Town of Bassendean: Minutes

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TOWN of BASSENDEAN

MINUTES

PUBLIC FORUM – LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURAL REFORM

HELD IN THE BASSENDEAN COMMUNITY HALL,

48 OLD PERTH ROAD, BASSENDEAN

ON WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 2009, AT 7.00PM

Her Worship the Mayor, Cr Tina Klein JP, opened the meeting at 7.00pm and welcomed all those in attendance.

The Mayor introduced all Councillors and Officers of the Town in attendance.

1.0 ATTENDANCES & APOLOGIES

Councillors

Her Worship the Mayor, Cr Tina Klein

Cr John Gangell, Deputy Mayor

Cr Anne Brinkworth

Cr Michelle Stubbs

Cr Lynda Butler

Cr Sam Piantadosi

Cr Gerry Pule

Cr John Cox

Cr Don Yates

Officers

Mr Bob Jarvis CEO

Mr Michael Costarella Director Corporate Services

Mrs Cathy Muraszko Minutes Secretary

Visitors

Mr Ron Back, Consultant

Public

Approximately 50 members of the public were in attendance.

Press

1 member of the press was in attendance.

2.0 SPECIAL BUSINESS

The Mayor provided background information on the purpose of the meeting as follows:

“In February 2009, the Minister for Local Government announced his wide-ranging Local Government Reform Strategies. As part of this, he has encouraged each local government within Western Australia to embrace the opportunity for voluntary amalgamations to achieve much needed structural reform in this State. As part of this initiative, the Minister is also advocating each council to have an elected member group of between six and nine.

The desired outcome of structural reform is a strong sustainable local government. There are a range of benefits that will be achieved through the reform process:

Increased capacity for local government to better plan, manage and deliver services to their communities with a focus on social, environmental and economic sustainability;
Increased capacity for local government to have adequate financial and asset management plans in place;
Enhanced efficiency in the processing of planning, building and other licence applications made by business and the community;
Greater ability to attract and retain staff including the provision of further career development opportunities;
Greater competition for positions on Council and, in conjunction with other reforms, potential for enhanced governance capacity; and
Larger Local Governments with greater capacity to partner with State and Federal Government, and the private sector, to further improve services to communities.

The Minister has requested that by 31 August 2009, each of the 139 Local Governments in Western Australia will have made an informed decision on voluntary amalgamation, their preferred regional groupings and the number of elected members required within a range of six to nine.

In response to the Town’s Checklist submitted in April 2009 the Department of Local Government and Regional Development has advised –

“On the basis of the checklists assessment, the Town of Bassendean was placed in Category One; evidence indicates that there is existing organisational and financial capacity to meet current and future community needs. Local Governments should still consider reform opportunities which enhance service provision to local and regional communities.”

The CEO provided some additional information on the Minister’s proposals as follows:

The Town has met with it’s two neighbouring Councils, the Cities of Swan and Bayswater.

To date, the City of Bayswater has not given any indication of what their future direction maybe. The City of Swan has indicated that their first preference is to remain unchanged, but acknowledged that they need to address the Minister’s proposal. Accordingly, their future plans could include a proposed amalgamation with the Town of Bassendean.

The Mayor introduced Mr Ron Back who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in Local Government and has been appointed as the Council’s consultant in this matter. The Mayor outlined Mr Back’s profile.

Mr Back addressed the meeting on the Structural Reform Process by way of a Powerpoint presentation and strongly urged all residents to complete survey forms provided at tonight’s meeting.

Questions and comments were facilitated by Mr Back, however, as names and addresses were not provided, the following is a summary only.

Should an amalgamation occur, will the proportion of the budget spend be significantly larger than it currently is?

Mr Back advised that the Minister has not made a public statement indicating that any amalgamation would be in the Town’s financial interests and there has been no government that has looked closely at the process to analyse the benefits in this regard, so there is no feedback to rely on.

Will profit and loss liabilities be carried forward with an amalgamation?

Mr Back advised that it is unlikely that the Government would write off any current debts, however, past history of amalgamations has indicated Government grants to be forthcoming to Councils who amalgamate. This, however, cannot be relied upon to pay off debts.

How does the Category 1 status given to the Town of Bassendean compare to neighbouring Councils?

Categories are 1, 2 or 3. Category 2 indicates that Councils should look at amalgamation and structural reform and Category 3 is basically saying that Councils must consider amalgamation. Both the Cities of Swan and Bayswater were rated as Category 1.

