City of Unley 2013-14 Annual Report
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City of Unley 2013-14 Annual Report 1 CONTENTS The City of Unley Mayor’s Message Chief Executive Officer’s Message Strategic Management Framework Goal 1 - Emerging: Our Path to a Future City Goal 2 - Living: Our Path to a Vibrant City Goal 3 - Moving: Our Path to an Accessible City Goal 4 - Greening: Our Path to a Sustainable City Goal 5 - Organisational excellence Economic Development and Planning Assets and Infrastructure People and Governance Ward Overview Elected Members Elected Member Allowances and Benefits Elected Member Training Seminars and Conferences Elector Representation Review Meeting Times, Dates, Agendas and Minutes Executive Management Team Confidentiality Freedom of Information Internal Review Applications Decision Making Structure Application of Competition Principles Community Land Management Plans Competitive Tendering Arrangements Rating Policy Income Auditor’s Remuneration Subsidiary – Centennial Park Cemetery Authority Section 41 Committees Allowances and Benefits Executive Team Salary Packages Staff Overview Exits and Absenteeism List of Registers and Codes Appendix Financial Statements Centennial Park Cemetery Authority Annual Report 2013 - 2014 2 THE CITY OF UNLEY Aboriginal Acknowledgement We acknowledge this land is the traditional land of the Aboriginal people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country. We also acknowledge that the Aboriginal people are the custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still important to the living Aboriginal people today. FACTS AND FIGURES Location: 4 kilometres south east of Adelaide CDB Population: 38 695 Rateable properties: 18 436 (as at 30 June 2014) Area: 14.4 square kilometres Operating Income $41.2 million Operating Expenditure $39.7 million Staff: 182.75 (full time equivalent staff) Our Vision 2033 Our City is recognised for its vibrant community spirit, quality lifestyle choices, diversity, business strength and innovative leadership. 3 Mayor’s Message This has been a year of considerable achievement despite the need for careful budget management. These are challenging times for all local government bodies, but your Council has performed extremely well and continued to move forward. One of Council’s prime goals is to ensure the City of Unley becomes the premiere inner-metropolitan Council, and one of the ways we do this is by supporting an enviable range of events. The Unley Gourmet Gala, combined with the Stage 4 Start of the Tour Down Under, is probably the most visible of these, and rightly so as it continues to grow in popularity. This year it attracted more than 20 000 people and resulted in local expenditure of more than $725,000 – a good investment for our City. And this year our Double Shot Coffee Fiesta held at the Soldiers Memorial Gardens on Unley Road won Best New Event at the Australian Event Awards. I continue to marvel at the extraordinary work performed by our four Community Centres which now benefit from a report establishing their future focus and directions following a year-long review. Their work along with our Libraries, Museum and Swimming Centre very much benefit from the time and enthusiasm provided by our loyal team of volunteers, all 476 of them, who contributed not only 29,000 hours of their time across 29 different programs, but endless good humour and understanding often in trying circumstances. Not all of Council’s energies have been directed just towards our residents. As Mayor I’ve been particularly excited about furthering our ongoing commitment to supporting our business community, as part of which we’ve hosted six business networking breakfasts, in conjunction with Hyde Park Rotary and the East Side BEC during the year focussed on providing valuable business advice to our traders. These have become so popular we’ve had to move to the Town Hall to accommodate them. It’s been a year of some very important positive outcomes and I congratulate the Council’s CEO, Peter Tsokas, and his entire team for the way they have continued the process of change and innovation that is now characteristic of the way Unley Council does business. I would like to thank every member of the community who has written, called or emailed to contribute during structured consultation or simply because they have seen something or had an idea which could improve this city. We strive to place you at the centre of all we do. With local government elections now due at the end of the year, I also wish to congratulate my fellow elected members for their hard work and commitment over the past four years. The very positive position in which the City of Unley now finds itself is very much due to their efforts. Lachlan Clyne Mayor City of Unley - City of Villages 4 CEO’s Message – DRAFT not yet approved This year’s Annual Report demonstrates many of the ways your Council sets out to meet the many complex challenges facing local government today. At the heart of all that we do is Council’s Community Plan 2033, which sets out in specific detail not just the goals we have