011.

Excessive rainfall caused a loss of material across nearly all of the rural unsealed roads particularly over the Bass Hills and through the Powlett River floodplain. The sealed road network was also severely impacted requiring major patching works. There was also additional demand for drainage maintenance activities on many open drains and some piped drains.

In addition, there were serious landslips to two rural roads that are school bus routes - Edden Road and the Dalyston Glen Forbes Road (temporary detours established). Council has instigated an investigation by a qualified geotechnical company to make an assessment of the risks and to recommend possible solutions to the road reinstatement works.

It has been estimated that approximately $600,000 has been incurred by Council on some of these works in 2010/11. Preliminary estimates on the outstanding works for 2011/12 and beyond (resheeting, major patching, drainage maintenance and landslips) amount to approximately $3.55 million (including $1.5 million on the two road landslips).

The full financial impact of these works on Council is not yet clear as the costs mentioned above are only preliminary estimates. Further investigations and assessments are required. Also, Council will be applying for grants to help fund these works. Accordingly, no impairment loss or contingent asset in respect of future flood/storm related grants has been recognised in the financial statements.

$ M

illio

ns

12.612.0

16.3

Financial Years

7.6

4.8

Surplus results for the past 5yrs

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11


Financial positionThe Balance Sheet represents the overall wealth of Council. In 2010/11, Council’s net assets increased by $34.5 million to $449.0 million. This growth in net assets has mainly resulted from:

» Increased current assets $5.9 million. Cash funds have grown by $7.2 million - refer to commentary on cash position below.

» Increase in non-current assets $32.5 million. Property, infrastructure and plant and equipment assets have grown by $32.4 million mainly as a result of capital works undertaken during the year, asset revaluation and assets contributed by subdivision developers.

» Increase in total liabilities $3.9 million (unfavourable). This mainly resulted from increased loan liability of $2.2 million (refer commentary below on debt levels), liability for future payments on a contract to purchase land $0.8 million, and growth in provisions $0.6 million (mainly in respect of staff annual leave and long service leave entitlements).

Capital worksCouncil aims to ensure that it is able to provide and maintain a range of infrastructure and other assets while at the same time continuing to deliver the services needed by our community. During 2010/11, Council spent a total of $15.6 million on capital works across the Shire as follows: -

» Roads, footpaths etc $7.6 million

» Drains $0.4 million

» Land $1.7 million

» Land improvement & open space $0.8 million

» Buildings $3.1 million

» Plant and equipment $1.5 million

» Other $0.5 million

Debt levelsPreviously Council’s focus had been on reducing overall debt; however, in order to keep rates at affordable levels and to spread the financial burden of major infrastructure projects across future as well as current ratepayers, Council has projected to increase borrowings. These projected borrowing levels are still modest and well within Council’s capacity to manage.

In the 2010/11 financial year, Council borrowed an additional $2 million over and above its normal annual borrowings of $1 million in order to finance the construction of the Phillip Island Children’s Hub. This has resulted in debt levels of $7.8 million for 2011 and 2012. After that, debt levels are projected to decrease marginally to approximately $6.7 million over the next three years.

Net Assets for past 5 yrs

Capital Expenditure for past 5 yrs

Loan Liability past 5 yrs

$ M

illio

ns

449.414.6

344.4

Financial Years

283.0 292.5

$ M

illio

ns

17.4

14.4

Financial Years

5.9

10.4

$ M

illio

ns

7.8

5.65.3

Financial Years

4.6 5.1

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

15.6

Financial Overview continued


The 2011/12 capital works program includes $4.130 million relating to projects carried forward from the 2010/11 year. The carried forward component is fully funded from the 2010/11 budget. It includes $2.3 million held for finalisation of roadworks associated with the Victorian Desalination Project which is behind schedule. The balance of the carried forward projects are due to delays caused by the recent wet weather conditions.

Cash positionIn 2010/11, Council’s cash position (cash at bank and on investment), improved by $7.181 million to $21.676 million. This growth in cash assets has resulted from:

» Net cash inflow from operating activities (general revenue inflows less general expenditure outflows) - $18.453 million

» Net cash outflow from investing activities (capital expenditure outflows less asset sales inflows) - $13.553 million

» Net cash inflows from financing activities (proceeds from new loans less loan repayments) - $2.281 million

The growth in cash funds was mainly facilitated by the following favourable variances to Council’s rates determination budget of $6.124 million including:

» Increased operating program revenue - $1.90 million

» Reduced operating program expenditure - $2.87 million

» Reduced net capital expenditure (net of capital related revenue) - $0.66 million

» Increased proceeds from sale of assets - $0.80 million

The other major impact relates to favourable net cash movements in accounts receivable and accounts payable at the end of the financial year.

The full impact of these variances will be taken into account in Council’s 2011/12 budget review process. Savings and additional revenue will have a favourable impact on future budget determinations. Any deferred program, capital expenditure or projects for which income has been received in advance will also be included in future budget reviews.

Cash Position for past 5 yrs

$ M

illio

ns

21.7

14.512.2

Financial Years

12.2 11.9

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

36 Bass Coast Shire Council Annual Report 2010/1135 Bass Coast Shire Council Annual Report 2010/11

completed, and we will be using the information to update our policy and refine some of our processes.

Grants Commission

The Commonwealth Government allocates funding to local government through the Grants Commission. The grants are determined by a formula that includes a number of factors. We lobbied the Grants Commission to make changes to the formula to recognise the efforts of Council to provide services to the large number of visitors we received. This has resulted in a significant increase to this grant.

Bass Coast Cultural Precinct

In June, Council was invited to submit a business plan for a cultural precinct, after extensive discussions with the State Government. The concept was first explored in our EES submission for the Victoria Desalination Project and has also been raised in separate submissions, to provide some kind of tangible and lasting benefit to the community, offsetting the impact of the desalination project.

The proposed precinct would be on the current site of the Wonthaggi Secondary College Senior Campus. The land’s central location and proximity to Wonthaggi’s business district makes it an ideal space for public use if the Secondary College relocates to the Education Precinct.

The vision for the precinct includes a public gathering space, as well as a multi function centre, principal library for the Shire, regional art gallery, performing arts centre, convention centre and cinemas. Consultants Artistic Merit are working with Council and the community to prepare the business case, which will be presented to the State Government by the end of 2011.

