ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 CITY OF GREATER GEELONG

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
I remember when I first came to Geelong I was
struck by the number of people I met who felt
so passionate about the places in which they
live and Central Geelong.
It has now been over five years and that passion burns
bright. Time has passed quickly and the challenges of
growth have been many. After yet another successful year
where we ended on a strong financial note, we are in
good stead to meet the challenges of the 2008-2009 year.
Below are some trends that demonstrate the successes:
> Leap in the number of tourists visiting the region.
> Increase in the number of building permits issued.
> Increase in the value of building activity.
Kay Rundle
Chief Executive Officer
> Increase in patronage of our Swim Sport and Leisure
Centres.
In 2007-2008, the average residential ratepayer paid
$2.60 a day for services that ranged from the basics like
roads, parks, footpaths and maternal child health to
supporting events and festivals, youth, community
groups, home care and meals on wheels, leisure and
recreation facilities, the Geelong Art Gallery, libraries and
the National Wool Museum. In fact, we provide over 120
services to the community.
Most importantly in the past 12 months we spent $52
million on our capital works program to create new assets
such as the Legends Plaza. This money was also spent
on ensuring that the priority items from our $1.2 billion
worth of City assets were well maintained and upgraded.
Engaging our community helps us ensure that the
priorities of local people translate into strategy and
decision making. Over the year there were 120
opportunities for the community to actively participate
in the workings of Council.
In May we launched EcoChallenge, an awareness and
training program for staff to reduce our organisation’s
consumption of water, energy and resources. We have
already made considerable progress in cutting water and
energy use, but we need to do more, particularly if we are
to meet the targets set in our Greenhouse Reduction
Strategy, released in December 2007.
I am delighted that progress has been made on the issue
of civic accommodation. We currently have staff spread
over numerous sites, a situation that is costly and
frustrating. Council has the expectation that a state-ofthe-art
building that satisfies triple bottom line principles
of environmental sustainability, community use and
financial prudence will be the end result. In fact, it is
possible that we will be able to meet many of the
greenhouse targets we have set for the year 2020 simply
by how we build it.
In order to continually improve our service delivery to the
community, we spent over one million dollars on training
for staff in the 2007-2008 financial year. This ensures
standards are shared, encourages awareness, increases
knowledge and develops the skills of our staff.
In recognition of some truly wonderful efforts, many
service teams have won awards. One example is the
Annual Report - last year’s equivalent of this
document - which won a silver award at the 2007
Australasian Reporting Awards. A full listing of our awards
can be found on page 25.
One project I am very proud of is the Early Learning
Centre @ Rosewall. Working with Shell and the
Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development, we have reopened this service to provide
a 12-hour a week local education program for three to
four year-olds. The staff involved showed a real
commitment to ensuring that opportunities for early
learning are accessible for local children, and to working
with others in innovative ways to make it happen.
It is just one story in a sea of many that demonstrate
the dedication of staff to the City of Greater Geelong.
My thanks to every single staff member. Thanks also to
the Mayor and Councillors and to all who have partnered
with us. The Geelong region truly is a special place.
Kay Rundle
Chief Executive Officer
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