Waste vouchers, alterations to the Slim Dusty Centre, $34 thousand in community grants, and the organisation’s performance in the third quarter of the financial year are on the agenda for the May ordinary meeting of Council.
The meeting is only held if there are registered speakers.
The Ordinary Meeting will be held at the Kempsey Shire Council Chambers from 9am on Tuesday 21 May.
You can view the full May 2024 agenda and business papers at .
and on the Kempsey Shire Council website.
2023-24 Quarter 3 Corporate Performance Report
The meeting will receive the third quarterly report for this financial year.
Council’s consolidated full year operating result (excluding capital grants) is projected to be a surplus of $6.3M, this is $1.7M better than the current revised budget surplus of $4.6M. The favourable $1.7M movement is due to revisions in the General Fund of $1.2M, Water of $0.4M and Sewer of $0.1M. This represents a consolidated:
- increase in income (excluding capital grants) of $0.8M due to higher forecast rates and user charges across a range of services; and
- decrease in operating expenditure of $0.9M as a result of under budget employee costs driven by vacant positions.
The current Capital Expenditure budget1 of $86.8M has been further reduced in the March quarter by $13.8M to $73.0M, with reductions of $10.8M in the General Fund, $1M in the Water Fund and $2.0M in the Sewer Fund.
Financial sustainability
Satisfactory progress is being made in implementing the current The Financial Sustainability Program initiatives. Of the 16 initiatives, four are complete, 9 are in progress and three are behind schedule.
Delivery Program 2022-26 and Operational Plan 2023-24
Council’s adopted Delivery Program 2022-26 and Operational Plan 2023-24 details the activities, along with the associated performance measures that are planned to be delivered during the financial year.
As of 31 March 2024, Council has completed 13 Operational Plan actions, and 117 programs/projects are progressing as planned. There are 21 projects identified as ‘Behind Schedule’, predominately due to resource limitations, or delays relating to supply chain issues or external agencies. One item has not started, and a further 10 items are being deferred until the 2024-25 financial year.
Community Grants program
Following a thorough and transparent application and assessment process, grants for financial assistance from the Community Grants Program 2023-24 for the total amount of $33,983.15, have been recommended as follows:
Mayoral Community Fund
- Kempsey South Public School P&C, Macleay Public Schools Reconciliation Walk and Concert – $5,000.00
- Macleay Pensioners League, New tables for Macleay Pensioners League – $483.00
- Young Minds Thrive, Empowering Futures – Healthy hearing kids outreach program – $5,000.00
- Key Community Group, Kempsey Riverside Markets Entertainment – $5,000.00
- Kempsey Family History Group, Purchase of printer for family history documenting and archiving – $3,263.15
- Stuarts Point RSL Sub-Branch, Upgrades to Stuarts Point War Memorial – $3,000.00
Sporting Fund
- Macleay Valley Rangers, New sporting equipment – $2,500.00
- Kempsey Rugby Union Club Inc, New line marker – $2,500.00
- Kempsey Macleay Table Tennis Club, New table tennis table – $1,890.00
- Macleay Valley Mountain Bike Club, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) – $2,385.00
- Macleay Pickleball, New pickleball equipment – $1,962.00
Quick Grant – NAIDOC Week
- Dalaigur & Scribbly Gum Dalai, Dalaigur & Scribbly Gum Concert – $500.00
- Kempsey South Public School P&C, NAIDOC cultural activities at Kempsey South Public School – $500.00
Proposed alterations and additions to Slim Dusty Centre
Following 28 days of public exhibition, a development application seeking consent for alterations and additions to the Slim Dusty Exhibition Centre at 490 Macleay Valley Way, South Kempsey is being reported to Council due to the proposed development being a Council asset located on Crown Land. The DA proposes alterations and additions to the Slim Dusty Exhibition Centre which is likely to be constructed over three stages. The applicant seeks flexibility in the consent conditions to allow and account for various elements that may arise during the construction process.
Stage 1
- The construction of a curator’s store within the (southern) end of the art gallery for storage of museum material.
- Change of use of Exhibition 2 area to Event Space 1, for use of conferences, meetings, functions, weddings, utilising existing stage and providing 180 seats.
- Change of use to the existing (northern) storage/ workshop area to use as a part storage, green room/art lab/meeting space and Event Space 2.
- Installation of a bifold sectional wall within the (central) Glazed Gallery, and adjoining the proposed Event Space 1, to segment off the museum when the event space is used.
