Works and Facilities Agenda (14/11/06, 8766kb) - Eurobodalla Shire ...

DELEGATES REPORT TO WORKS AND FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD ON TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2006 Page 20
W06/115 NSW ROADS CONGRESS – DELEGATES REPORT 98.2473
• DOTARs will audit 20-25 Councils per year
• seven Councils audited in July. Results of audit were poor, especially the lack of
knowledge about maintaining Council funding levels being mandatory
• many Councils doing right thing – some excellent results on the ground
• for continuation of funding from Federal Government:
- Councils must maintain/increase their road funding
- demonstrate a strong collective case/need
Murray Brown, GM Strategic Development – Works Infrastructure Pty Ltd
Alternate Funding for Roads
Infrastructure Works is a company that starts from the NZ equivalent of the RTA. Now a
multi-national service provider.
Murray discussed his experience in Victoria whereby his company borrowed funds to upgrade
Council roads and then Council engaged his company for a 15 year period to maintain the
roads. This requires Council to commit to an annual payment plus contract variations for that
timeframe.
Jason Gordon, Director of Engineering & Technical Services – Cabonne Shire Council
Jason provided an outline of the alliance between Wellington, Blayney and Cabonne Councils
for the delivery of the Single Invitation Contract to the RTA. This alliance operates under a
board arrangement with members from all three Councils, with a legal agreement in place.
Cabonne Council is the lead Council with Blayney & Wellington Councils also forming part
of the alliance. Cabonne undertakes the administration of the contract and charges a 5%
overhead on prices from Wellington & Blayney Councils to cover this cost. The RTA only
has to deal with “one” contractor, delivering administrative savings to the State.
Each Council still does their own work within their own Shires. Some future resource sharing
may be possible. This arrangement suits these small Councils as they can now afford a single
roads inspector, releasing qualified engineers for other more important tasks.
Note: At Eurobodalla we have combined our RTA work with our local/regional roadwork to
provide a roads inspector and maintenance planner. In effect, an internal alliance. This allows
for improved management of all road assets, including the RTAs. We have indicated to the
RTA that we are not supportive of forming an alliance with Palerang Shire Council, due to the
additional administration that would follow from Council, and the geographical issues
associated with the Clyde Mountain.
Nevertheless, there may be other areas in the State where this proposal offers similar
advantages to the alliance as outlined by Jason Gordon.