Gippsland Regional Plan

The Gippsland Regional Plan (GRP) is a long-term strategic plan that aims to manage the emerging challenges in our region to shape a successful future. The GRP analyses the region’s economic, social and environmental challenges and trends, and sets a strategic vision for Gippsland with priority areas for action.

Strategic Objective 1: Advocacy

Delivering the strategy What this means Status

Participate in Gippsland Regional Asset Management Forums

Completed National Asset Management Assessment with all other participating municipalities. Attended meetings to develop a regional action plan

GLGN & SEM Lobbied on region-wide issues in the lead up to the Victoria State election

Progress against Council Plan • Represent the interests of our community by forming alliances with other key

decision makers across Bass Coast


Internal Audit of Community Grants

Council’s internal auditor recommended that the Community Grant program should be revised. A new policy is under development and planned for adoption 2011/12

Update Waste Management Strategy to reflect current government waste policy framework

Review of the key functions of waste management – kerbside, landfill, recycling, transfer stations and how we might manage these in future. The impact of carbon tax on this service in the future will also be assessed. It is planned that Council adopt the new strategy in February 2012

Tender process for internal audit services

New internal auditors appointed after undergoing a tendering process which has delivered an excellent value-for-money outcome

• Demonstrate strong leadership and effectively use our resources to achieve the best possible outcome for our community


Develop policy for appointment of Section 86 committees

Developing policy to delegate authority to committees to act on behalf of council. These are generally hall and reserve committees

Community Planning Program rolled out to the communities of Inverloch, Kilcunda, Bass, Cape Paterson, South Coast Phillip Island and Dalyston and five have completed plans. Initially funded by the Victorian State Government’s Community Support Fund, Council is considering how to resource as an ongoing program

• Develop a deep understanding and knowledge of communities across the Shire

Key achievements Gippsland Regional Assets Management Plan

Council worked with the Municipal Association of Victoria and other Gippsland Councils to share information to advance asset management practices within the region and across Victoria. This work resulted in the Gippsland Asset Management Plan, which contains policy and processes that can be utilised by all Gippsland Councils. Work on this project has been

We will use a strong voice and accurate information to advocate for the best quality lifestyle for our community

Community satisfaction rating with advocacy and engagement on key local issues

Community satisfaction rating for customer contact

Snapshot:

Number of GLGN meetings attended

12 (6 CEOs 6 for mayors)

Number of grants applied for: 47

Number of grants received: 32

Cowes Primary School Principal, Sue Becker and Community Strengthening Manager, Antoinette Mitchell, on the

site of the Phillip Island Children’s Hub

Key:

complete ongoing deferred

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

70 73 7368 74

10/11

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

56 566053 55

10/11

Indicators The development of the GRP has drawn on the expertise of our people, and involved tremendous work by communities, industries, businesses and local councils over many years. Together we have planned for a changing environment so that we can improve the quality of life, sustainability and productivity of our region.

Gippsland’s prosperity, liveability and sustainability depend on two strategic drivers: an economy based on natural resources and strong population growth. This is a cohesive plan to adapt to changing times, build resilience in our communities and economy, and to grow in a sustainable way.

The Regional Managers Forum, which includes the six Gippsland councils, developed the Plan. The Gippsland Local Government Network adopted it in November 2010.

Phillip Island Children’s Hub

In order to deliver one of Council’s largest ever building projects, we successfully secured $1 million from Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for the delivery of this innovative community project.

The Phillip Island Children’s Hub will include the relocation of the Cowes Kindergarten and sale of the current kindergarten site. The funds from the sale will be used to offset part of the cost of delivering the Hub project. Council will also borrow $1 million for the project.

The Children’s Hub will include kindergarten, long day care, maternal and child health services along with meeting rooms. Work on the project should be completed in 2012.

Bass Coast Education and Learning Precinct

Planning work continues for the Bass Coast Education and Learning Precinct project. The steering committee has developed a mission, vision and values for the project. A governance model has been drafted and the State Government has been fully briefed on the project.

The important steps of securing the land and relocating the senior campus of the Wonthaggi Secondary College are both progressing well. Council continues to advocate for State Government support for this unique project. To date, a number of members of the State Government has been briefed on the project and they have indicated preliminary support.


Strategic Objective 1: continued

Don Paproth (DEECD), Patti Wenn (Community & Economic Development Director) and David Lane (Education Centre

Gippsland) at the signing of the partnership agreement for the Bass Coast Education and Learning Precinct

The year aheadLobby for appropriate funding assistance and support by the State and Federal Government: Develop an issues paper outlining our challenges and the needs of our community to present to Ministers at both levels of government. We will also raise these through the Regional Managers Forum and through the Gippsland Regional Plan.

Bass Coast Cultural Precinct: Finalise the business case and present to the State Government before December 2011. The business plan will include details about the economic benefit; define capital and operating costs and the social benefit to the community. Seek a government commitment to retain the Wonthaggi Secondary College Senior Campus site for public use if the Secondary College relocates to the Education Precinct.

Bass Coast Education and Learning Precinct: Continue to advocate for the development of the Precinct in Wonthaggi. The first phase plan includes the relocation of the Senior Campus of the Wonthaggi Secondary College. Council continues to work with the steering committee and the State Government to achieve this visionary project.

West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation: Support the Corporation throughout the State Government review of funding of library services. Over recent years the cost of library services has increased significantly. There have been limited increases in funding from the State Government. The contribution from the State is now below 20 per cent and it has been as high as 50 per cent some 30 years ago.

Challenges and disappointmentsDesalination – road maintenance

Extreme wet weather and delays to the construction of the Victorian Desalination Plant created serious issues with some local roads. The company building the pipeline for the plant (Thiess Degremont Nacap – Pipeline Joint Venture) is responsible for maintaining the roads used as haulage routes. Our local roads were not built to deal with the volume of trucks involved in the construction and many roads have been severely damaged. Council has an independent consultant who carries out regular inspections of these roads. In consultation with us, any roads identified as needing work are prioritised and scheduled for repair. The repair work is done by the Joint Venture’s road maintenance crews.

