Regional Transition Group Shire of Koorda Shire of Mt Marshall Shire of Trayning Feasibility Study 12 October 2011 In October 2010 the Shire’s of Koorda Mt Marshall and Trayning resolved to enter into an agreement with the State Government to explore the issues associated with merging our three local governments. The process funded by the State will enable each local government to determine whether it wishes to pursue the proposal to merger as part of the State Structural Reform Program. This report is the first step which will allow each of the local governments to determine whether they wish to advance the merger proposal. Before each Council decides on this proposal the Board has recommended that our communities be consulted. The process of considering this feasibility study will be undertaken over the period November 2011 to February 2012. Each member Council is to convey its decision to the Regional Transition Group Board by March 2012 so that the Minister for Local Government can be advised of the results of this stage of the process. If there is agreement to merge then a further report will need to be prepared and presented to the Local Government Advisory Board. This feasibility study represents several months of research, analysis, review and discussion by the Regional Transition Group Board. It is intended to provide each of the members the background information that will enable them to make an informed decision. It is appropriate to acknowledge the commitment made by the elected members of the three Shires, the Chief Executive Officers and staff of our Councils, representatives from the Department of Local Government and our local government consultants who provided advice to the Board and enable this report to be prepared. ………………………………… J Brooks Presiding Member 12 October 2011 Shire of Koorda Shire of Mt Marshall Shire of Trayning President Janet Brooks President Paul Gillett President Trevor Lamond Councillor Rick Storer Councillor Noel Miguel Councillor Geoff Waters Chief Executive Officer David Burton Matthew Gilfellon Niel Mitchell How this Report is structured This report is structured as follows: An Executive Summary draws out the main issues associated with a possible merger of the three Shires, the benefits and the potential disincentives; An examination of the current state of the local governments, their merged state, transitional issues, rates and financial issues, and other associated matters (Sections 1 to 5); A series of detailed tables and information that provides more detail if required (Attachments 1 to 5). The report generally structure follows the format in the ‘Department of Local Government Regional Transition Groups – Business Planning Template’. As noted above, the report is based on the template, but with the following exceptions: Information in relation to each local government has been aggregated to allow easier comparison (template Part 2), and then any material differences dealt with (template Part 3); There is no ‘Part 6 - Summary Position’. This is represented in the Executive Summary instead; As noted above, detailed information is presented in Appendices; The template uses the term ‘Regional Business Plan’, whereas ‘Feasibility Study’ has been used; Similarly, ‘merger’ has been used in preference to ‘amalgamation’; Given the importance of this category of asset, an assessment of the condition of the road networks of each local government was undertaken; At the request of the local governments, commentary on the social impact of the communities within the Shires was undertaken. Abbreviations ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics CEO Chief Executive Officer CPI Consumer Price Index DLG Department of Local Government DRDL Department of Regional Development and Lands FESA Fire and Emergency Services Authority FTE Full Time Equivalent GIS Geographical Information Systems GRV Gross Rental Value HACC Home and Community Care HR Human Resources ISP Internet Service Provider IT Information Technology K Shire of Koorda KMT Koorda Mt Marshall Trayning KPI Key Performance Indicator LG Local Government LGMA Local Government Managers Australia MM Shire of Mount Marshall NEWROC North Eastern Wheatbelt Regional Council NRM Natural Resource Management ROMAN Road Management System RBP Regional Business Plan or Feasibility Study RDC Regional Development Commission RTG Regional Transition Group SAT Salaries and Allowances Tribunal SES State Emergency Service SSL Self Supporting Loan T Shire of Trayning UV Unimproved Value VBFB Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade VES Voluntary Emergency Services (Shire of Trayning) WALGA Western Australian Local Government Association WALGCI Western Australian Local Government Cost Index WALGGC Western Australian Local Government Grants Commission Regional Transition Group – Koorda, Mt Marshall, Trayning TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary _________________________________________________________________ i 1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________ 1 1.1 Background _______________________________________________________________________ 1 1.2 Regional Transition Group ___________________________________________________________ 2 1.3 The Process _______________________________________________________________________ 2 1.4 Guiding Principles __________________________________________________________________ 5 1.5 Timeframe ________________________________________________________________________ 5 2 Current State __________________________________________________________________ 6 Key Findings ____________________________________________________________________________ 6 2.1 Overview of the Current State ________________________________________________________ 7 2.1.1 Community overview______________________________________________________________________ 7 Environment and Economic Activity ______________________________________________________________ 7 Population __________________________________________________________________________________ 9 Population Demographics ______________________________________________________________________ 9 2.1.2 Organisation Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 10 Representation and Methods of Representation ___________________________________________________ 10 Organisational structures ______________________________________________________________________ 11 Financial Position ____________________________________________________________________________ 12 Issues affecting financial sustainability ___________________________________________________________ 15 Shire of Koorda ______________________________________________________________________________ 15 Shire of Mt Marshall __________________________________________________________________________ 16 Shire of Trayning _____________________________________________________________________________ 16 2.2 Strategic direction ________________________________________________________________ 18 2.2.1 Functional considerations _________________________________________________________________ 18 Governance‐ Strategic plan ____________________________________________________________________ 18 Governance ‐ Representation and wards _________________________________________________________ 20 Governance (Corporate) ‐ Legislation ____________________________________________________________ 20 Administration ‐ Chief Executive Officer __________________________________________________________ 20 Administration ‐ Committees ___________________________________________________________________ 21 Administration ‐ Reporting _____________________________________________________________________ 21 Administration ‐ Corporate branding _____________________________________________________________ 21 Community engagement ______________________________________________________________________ 21 Town (local) planning schemes _________________________________________________________________ 21 2.2.2 Financial considerations __________________________________________________________________ 22 2.3 Services _________________________________________________________________________ 22 2.3.1 Functional considerations _________________________________________________________________ 22 Details of Program Services/Facilities ____________________________________________________________ 22 2.3.2 Financial considerations __________________________________________________________________ 44 2.4 Systems _________________________________________________________________________ 45 2.4.1 Functional considerations _________________________________________________________________ 45 2.4.2 Financial considerations __________________________________________________________________ 46 Expenses ___________________________________________________________________________________ 46 2.5 Operating matters ________________________________________________________________ 46 2.5.1 Functional considerations _________________________________________________________________ 46 Other operational issues ______________________________________________________________________ 51 Feasibility Study Page i Regional Transition Group – Koorda, Mt Marshall, Trayning 2.6 People __________________________________________________________________________ 52 2.6.1 Functional considerations ________________________________________________________________ 52 Policy _____________________________________________________________________________________ 52 Plans _____________________________________________________________________________________