Would the boundaries of Bassendean be split in the process of amalgamation, i.e. Eden Hill go to Swan and Bassendean to Bayswater?

Mr Back advised that the Minister’s preference is for full amalgamation.

Amalgamation was favoured by a resident representing families in the area in order to provide uniformity of service as she believes Bassendean does not have the same standard of family services that the Cities of Swan and Bayswater provide.

Are the workers guaranteed their jobs?

The Local Government Act provides that every employee is guaranteed employment for a period of 2 years, unless they take an agreed redundancy.

Reference was made and discussion ensued with regard to Brisbane in Queensland who reformed to only two Councils, one for the North and one for the South.

Is there any process for de-amalgamation where the process has been undertaken?

Mr Back advised that there was one in Victoria and another in South Australia. He referred to various Councils who opposed the change, however, in recent times are now starting to apply to amalgamate in order to achieve more power in relation to local government funding.

Is there a difference in the cost of rates and services in the Cities of Swan and Bayswater compared to that in Bassendean?

The CEO confirmed that both neighbouring Councils have higher rates, as Bassendean’s rates include the rubbish collection charge.

Should the Town be budgeting better to provide the same services to the people that the Cities of Swan and Bayswater do even if it means comparative rates with those areas?

Mr Back agreed that this could be considered.

Is there a rating of dynamic natures of Shires? And should the Town research what the residents want and are prepared to pay for?

Some Councils are indicating they need to get bigger to get better. Elected members are all about people and some very small Councils work well, however, this is not the case in some Councils.

Losing the identity of the Town of Bassendean was discussed. Mr Back referred to Mt Lawley which retains a strong identity whilst forming part of the City of Stirling.

Do large Councils show a tendency towards inertia?

Across 139 Councils, there would be a different answer for each one. Satisfaction of what residents pay for versus the services provided will always be an issue.

If the Town does not choose an outcome, will the Government do it for us?

Mr Back advised that this would be the case based on past history.

What does the City of Swan see as a benefit of amalgamation with Bassendean?

The CEO advised that the City of Swan’s first option is to remain unchanged. Its second option was to see Tonkin Highway and Reid Highway as its border.

Concern was expressed with some of the services that are not provided in Bassendean or that need improvement and that an amalgamation would not necessarily be a “fix-all”.

It was noted that a synergy exists between the eastern side of Bassendean and the City of Swan, however, not between the Western side and the City of Bayswater.

If an amalgamation proceeds, do those Councils that have volunteered obtain more benefits?

Mr Back advised that there is likely to be financial benefits by way of grants and gave various examples of past financial benefits enjoyed by amalgamated Councils.

What is State Government’s rationale? Is it about the community or money?

The Federal Government would rather deal with less than 139 local governments and the State Government’s view is similar. Small Councils have a strong sense of community with larger ones becoming more de-personalised, however, this does not seem to be a major consideration.

In the event of amalgamation, would Bassendean still retain some of its current services such as the fireworks, volunteer bus services, Anzac Day Services and Leisure Services.

The CEO advised that it cannot be guaranteed that the services will remain the same. What is important to one community, may not be in another.

If Bayswater does not submit a proposal by 31 August, could the Town consider an amalgamation with the City of Stirling?

Mr Back suggested that this may not be what the Minister is seeking.

Will Council consider reducing the number of Elected Members from 9 to 6?

Mr Back advised that this was generally considered a good idea.

Will the City of Bayswater’s investigation by the CCC be a concern?

The CEO advised that a report on the CCC’s findings was to be released.

Will Council come up with a future direction for the Town if the amalgamation does not proceed.

Mr Back suggested that all residents fill out and return a survey form, as this feedback will form part of the information gathering process. 149 responses have been received to date.

Following discussion, Mr Back summarised the general consensus of the meeting to be as follows, in order of priority:

The Town of Bassendean to remain independent.
Extend the boundaries to Tonkin Highway, Reid Highway and Bennett Brook.
If unable to remain independent, consider amalgamation with the City of Bayswater.
Decrease number of Elected Members from 9 to 6.
Continue as a member Council of the EMRC.

3.0 CLOSURE

The Mayor thanked the members of the public for their attendance and valued input and further highlighted the importance of completing a survey.

Members of the public were invited to partake in light refreshments.

There being no further business, Her Worship the Mayor closed the meeting, the time being 9.25pm.