Stage 2
- Installation of two sunshades on the external eastern elevation of the proposed green room/art lab/meeting space and Event Space 2 over an existing outdoor seating/eating area.
Stage 3
- Construction of a new dedicated glazed entrance for Event Space 2 (refer stage 1) and adjoining toilet facilities on the northern elevation of the building facing the facility carpark.
- Installation of internal bifold/concertina glazed doors between the existing café dining area and the museum souvenir shop/entrance lobby to also close off the museum when the event rooms are being used outside of museum hours.
Customer Experience Policy
Council will consider a new Customer Experience Policy for adoption which aims to establish a consistent approach to customer experience across Council and communicate this approach to our internal and external customers. It also articulates the key principles via which we will deliver professional, approachable, and reliable customer experience.
Additionally, the Policy articulates the roles of the Mayor and Councillors in referring requests for service, enquiries, complaints, and feedback to the organisation for appropriate action and response.
Sustainable Procurement and Contracts Policy
A new Procurement Strategy will be considered for adoption which commits to creating a a sustainable, ethical, and efficient procurement and contract management system.
Waste vouchers
The methods of allocating a portion of waste vouchers to renters residing in the houses and business premises where the rates are being levied has been reviewed by Council staff who have recommended that the current system not be changed for the coming financial year.
Waste vouchers are currently emailed or mailed out with rates notices for all residential properties with a waste service but is not currently available to businesses. Residential rental properties, including multi-residential dwellings with vouchers, are mailed to managing Real Estate Agents, Strata Managers, and owners of the rental properties. This process relies on the managing Real Estate Agents, Strata Managers and property owners to pass on the vouchers to tenants when received.
In the current financially year, there have been 1,972 vouchers redeemed from 23,084 vouchers issued to 11,542 rateable properties.
In the 2024-25 financial year the Waste Management Team will be removing item specific restrictions placed on the use of Waste Vouchers to encourage the redemption of the vouchers by the community which we believe will have a positive impact on illegal dumping and accumulation of waste in the Kempsey Shire. Vouchers will contribute to the payment of waste fees.
The proposed terms and conditions of waste vouchers for 2024-25 are:
- Single use vouchers must be presented at the time of disposal
- Vouchers redeemable per ‘standard domestic load’ – maximum 2 vouchers
- Vouchers are valid for domestic residential waste disposal only
- Any load with a total cost more than the voucher value of $40.00 shall incur the additional fee
Sale of Land for Unpaid Rates
At its meeting of 17 October 2023, Council resolved to proceed to sell seven properties due to unpaid rates. This has proven very successful, with the following outcomes achieved:
- Five properties were removed from the auction. Four properties paid in full. The other property made a substantial payment and entered into a mutually agreeable payment arrangement for the small remaining outstanding balance.
- This resulted in $119k being collected prior to auction.
- The two remaining properties were presented for auction on 15 March 2024 and sold.
- This resulted in the recovery of $61k of unpaid rates and charges that had not previously been able to be collected.
The sale of land for unpaid rates is considered an action of last resort to collect rates that have been outstanding for long periods of time, where other recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.
Statement of Cash and Investments – April 2024
Council held $95.1M of cash and investments as of 30 April 2024, comprising $4.5M of cash at bank and $90.6M of investments. In April, the weighted average running investment yield was 4.79%, which is a slight improvement on the yield reported in March (4.78%). Investment income for the financial year-to-date is $3,942,238 which is above the year-to-date budget of $3,894,290.
a review of the investment strategy in light of the current economic environment and cash holding of Council, is planned to be conducted. The intention is to ensure best practice management of cash and investments to optimise returns while maintaining required operational funds.
Reports from Councillors
Various Councillors will present delegates reports for conferences and committees attended on behalf of Council.
Order of Business considered in open session
10.1. 2023-24 Quarter 3 Corporate Performance Report
10.2. Community Grant Program
10.3. DA2401014 Proposed Alterations & Additions to Slim Dusty Centre
10.4. Customer Experience Policy
10.5. Sustainable Procurement and Contracts Policy
10.6. Waste Voucher Usage Update
10.7. Sale of Land for Unpaid Rates
10.8. Statement of Cash and Investments – April 2024
11.1. Delegates Report – NSW Country Mayors Association – Forbes Conference
11.2. Delegates Report – NSW Australian Local Government Women’s Association NSW Conference
11.3. Delegates Report – Bush Fire Management Committee – 1 May 2024
11.4. Delegate’s Report – Arts Mid North Coast – 2023-24
12.1. Legal Matters
