Annual Report 10
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Indigo Shire Council Annual Report 10|11 When a community makes up its mind… When their post office closed in December the Stanley community rallied around and with the help of Indigo Shire Council, established a temporary new post office in Pioneer Road opposite the Stanley Primary School. The post office opened for business on 21 March and is staffed by the residents on a roster basis. The post office is open from 8.30am to 10.30am and 3.30pm to 5.30pm each day as well as 8.30am to 10.30am on Saturday and Sunday. A small working group is working with Council on a permanent solution. COVER PAGE CAPTION: The day before the post office opened for business, residents gathered for a celebratory barbecue lunch. Contact Call us on 1300 365 003 Email us [email protected] (We aim to provide a response to your enquiry within five business days.) Visit online www.indigoshire.vic.gov.au Fax us on 03 5728 1676 Indigo Shire Council PO Box 28 Beechworth, Victoria 3747 (Please allow 14 business days for a response) Open 8.30am - 5pm, Monday to Friday 101 Ford Street, Beechworth, Victoria 3747 Shire offices BEECHWORTH OFFICE CHILTERN CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE Phone 03 5728 8000 Phone 03 5726 1206 Address 101 Ford Street, Beechworth, Victoria 3747 Fax 03 5726 1953 Post PO Box 28 Beechworth, Victoria 3747 Address 40 Conness Street, Chiltern, Victoria 3683 Open 9am-12.30pm/1.30pm-5pm YacKANDANDAH OFFICE Phone 02 6028 1100 RUTHERGLEN CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE Fax 02 6027 1495 Phone 02 6032 8206 Address 34 High Street, Fax 02 6032 7427 Yackandandah, Victoria 3749 Address 153 High Street, Rutherglen, Victoria 3685 Post PO Box 75, Open 9am - 12.30pm/1pm - 4.30pm, Tues to Fri Yackandandah, Victoria 3749 9am - 12pm, Saturday About Us Page 2-11 About Indigo Shire ...................Page 2 The Year in Review ..................Page 6-7 Contents Your Councillors ........................Page 8-11 Our Annual Report for the 2010-2011 financial year details our efforts to meet strategic goals in our Council Plan. Our aim has been to objectively appraise our achievements and challenges over the Sharing past year, and the evolving nature of our relationship with our community. Communications Page 12-14 Our unique native flora Indigo Shire takes its name Our People Page 15-20 from the Indigofera australis, one of many native plants in our region. Some of these Major Projects are featured throughout this Annual Report beside the & Programs Page 21-36 page numbers. Civil Operations .........................Page 22-25 Featured on this page: Project Delivery .........................Page 26-28 Brachyscome gracilis - Dookie Daisy Flood Stories ...............................Page 29 & 33 Major Capital Works ...............Page 30-32 Assets..............................................Page 34-36 Sustainable Communities Page 37-44 Community Planning..............Page 38-41 Planning & Sustainable Development ..............................Page 42-44 Corporate Services Page 45-58 Tourism ..........................................Page 46-48 Historic Precinct ........................Page 49 Economic Development .......Page 50-53 Finance & IT ................................Page 54-55 Governance & Risk ..................Page 56-58 Our Performance Page 59-78 Financial Reports Page 79-145 About Us about indigo shire Indigo Shire is located in Victoria’s picturesque North East and borders the Murray River and the Australian Alps. Indigo is renowned for its natural beauty and historic towns. Thousands of tourists visit the area each year to sample our food and wine and visit our many well known festivals and events. Industry in Indigo is mainly rural in nature, including agriculture, viticulture, and horticulture. There are over 750 separate businesses based in the Shire. Two operations each providing employment to more than 100 people are Murray Goulburn Co-operative, major producer of dairy products in Kiewa, and Uncle Tobys, manufacturer of cereals and health food products, in Wahgunyah. Services provided: Townships and Areas: • Asset management • Home Care • Kiewa-Tangambalanga • Gooramadda • Advocacy • Meals on Wheels • Beechworth • Gundowring • Community • Immunisations • Stanley • Indigo Valley development • Libraries • Rutherglen • Kergunyah • Community Forums • Local law • Wahgunyah • Lilliput • Cemeteries enforcement • Chiltern • Norong • Engineering work • Maternal and child • Yackandandah • Osbornes Flat health • Environment and • Allans Flat • Sandy Creek sustainable initiatives • Public health • Barnawartha • Staghorn Flat • Festivals and events • Tourism • Browns Plains • Wooragee support • Town planning • Brimin • Huon • Footpath and road • Waste management maintenance and • Bruarong • Barnawartha North construction • Youth services … and many more. • Carlyle • Charleroi • Heritage matters • Chiltern Valley • Silver Creek • Cornishtown • Upper Sandy Creek pictURE: Louise Kaye-Smith, Ali Rowe, and Geoff Simmons at the Volunteer Expo at Yackandandah in November 2010. Page 2 MajorAbout ProjectsUs & Programs cont... About Us Sharing Communications SNAPSHot: Locations: 270km north east of Melbourne Region: North East Victoria Area: 2,016 sq km Length of roads 1463km Population: 16,111 Growth Rate: 0.98% Our People Voters: 11,241 (VEC) Number of councillors: 7 Number of businesses: 750 Major Projects & Programs Major Projects Budget Total: $23.4 million Rate Revenue: $10.4 million Employees: 129 (EFT) Properties (total): 8890 $2.69 billion Properties Rateable: 8149 $2.63 billion Planning Permits determined: 291 $58,694,509 Building Permits issued by Indigo Shire Building Department: 268 $17,772,342 Communities Sustainable Building Permits Issued within Shire by Private Surveyors: 105 $18,516,129 Total Building Permits issued: 373 $36,228,471 Corporate Services Corporate VICTORIA Kiewa - Tangambalanga Our Performance Borders: Indigo Shire shares a border with the municipalities of Wodonga, Wangaratta, Towong, Alpine Financial Reports and Moira Shire Councils. Indigofera adesmiifolia - Tick Indigo Page 3 About Us indigo - it’s different We could talk about the food and the wine, the extensive rail trails, the distinct seasons - our autumn is really something quite special. We could talk about our preserved history - Australia’s most significant collection of historic towns. But it is more than that. We have something quite different and unique here. It’s the winding roads and the little discoveries you make at the end of them. It’s the environment - the unspoilt corners of the shire like beautiful Wahgunyah on the mighty Murray River and Upper Sandy Creek in the Kiewa Valley, the giant granite outcrops around Mt Pilot near Beechworth, the national parks. It’s missing your turn on a weekend drive and finding yourself at the end of a bush track looking at Mt Buffalo or Mt Hotham in the distance and realising it’s only about an hour to drive up there for a day’s snow skiing. It’s the ease of driving down and back to Melbourne in a day to catch a matinee show with your children. It’s going to any of our festivals across the Shire and seeing the spirit in our communities. Our residents drove the community consultation process for our current four-year Council Plan and we won an award for that. Our people are dynamic, creative, spirited and discerning. This is what makes Indigo different. Page 4 MajorAbout ProjectsUs & Programs cont... About Us council’s philosophy Sharing Communications THE KEY DRIVERS OF INDIGO SHIRE COUNCIL ARE: VISION: INDIGO: A great place to live, work and visit. MISSION: To support and develop a sustainable, thriving and resilient community through leadership and partnerships Our People Values Key Principles • Leadership - We will provide progressive, caring and • Preservation of heritage and historical features of innovative leadership the Shire • Honesty & Integrity - All our actions will be based on • Promotion and recognition of innovation and & Programs Major Projects sound information, trust, fairness and equity continuous improvement • Respect - We will listen to, and value the ideas and • Recognition of cultural diversity and equality of feedback from our community opportunity • Community Involvement - We value and encourage • Responsible management of Council’s resources participation in both council and community life • Conservation of the natural environment in which • Professionalism and Teamwork - Councillors we live and employees will be appropriately skilled and • Maintenance of the rural identity and atmosphere committed to working as a team of rural towns Communities Sustainable • Accountability - We are accountable to our • Ensure effective planning for our future community to provide the best possible outcomes within the resources that are available. • Build and maintain partnerships with our community • Pursue sustainable economic growth through supporting agriculture, tourism and business opportunities • Provide customer focused service delivery • Ensure we are leadership and governance attuned, aware, accessible and accountable to our Services Corporate community • Promote a healthy and safe community. Our Performance Financial Reports Page 5 About Us on a personal note... Once again, Council staff have risen to the challenge delivering professional service to residents and visitors. In particular, staff continue to make stellar inroads into the Capital Works program and, again, we see record amounts of work completed, which is to the overall benefit of the whole community. This year has seen the closure of the