collectively decided on for our City, but how we plan to achieve them. Our Strategic Management Framework ensures we make the most effective use of our resources, have clear strategic directions and goals, effective governance and, above all, accountability and transparency in our dealing with the Unley community. This year saw the City of Unley widely recognised as a business leader, with awards for our work in support of local business. We’ve seen the successful implementation of the second year of our Digital Economy Strategy, and launched a new eMagazine (FYE eMag) – the first of its kind in Australia, to help promote our local economy and increase vibrancy in our mainstreet precincts. One of the areas where I’m particularly proud of Council’s initiatives has been in our commitment to being an age-friendly city. The City of Unley is leading the way in this area, conscious that this is something of great relevance to our community. Following a 12 month review of Council’s community centre program, Council endorsed a report establishing the future directions for Council’s four community centres. This has ensured a holistic approach to the way Council delivers services across the community. I am also excited about Council’s Unley Central Precinct Project. The Plan provides the framework for the development of a major urban hub, a ‘heart’ for our City. The plan will ensure that developments are high quality and socially engaging, with a priority for higher density mixed use residential dwellings. Fulfilling a goal of Unley’s Open Space Strategy to ensure there is open space within 500 metres of every home, Council has purchased property at 19-21 Katherine Street in Fullarton with the aim of developing a neighbourhood park. The new site will therefore provide amenity and recreational facilities to meet the open space needs of the community. Further in planning, we’ve aligned our Planning Policy with the State’s Planning Strategy to enable higher density residential development on Unley Road and Greenhill Road, while also nearly doubling the number of local heritage places listed for protection. Our continuing focus has also been on building a constructive culture to enhance organisational excellence, supported by improvements to systems, structure and processes. As a result of this focus, we have reduced recurrent 5 operational expenditure by $1.124m over the last three years. These reductions have not involved any cuts to services offered. I’m very proud of our staff who are dedicated to provide the best services to the community they serve. Once again I congratulate our team for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to working closely with the Elected Members of Council. Peter Tsokas Chief Executive Officer 6 7 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK The Council’s Strategic Management Framework ensures: • Accountability to the community • Effective use of existing resources to maximise economic, social, and environmental outcomes • Accurate measuring and reporting processes • Strong knowledge base for decision-making • Clear strategic directions and corporate goals • Effective administrative and governance procedures. Our Vision 2033 “Our City is recognised for its vibrant community spirit, quality lifestyle choices, diversity, business strength and innovative leadership.” Our vision is encompassed in the Community Plan 2033 under five key goals. Goal 1 Emerging: Our Path to a Future City Embrace new activities and technologies that will support our business and residential communities Goal 2 Living: Our Path to a Vibrant City Celebrate culture, diversity and lifestyle Goal 3 Moving: Our Path to an Accessible City Strengthen accessibility and transport options across our city Goal 4 Greening: Our Path to a Sustainable City Promote and adopt environmental initiatives that support a sustainable future 8 Goal 5 Organisational excellence: Our path to a robust and sustainable organisation Foster strong leadership, management and a dynamic and supportive organisational culture. 9 GOAL 1 Emerging: Our Path to a Future City Embrace new activities and technologies that will support our business and residential communities Strategic Objectives 1.1 A thriving and prosperous business community 1.2 Emerging technology is embraced 1.3 A dynamic mix of uses and activities in selected precincts ACHIEVEMENTS Recognition as a leader in business The City of Unley has been recognised as a business leader for its proactive support of local business and has achieved the following: • SA Tourism Award 2013 - Destination Marketing • National Marketing Strategy Award 2013 - Economic Development Australia • Award Finalist for ‘Excellence in Service Provision’ 2013 & 2014 - Restaurant & Catering SA • Contributing Author for the Property Council’s publication ‘Mainstreet Best Practice: Digital Economy - Unley Case study • Guest Speaker at the National Economic Development Conference, Melbourne: Digital Economy - Unley Case study • Guest Speaker at the Mainstreet SA State Conference • Guest Speaker at the Local Government Association Innovation Showcase.