There has been a fair amount of community concern and complaints around the timeliness of road maintenance. These are raised at the regular Community Liaison Group meetings attended by the Mayor. Weather permitting, all affected roads should be back under Council control by February 2012.

Improvements to state infrastructure

Roads: Council continued to advocate on a number of projects through our regular meetings with VicRoads. These include the Bass Highway duplication and the impact of desalination traffic on the highway.

Health Services: Council continues to advocate for upgrades to services at the Wonthaggi Hospital to a sub regional standard. Council has also asked the government to release the South Coast Health Plan which would provide greater certainty to the community in relation to the future of health services in Bass Coast, particularly on Phillip Island.

Natural Gas extension: Council is seeking an expansion of the natural gas network to Phillip Island, San Remo and the northern communities of the Shire. The State Government has announced a new program to provide gas networks to regional towns. Council is working with our local member to advocate for expansion of the natural gas network within Bass Coast.

National Broadband Network: Connecting broadband to the home in local communities is a project Council is seeking to be rolled out early in the ten year program of the national broadband network. Two main broadband lines have been provided to Bass Coast, one linking to Melbourne and the other linking to Gippsland. Council has advocated for the connection of these two main backbone lines and made submissions to the Federal Government to have Bass Coast and South Gippsland as an early trial site for the rollout of the network in regional areas.

Wonthaggi Secondary College Senior Campus Relocation: Council has advocated for the relocation of the Senior Campus of the Wonthaggi Secondary College to the Wonthaggi Education and Learning Precinct. The existing facility is at capacity and has extremely limited recreational infrastructure on site or within close proximity. Council has continued to work with the school and education department to see that this project is delivered in the near future.

38 Bass Coast Shire Council Annual Report 2010/11 39 Bass Coast Shire Council Annual Report 2010/11

Strategic Objective 2: Good Governance

How we delivered on this strategy What this means Status

Councillor Workshop Councillors attended a one day workshop on good governance practices, working together and the future directions of Council in March. The session highlighted the need for good debate and being able to articulate the reason for decisions in the Council chamber

Info-Council upgrade An upgrade to the software that prepares the Council Meeting agenda means councillors now received the agenda a week before the meeting. This allows them time to read, study and conduct any necessary research

Policy workshops review The schedule has been changed to one full day each month to allow time for officers to gain councillor input into strategies and policies. Councillors receive approximately eight briefing items at each session


Fleet Replacement Program Replaced approximately 20 vehicles with LPG or diesel vehicles and moved our fleet from six to four cylinder vehicles

Plant replacement program The program replaces plant and equipment at the optimum time to get maximum resale value and before it gets too old and we incur large breakdown and maintenance costs. We purchased a new Elevated Work Platform for tree maintenance works, six utes, three light trucks, three slashers and one mower. The budget for the program, including trade-ins, was $895,000

Geodatabase hierarachy The geodatabase hierarchy refers to the unique asset identifiers for all asset sub classes stored in GIS/Asset databases. Draft Hierarchy has been completed

Drainage audit of Cowes Urban Catchment

The field audit of all drainage assets including the location and assessment of all pits, Pipes, Open Drains, Water Sensitive Urban Design Drainage features such as sales, rain gardens, and retarding basins, gross pollutant traps and outfalls, was completed

GIS improvements (valuers, drainage plans)

The recent improvements to Council’s GIS will provide “best-of-breed” GIS functionality together with full integration with all council applications


Special Charge Scheme (SCS) consultation process

developed

The consultation for the South Dudley scheme lead to development of a new consultation process, which will be used on all our upcoming schemes. This process allowed for one on one sessions designed to give landowners specific and relevant information and the opportunity to give Council feedback

Community Question time Community members are able to raise issues to be addressed at the Council meeting, through community question time. Questions are able to be lodged up until the start of the meeting although it is preferable to give 24 hours notice. Details are promoted through our website and Coastell newsletter

Bass Coast Cultural Precinct Four days of workshops to enable community feedback as part of developing a business plan for this project

Strategies for the year • Fair and equitable decision making based on sound information

• Manage our assets and risk well to provide affordable and accessible services

• Provide access to and create opportunities to participate in the democratic process


Develop a Good Governance Framework

Provides a full outline of all the documents, processes and timelines that we have to meet under the Local Government Act. This will form part of councillor induction kits and help staff meet legislative obligations

Continuous improvement reports

A report goes to Council meetings each month, which includes cost savings from across the organisation

Councillor Ward funds $12,000 is available to each councillor to allocate for Community projects in their wards. Full list of funding is available in Corporate Governance on Pages 68-69

• Understand the needs of our citizens and deliver a range of value for money services that meet their needs

Indicators

We will manage our resources effectively, keep the community engaged, listen to our communities’ concerns to create positive outcomes

Community Satisfaction rating

Turnover rate as percentage of total staff

Average length of service (years)

Number of Council decision deferred at a Council meeting

– Overall rating– Satisfaction with customer contact

Key achievements Risk Management

A Risk Register is an integral part of the Risk Management Framework being developed for the organisation. During the year the components of the register were designed and tools such as a Risk Rating Matrix and recording templates were developed to help us to understand the risks that exist, how serious they are, how to register them and how can we overcome them.

Staff representing all functions of the organisation became familiar with identifying, evaluating and treating risks using the tools adopted by the organisation. This work is captured in a Risk Register that is continually updated and then reported on to management and the Audit Committee. These will form a Risk Management Plan to be adopted in 2011/12.

Sea level rise scenarios

Our GIS team has done some very innovative work modelling sea level rise scenarios and the effect on more flood prone areas, which is a serious issue for a coastal community like ours. In collaboration with West Gippsland Water Catchment Management Authority, the GIS team approached Monash University and RMIT and worked in partnership with them to map drainage catchments and overland flow paths in Inverloch and Wonthaggi.

As a result of this work, our GIS team has been invited to be part of a pilot study to help identify council assets vulnerable to climate change and what the impact on these assets might be. The project is a partnership between local government

10/1106/070 7/08 08/09 09/10

73606856 7058 63 5973 74

06/070 7/08 08/09 09/10

9 1115 8

10/11

11

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

7.74.5 5.1

2008/09

14

2009/10

13

2010/11

6

Key:


The 2010 Bass Coast Audit committee Cr Smith, Cr Paul, Brian Rudzki,

Rob Goddard, David Schultz and Cr Barlow


associations, the University of South Australia, the Institute of Public Works and Engineers Australia and is primarily funded by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.

