Comparative Performance Indicators for NSW Local Councils report - The Office of Local Government has released the Comparative Performance indicators for NSW Local Government Councils 2012/13. Liverpool Plains Shire Council (LPSC) is classified in Group 10 – rural, agricultural, large – population 5 – 10,000. According to Liverpool Plains Shire Council (LPSC) Mayor, Councillor Ian Lobsey OAM, “Considering one of the main concerns for LPSC is the T-Corp report classifying us as weak with a negative outlook this report provides encouragement in that it shows Council is making head way in addressing this issue which is fundamental to remaining as a standalone local government entity. The operating performance ratio is the benchmark we have to strive to achieve. The State Government’s benchmark is -4%. In the previous report we rated -23.61%. A lot of hard work by Councillors and Management involving some very tough decisions has seen that improve to -9.3% however we still have a way to go to match the group average of -6.8% and will be applying best practice with the benchmark as the ultimate goal,” he said. “The report shows our residential rate is on par with the group average and well below the State average while the farmland rate is somewhat higher being more a reflection of the higher value of these lands. Our business rate is higher than the group average but lower than surrounding Councils. The average domestic waste charge is lower than the group average while water and sewer rates are higher however that has to be balanced with the need for Council to show that ratepayers are contributing to the cost of our Water Utilities to give better leverage in applying for State and Federal assistance towards our Regional Water Supply Strategy,” he continued. He said the recent increase in rates, to be spent entirely on asset renewal, will provide increased revenue to improve the operating performance ratio while the increased infrastructure expenditure will improve the building and infrastructure renewal ratio. He said all Councillors are concerned that depreciation is adding to Council’s costs and cost shifting is constantly moving the goal posts against Council, when striving to meet Government requirements. “It is hard to compare different Councils in so far as each have different demographics, farm rates per assessment vary widely depending on size and fertility, business rates can be distorted by the relative size of town CBDs, the number of staff differ and whether services such as waste collection and child-care are contracted services or provided in-house also provide distortions. This is a detailed report and analysis of performance can be found at dlg.nsw.gov.au along with results from other Councils,” Councillor Lobsey concluded.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 01:30:51 +0000
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