Audit committee report

This year, for the first time, the Audit Committee presented a report to Council outlining the year’s achievements that included:

» Revision of the Committee’s Charter

» Revision of the Committee’s self-assessment processes

» Oversight of several internal audit programs

» Review of the Internal Audit arrangements

» Review of Council’s risk management framework

During the 2010/11 financial year the Committee met formally on five occasions. In addition to the formal meetings workshops were held on the following topics:

» Budget and planning processes

» Infrastructure management and planning

» Financial sustainability

The independent members of the Committee also participated in the planning day for the Community and Economic Development Directorate in February and made a site visit to the Desalination Plant in March.

Leadership focus

A major focus for the year has been on leadership, including a restructure of the management team. This group now meets on a monthly basis and works on leadership issues for the organisation. Twenty five members of the group, including the CEO and Directors completed a six month leadership training course (The Australia Applied Management Colloquium) which has had an extremely positive impact on the organisation, with the management team working closer together, improving their unity and accountability.

The key elements of learning included Authenticity, Leadership and Management, Team Dynamics, Driving Performance, Communication, Presence and Influence, Innovation and Change, Strategic and Operational Improvement, Empowering You and Your Team: Driving a Continuous Learning Environment. Staff members shared their knowledge with their teams and brought the skills they have learned back into the workplace.

The success of the training resulted in 27 emerging leaders being offered the opportunity to complete the course in the next financial year.

The year ahead » Develop an Information Communication Technology Strategic Plan

» Develop a Risk Management Framework

» Develop Workforce Planning team profiles

» Develop statutory compliance reporting system for key legislation

» Finalise phase one of the introduction of a new Business Planning Process

Ongoing financial sustainability

Every directorate across Council is involved in a process to assess the ongoing relevance and financial sustainability of all our services. This will continue through until the end of 2011.

Officers are looking at individual services to ensure they remain relevant to our community and are delivered in a cost effective manner. This is part of our continuous improvement process and is a big undertaking for staff, in addition to their normal functions.

To date, Community and Economic Development are the only directorate to have completed this first phase. The outcomes of the review will be presented to Council late 2011.

ChallengesCompliance

The implementation of a Governance Framework has clearly outlined Council’s obligations under the Local Government Act 1989 and the level of compliance required. Systems and processes are now in place to ensure that Council complies with the various aspects of the Act. Non-compliance means any incident that has, or may have, a catastrophic or major consequence. A compliance report has been developed and is presented to the Audit Committee. During 2010/11 no items of non-compliance were reported.

Communicating with our community

We continue to grapple with our communication, particularly as half our ratepayers are not residents of the Shire. In addition, over summer we have to try and communicate with the influx of 30,000+ holiday makers.

We have consolidated our new website and are now able to track visits to the site, including individual pages and downloads, to help us better target our information.

This year, we created a twitter account which now has over 400 followers. We have used this successfully to tweet emergency updates during traffic incidents and floods, as well as our regular media releases.


Snapshot:

Record, distribute and respond to over 90,000 items of correspondence

Answer 80,000 telephone calls

Number reports considered by Council (reports requiring decision)

131

Number of policies adopted or reviewed

8

Number of Section 223 submission Processes held

15

Number of Council Briefings 120

Our GIS team has been invited to be part of a national pilot study into the impact

of climate change on council assets.25 staff took part in a six month course of leadership training.



Review the Municipal Strategic Statement

A consultant has been appointed and a six stage process has been outlined

Review Cape Paterson Foreshore Management Plan

Reviewed the actions in the Plan. Focussed on major weed removal and revegetation at the Bay Beach and improving beach access and providing open space at First Surf Beach

Review Inverloch Masterplan – St Kilda St. to Ayr Creek

Reviewed Master Plan actions and completed the high priority actions including weed control, revegetation, improving beach access, completing the linear pathway link to the Glade and constructing a lookout at Rotary Park

Develop Kilcunda Foreshore Management Plan

Commenced the development of the Plan including preparing a process plan, stakeholder list, communication plan and sourcing additional funds to prepare specialist data. It is expected that this Plan will be finalised in 2012

Develop Cowes Main Beach Foreshore Management Plan

This project was not funded due to the area being considered for the ferry terminal. The project will be considered for funding in future budgets


Minimise impact of pollution on waterways and beaches in Bass Coast

Continued the roll out of the Butt Bin program in “hot spots” in coastal areas and the community education program with the message of “enjoy it don’t spoil”

AgFuture workshops Three AgFutures workshops were held in June in Inverloch in collaboration with DPI, South Gippsland and Agribusiness Gippsland. The workshops looked at weather and climate, land suitability and marketing and agritourism. Sustainable environmental practices were a key feature of the workshops

Strategies for the year

• Encourage sustainable environmental practices for business, industry, farming and community sectors


Reduce greenhouse emissions in all Council operations

Energy audits were conducted on our top four energy using buildings. These identified a range of changes – both easy and immediate and larger changes requiring significant investment or work. A priority action plan was put together. See “Sustaining Bass Coast” on page 20 for more details

Rehabilitation of former landfill at Wonthaggi Transfer Station

Environmental Audit conducted as a result of adjoining subdivision proposal to the Northern boundary. Improvements made to access road. Ongoing works required to meet best practice.

Rehabilitation of Grantville Landfill

Began construction of Landfill Cell 6 and leachate pond improvements. Once this is completed will cap cells to meet EPA requirements

Develop Water Resources Plan

A grant from Melbourne Water has now been received. This project will be included in the overall Integrated Water Plan to be prepared in 2012

Access/egress study for San Remo

Part of the implementation of the San Remo, Newhaven and Cape Woolamai Structure Plan. Will commence in second half of 2011 as it is necessary for VicRoads to complete the Network Operating Plans for the Shire first

• Provide and assist best practice environmental and resources management services

Ensure the natural assets of Bass Coast are promoted and managed in a sustainable manner so they can be enjoyed now and by future generations

Key achievements Public Place recycling

This project was funded by an $87,000 grant from the National Packaging Covenant and the Victorian Government with matching in-kind input from Council. Over the year, 70 new bins were rolled out to eight locations – Cape Paterson, Cape Woolamai, Cowes, Grantville, Inverloch, Newhaven, San Remo and Wonthaggi. The first roll out was timed to coincide with our busy Christmas visitor period. The new bins mean items like cans and bottles are now separated from general rubbish. We estimate that the new public recycling bins will divert 250 tons of recyclable material from landfill every year.

Rhyll Transfer Station rehabilitation

Our lease agreement with Phillip Island Nature Parks has been extended to June 2013. As part of this agreement, Council began work to replace the existing fence with a vermin proof fence. This involved some trimming and removal of existing vegetation. An area of 2,000 m2 will be revegetated with Melaleuca ericifolia (Swamp Paperbark), which is native to the area.

Under the terms of our lease, all revegetation work has to be with native indigenous plants complementary to the adjoining wetlands/salt marsh.

Bass Coast Rural Strategy

Council is always looking for ways to improve our processes, particularly in how we engage with our community. Understanding that land use in rural areas has many facets, Council undertook an engagement process to gain greater understanding of these.

We have established contact with over 100 community members who provided valuable information that will inform the next stage of the project. The results of the consultation have been provided to all participants so they can see where the consistencies are.

Importantly, the data collected confirms that our Community Vision (Guiding Bass Coast towards 2030) continues to reflect the aspirations of our community. The feedback detailed strong support for the protection of our natural assets, landscapes and agricultural land. The strategy will be drafted in 2011/12 and is not expected to be adopted until 2012/13.

Strategic Objective 3: Environmental Sustainability

Key:


• Plan for the sustainable future of the natural environment

Foreshore planting in Coronet Bay (www.gregnoakes.com)

Trees planted on Council managed natural and coastal reserves

Participation in rural rebate scheme

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

6571 6870 66

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

4490 52005000 7950 12,222

Indicators

Amount of kerbside recyclables (tonnes)

Community satisfaction rating on waste management

Quantity of waste into landfill (tonnes)

10/1106/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

41063001 31962810 3902

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

27,15823,497 22,60622,800 24,231

07/08 08/09 09/10

726700 813

10/11

780


Foreshore encroachment process

At the June meeting, Council voted to adopt the Foreshore Encroachment process, which takes action on private landowners who have taken over part of foreshore or bushland reserves. This includes an ongoing works program addressing encroachment.

Encroachment into a reserve includes extending lawns, unauthorised planting, creating informal access tracks, erecting buildings or storing items in public reserves. This is an issue in some Council managed foreshore and bushland reserves in areas of Cowes, Silverleaves, Ventnor, Grantville and Coronet Bay.

Council is committed to protecting our unique environment, conserving indigenous vegetation and reclaiming public land for the community.

Review of the Land Management Biodiversity Incentive Scheme

The Land Management Biodiversity Incentive Scheme which included the Rural Rate Rebate was set up in 2002 to improve rural land management practices in the Shire. The Scheme offers incentives and rewards landholders that adopt good land management principles that improve sustainable agriculture and protect and enrich the natural environment.

There has been a full review of the Land Management Biodiversity Incentive. The review identified the only component of the scheme that needs changing is the Rural Rate Rebate Scheme. The review identified that the rebate scheme needs to be fair and equitable, target high priority agricultural and environment issues and align with land productivity. It also needs to be monitored and be cost effective to administer.

Council were presented with a number of options to continue the provision of an incentive rebate to landholders and adopted the Amount per Hectare method as the preferred option. The revised Land Management Rebate Scheme will be implemented in 2012 for the 2012/2013 rating year.

Challenges and disappointments Climate Change

Council and its regional partners have successfully attracted grant funds from State and Federal Governments to gather detailed data on sea level rises and storm surge and the potential impacts on areas identified at risk. This includes the preparation of a “set of tools” to enable Council to make informed decisions relating to the potential impacts. The funds will also allow a program of community engagement for the residents in the areas at risk

We have also started work on the Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations Framework for Action. By using the information gathered we are preparing a Framework for Action for Council operations which will include documenting policy direction and identifying urgent works, skill requirements, resource requirements and priorities for both the short and long term. This Framework will be completed in 2012.

Public use V environmentally sensitive aspects of our coastline

Council staff had to address the significant issue of damage to beach areas due to storms. In the past twelve months, the combination of strong winds and high tides resulted in large quantities of sand being moved from the foreshores. In Inverloch alone, this affected 20 access points. In some areas, this exposed the footings of beach access stairways and lookouts and several access points were closed while remedial work was undertaken. In Cowes, we investigated how to address the impact of wave erosion and storm surges on the eastern foreshore.

Our approach has been to try and not compete with nature, manage the impacts with as little intrusion on the natural environment as possible and still make it easy for the community to access the beaches. We continue to look at locating and creating access points that are sympathetic to the natural environment.

The year aheadCommence phase two of the Rural Strategy

Develop the Access and Egress Plan for San Remo. The importance of this project was recognised during the development of the San Remo Structure Plan.

It is expected to be a year of action with a focus on “projects on the ground”. This will include solar panels on the depot buildings, retrofitting Council offices to reduce energy consumption, completing the Carbon Account, Integrated Water Plan and the Framework for Action.

Implementing the new Land Management Rebate scheme.

Snapshot:

Manage and maintain over 42km of coastline

Work with 10 Landcare and 13 Coastal Action Groups

Collect an average of 137 tonnes of waste per week and 196 tonnes of recycling each fortnight


Future Management of our waste collection and recycling

Increased regulatory requirements and EPA conditions, as well as increasing costs have presented a large challenge for Council this year. The new best practice Environmental Management has more rigorous compliance requirements, as do the Environment Performance conditions for defunct landfills. The EPA levies are impacting on the cost of delivering the service and in the future, the proposed carbon tax will also affect costs. In addition, subdivision developments next to transfer stations has resulted in costs from impact studies and remedial work.

The Waste Management Plan, which is currently in development, will look at strategies to reduce waste to landfill. The EPA levy and carbon tax is payable on waste.

Volunteers and staff from our Landcare and Environment teams helped plant trees on the Kilcunda foreshore

Solar panels installed at our depots will help reduce our greenhouse emissions



Business forums Business forums conducted in collaboration with Business & Tourism Partnerships and Bass Coast/South Gippsland Business Alliance, to ensure business are up to date with current trends and provide networking opportunities

Agribusiness survey Council provided in kind support and office accommodation to four post graduate students. Survey established link between higher education and higher earnings for farmers. Survey results are publically available for education and agricultural agencies

Wonthaggi land release Council released industrial and business land in Wonthaggi to continue to grow the area into a regional centre. The release of this land will provide for ongoing business and industry investment

Broadband implementation Plan for Bass Coast

Broadband Implementation Plan prepared and presented to Council in May 2011. The plan aims to support the local community with the roll out of the National Broadband Network. One of the key objectives is to attract the rollout in Bass Coast early in the life of this national project

Natural Gas roll out Following the successful delivery of natural gas to Wonthaggi and Inverloch, Council continues to advocate for the provision of natural gas to Phillip Island, San Remo and the coastal communities in Bass Coast


Develop Community and Economic Development Plan

A draft plan was prepared in September 2010, however the plan has been put on hold. Council is currently undertaking a review of all its services and after the completion of the review Council will consider completing the plan

Planning for and assessment of options for Principal Library

Council is working a business case for the development of the Bass Coast Cultural Precinct. The precinct will include a principal library for Bass Coast. Further work will be undertaken on the business case and associated plans in 2011/12


Value of events A study was conducted by Urban Enterprise into the social and economic value of events in Bass Coast. The study provides Council with information about the total value of events to the local economy along with the impacts of individual events within the Shire

Tour of Gippsland An additional day was negotiated for Bass Coast for the 2011 Tour of Gippsland. Two successful criterions were held in Wonthaggi and San Remo as well as open road race

Bike Races – Bridge to Bass Hills. Bass Hills Breathtaker, Chase the Casey Lee

Growing interest in cycling has seen these events consolidated this year and attracted additional visitors to the area, as well as strong local participation

Progress against Council Plan

• Support and encourage infrastructure, land use planning, events and services that support economic development and lifestyle opportunities

• Achieve a spread of visitor numbers across the whole year, improve visitor satisfaction and increase the economic benefits to the area


Develop a Good Governance Framework

Provides a full outline of all the documents, processes and timelines that we have to meet under the Local Government Act. This will form part of councillor induction kits and help staff meet legislative obligations

Continuous improvement reports

A report goes to Council meetings each month, which includes cost savings from across the organisation

Councillor Ward funds $12,000 is available to each councillor to allocate for Community projects in their wards. Full list of funding is available in Corporate Governance on Page 68

• Development of business partnerships

Indicators

We will create an economic environment that increases wellbeing and prosperity in the Shire

Key achievements Bass Coast Business Awards

We had our best response ever for the “People’s Choice” section, with over 80 businesses nominated by the public. In addition, businesses were able to self-nominate in the 13 categories of the Business Awards section. Eleven sponsors from business and government supported the awards and SuperPages were the major sponsor.

120 members of the local business community attended the Gala Awards night at Silverwater Resort in San Remo. Eighteen awards were presented, with local attraction, Amaze N’ Things named the SuperPages Bass Coast Business of the Year. The People’s Choice Awards went to Hillie’s Meats of San Remo and the Wonthaggi Workman’s Club.

National Broadband Network

Having high speed internet available to our community will help us attract global knowledge workers and is a key step in attaining our community vision (Guiding Bass Coast Towards 2030) to be a village in a technology world.

As part of the Australian Government’s Regional Backhaul Blackspots Program, new fibre optic cable has been laid from Sale to Wonthaggi. The desalination project has also provided a broadband connection between Melbourne and Wonthaggi. These backbone projects provide the main broadband connections needed to ensure our community will have appropriate access to broadband in the future when the rollout to each home is completed.

Council officers from IT and Economic Development attended a national Broadband Conference in Sydney to gather information and push Bass Coast’s case with key decision makers. A Bass Coast Broadband Implementation Plan has been developed outlining the work that is needed. Council continues to work with key stakeholders such as NBN Co to build the business case for early access to high speed broadband in Bass Coast.

Strategic Objective 4: Business Prosperity

• Aid business development and investment in the region

Key:


Community satisfaction with town planning

Community satisfaction rating on economic development

Snapshot:

Job ads in Bass Coast ↑ 25%

Job ads in Victoria ↓ 1.3%

Bass Coast unemployment rate

5.1%

Visitor Information Centres: » Assisted 256,000 visitors (↑ 4.65%)

» Ticket sales of $1.61 million (↑ 11.28%)

» $1.04 million in accommodation bookings (↑ 42.66%)

» $194,201 of merchandise (↑ 7.21%)

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

46 5042 49

10/11

49

06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

59 6462 61

10/11

63

Local businesses can attend forums organised by our Economic Development team



The year aheadImprove Visitor Information Centre Services: Enhancing visitors’ experiences leads to retaining visitors in the area for longer and therefore provides an improved economic outcome for the community.

Review of the Events Policy for Bass Coast Shire: Use the study of the Social and Economic Value of Events in Bass Coast to assist the review its events policy and provide recommendations on how to maximise the value of events in the future.

Lobby for early connection to National Broadband Network: Use our Broadband Implementation Plan and Broadband Implementation Team to take advantage of opportunities arising from the Federal Government’s roll out of high speed broadband.

Managing the departure of the Desalination Plant workforce: The majority of the construction of the desalination plant should be completed by June 2012, leaving a limited onsite workforce of approximately 50 staff.

Challenges Cowes to Stony Point vehicular ferry

At the July Council meeting, Council voted not to move to the planning stage of Amendment C115, better known as the Stony Point – Cowes Vehicular Ferry.

Council also voted to reject the ferry project at the Cowes Jetty. Council established an exclusion zone in response to overwhelming community opposition to establishing a ferry terminal at the Cowes Jetty Triangle site.

The feasibility of reinstating the vehicle ferry between Stony Point and Phillip Island was first studied in 1995 and again in 2003.

In 2009, working alongside Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, Tourism Victoria, Regional Development Victoria, Parks Victoria, the Department of Sustainability and the Department of Planning and Community Development, Council examined the concept plans to determine if they met social, environmental and economic opportunities and challenges. Our community consultation revealed a high level of in principle support for the project.

Desalination

The construction of the desalination project continues to have a major impact on the community and Council. Direct impacts on Council include dealing with community enquiries, managing road inspections over the length of the pipeline works and advocating for funding to address road impacts.

The impact of a significant workforce has been felt by the community particularly related to traffic congestion and busier than normal supermarkets and accommodation.

Council continues to assist with the housing accord to limit the impact of rental price increases on the community. The majority of the workforce who reside locally are living in the coastal communities thereby limiting the impacts on rental prices in Wonthaggi.

The ongoing challenge for the community will be the impact of the sudden withdrawal of the large workforce.

Construction of the desalination plant has had a significant impact on the local community



Production of Sun, Surf & Sand publication

Council developed and oversaw the production of the Sun Surf and Sand booklet, which provides information on lifestyle activities over the summer

Bass Coast Cultural precinct

Workshops were held over four days to get community input into a business plan being prepared by consultants, Artistic Merit. The plan will be presented to the State Government before the end of 2012. For more details on the Cultural Precinct, see page 35

Construction of Corinella Bowling Club

New synthetic green installed, costing $136,000. Project jointly funded by the Club, Council and Sport and Recreation Victoria


Develop Strategic direction for Youth Services

Council has adopted the Youth Action Plan 2011-2015 which provides directions for the provision of services for the next five years

Business case and masterplan for Bass Coast Education Precinct

Partnership agreement with education providers signed in July 2010. An Education Picture, Business Plan and Masterplan have all been completed for the Education Precinct

Strategy to ensure three year olds can access at least one early childhood program session per week

A capacity assessment report has been completed, identifying the availability of sessions for three year olds

Strategies for the year

• Facilitate balanced and integrated support services necessary for the health, safety and well-being of the community

• Manage development and growth in line with community needs and statutory requirements

We will improve lifestyle opportunities and options by managing the built environment and encouraging cohesive communities

• Maximise opportunities for participation in a range of lifestyle and learning activities


Wonthaggi Dalyston Structure plan

Planning Minister approved Amendment C113 to rezone 19 ha to residential in October 2010. This will accommodate up to 1,700 dwellings

Access/egress study for San Remo

Part of the implementation of the San Remo, Newhaven and Cape Woolamai Structure Plan. Will commence in second half of 2011 as it is necessary for VicRoads to complete the Network Operating Plans for the Shire first

Establish and implement an engagement framework for Planning & Environment Directorate

The Framework will provide guidance and procedures for effective engagement with the community about land use and environment issues. The draft has been completed

Implement action plan for San Remo, Newhaven and Cape Woolamai Structure Plan

Amendment C103 and Amendment C105 are in progress. These planning scheme amendment implement the recommendations of the Structure Plan regarding residential growth in San Remo. Amendment C122 has commenced and will address growth for Newhaven

Design Plan for Event Area – The Glade, Inverloch

A master plan for the enhancement of the Glade was developed in 2010. Consultation was undertaken in August with user groups, Council staff and the community.

Projects in the plan will be implemented in the coming year

Review Inverloch Design Framework

Provides direction for land use planning in Inverloch. Project completed and adopted by Council May 2011

Capital Works program reporting

Completed 88 per cent of the capital works program. Program delayed by wet weather

Key:


Key achievements and projectsPhillip Island Children’s Hub

The Phillip Island Children’s Hub is the most ambitious building project undertaken by Council in recent years. The $3.2 million construction is being funded by a $2 million commitment from Council and a grant of $1 million from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s 2010/11 Children’s Capital Program.

The first phase began in February 2011, with construction of a road to provide access to the site.

The services to be delivered from the Hub include long day care, maternal and child health services, three and four year old kindergarten and maternal and child health services. The Hub, will be located at the Cowes Primary School site and will be a magnificent community asset for years to come.

Cowes Cultural Centre Redevelopment – town square landscape work

Council adopted preliminary plans for redevelopment of the Cowes Cultural Centre town square project in November 2010. The working group liaised with Phillip Island Arts and Cultural Committee and the Public Art Reference Group to get community input into the design. Detailed designs have been drawn up and Council is ready to seek quotes for the work in order to commence construction.

IndicatorsCommunity Satisfaction

Community Satisfaction

– Recreational facilities– Appearance of public areas

– Health & human services– Enforcement of local laws

Community Satisfaction

Assets renewal funding gap (% - funding/demand)

HACC waiting list numbers

– Local roads & footpaths– Traffic management

10/1106/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

69636266 6564 6764 6763

10/1106/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

72637362 7060 7463 7357

Strategic Objective 5: Cohesive Communities

10/1106/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

51525054 5053 5152 5053

2010/112007/08 2008/09 2009/10

4039 45 42

9000 47 14

10/1106/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

Carols by the Bay in Cowes, December 2010




Stormwater irrigation system at Dalyston Recreation Reserve

Through a Sustainable Sports Fields Grant Council assisted the Dalyston Recreation Reserve Committee to instal an irrigation system on the oval. This system will allow the ground to be watered from the on-site dam providing an improved playing surface without using any potable water

Construction of new clubrooms at Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club

The new clubhouse includes training room, first aid facilities, kitchen, accommodation, kiosk, patrol room and an equipment storage room. Construction funded by Council, State Government, Inverloch & District Community Bank, Surf Life Saving Victoria, Bass Coast Community Foundation, Inverloch Jazz Festival, Thiess Degrémont, LJ Hooker Real Estate, local Lions and Rotary Clubs and the Club itself. It was official opened on 26 January 2011

Finalise Seaview Estate (The Gurdies) inappropriate subdivision buy-back process

Acquisitions have been completed. Land will transferred to the Crown for use as a nature reserve

Flood protection Ayr Creek Design Complete. Works to be completed in 2011/12

Relocation of Exeloo – Chapel St., Cowes

A $90,000 grant from the Federal Government RLCIP program was used to relocate the toilet after Council decided to sell the land at 70 Chapel Street (previous location). Toilet needed to be located close to existing public transport facilities

San Remo preschool renovations

Detailed design completed and contract awarded. Works to be completed by November 2011

Phillip Island Leisure Centre floor replacement

Council replaced the playing surface of the Phillip Island Leisure Centre stadium floor. The new floor meets the current standards and will allow more use of the Centre by the community

Inverloch Kindergarten upgrade

Council undertook the upgrade to provide an additional kindergarten room. The kindergarten will now be able to support the Federal Government’s requirements to provide 15 hours of kindergarten for four year olds by 2012

Accessible parking – retrofit 4 on road sites

Accessible parking upgraded to meet current standards in Wonthaggi and Inverloch

The year aheadCape Paterson First Surf Open Space: Council will develop a plan to improve facilities at the First Surf Beach including improved access to the beach. Once the plan has been approved then Council will look at funding options.

Review of our Local Law: The current local law has been in place since 2005 and needs to be updated to ensure it is meeting the needs of the community. The State Government has introduced a new best practice guideline for local laws which will assist with the development of the new law.

Review of domestic Animal Management Plan

Develop a Youth Plan: To guide services over the next five years.

Improve early year’s facilities in Bass Coast: Council will continue its planning for the delivery of improved early years facilities in and will also assist kindergartens in Bass Coast with planning for 15 hours of kindergarten for all four year olds.

The Bass Coast Education and Learning Precinct: Develop a governance model to define how the precinct will be developed and managed.

Playground renewal

As part of our Playground Plan 2010-15, playground renewals and upgrades are taking place across the Shire. In January 2011, the new playground was installed at the Kernot Hall and Reserve. The total cost for the project was over $22,000 which was shared between Council and the Kernot Hall and Reserve Committee.

Carer’s Retreat program

Our Aged and Disability team put together a successful submission for a pilot program run by the Department of Health. The program was aimed at people who care for someone with dementia or chronic health problems. The success of the pilot program has resulted in ongoing funding. To date, we have run three retreats with another four on offer.

The retreats cater for the carers and the person they care for and are designed to give carers the opportunity to have a break and meet people facing similar challenges. The program has also offered real development opportunities for Aged and Disability staff, who designed the program and staffed the retreat.

For more information on this program, see Sustaining Bass Coast on page 21.

Community Planning

Five communities have now developed community plans as part of a three year project facilitated by Council and funded by the Department of Planning and Community Development. Kilcunda, Bass, Inverloch, Cape Paterson, and Phillip Island South Coast community planning groups have presented their plans to Council and are all now working on implementing priority projects identified in their plans.

Amendment C93 – Coastal framework/town boundaries

In January 2011, Council approved Amendment C93 which incorporates the coastal strategy and growth for 10 coastal communities in the Shire. This was the conclusion of an eight year process, which involved extensive community consultation.

The amendment includes plans for each town, showing town boundaries and land uses allowed within these boundaries. It will also rezone parcels of land to allow for new residential development. The amendment helps protect the coastline and ensures we can continue to live sustainably along the coast.

Amendment C93 applies to the land in and around Bass, Cape Paterson, Corinella, Coronet Bay, Grantville, Harmers Haven, Jam Jerrup, Kilcunda, Pioneer Bay, The Gurdies and Tenby Point.

The Amendment is with the Planning Minister awaiting approval.

Aquatic Feasibility Study

In March 2011, Council voted to put the Bass Coast Aquatic Feasibility Study on public exhibition for two months. The Feasibility study set out options for improving and redeveloping the aquatic and leisure centre located in Wonthaggi and included the results of consultation with users, residents, schools and local sporting groups.

The centre was built in 1979, is at capacity and no longer meets the needs of the community. The Study set out options for improving and redeveloping the Centre. We received 620 feedback forms and 42 submissions as a result of the consultation. Overwhelmingly, the feedback supported the recommendations of the study: more lanes and water space; warm water space; upgraded change rooms, expanded gym, additional facilities.

The biggest concern for the community was the lack of aquatic facilities on Phillip Island and that any upgrade would be at the expense of support for an additional facility.

Recommendations about aquatic services for the Shire were presented to Council in July 2011.

Wonthaggi Centennial Centre

Work began in February 2011 on construction of the $1.5 million Centre. The project is funded through a $1 million Federal Government grant, with the remaining funding contributed by the State Government, Council and the Wonthaggi Rotary Club.

The building design is environmentally friendly and remains true to a design by Caroline McPhee, who won the architectural competition for the design of the building in 2008. It will house a new accredited Visitor Information Centre and a multi-purpose room for meetings, training, exhibitions and functions. The new Centre will be operational in time for the 2011 summer holiday season.

• Provide infrastructure and facilities that are needed by the community

Cr Veronica Dowman turning the sod at the Phillip Island Children’s Hub with council officers, Cowes Primary School Principal, Sue Becker and Brad Hewton from ADA Constructions

The Aquatic Feasibility Study looked at options for providing aquatic services across the Shire



Snapshot:

Care for over 2,500 frail aged or disabled clients through our HACC program

Maintain nearly 500km of sealed roads, over 400km of unsealed roads and over 150km of footpaths

Maintain 46 playgrounds, 90 parks and reserves and 4 major sporting facilities

Process over 7,033 pet registrations and provide pound care for 388 lost animals

Respond to approximately 4,000 roads and park maintenance requests

ChallengesKindergarten Cluster Management

Community Strengthening staff worked with kindergarten committees of management, investigating the options for cluster management of kindergartens in Inverloch, San Remo and Wonthaggi.

The kindergarten committees preferred option was for Council to take on the cluster management of the kindergartens. In June 2011, Council voted not to take on that role. There were a number of factors behind the decision. The biggest concern was Council’s lack of expertise in this area, as we currently have no hands-on involvement in children’s services. There were also concerns over the amount of time it would take to get an appropriate system in place to provide an assured level of service to the kindergarten committees. In addition, taking over the management would be a substantial and ongoing financial commitment that Council would not be able to sustain.

Council committed to helping the kindergartens find a suitable cluster management arrangement.

Cape Paterson Eco Village

In May 2011, the Minister for Planning approved an Eco-Village development for Cape Paterson. Council had refused the development early in the year, because it sat outside the town boundaries established in the Coastal Framework, and did not adhere to the State Government Coastal Strategy. The project was referred to the Minister, to assess whether the land in question was suitable for a zero-carbon type of development.

Community debate around the project was heated. Council’s concern centres on the ability of the conditions of the permit to actually deliver a zero carbon development.

Work began in February on construction of the $1.5 million Wonthaggi Centennial Centre

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