Governance - Hastings Council - NSW Government

PORT MACQUARIE-HASTINGS COUNCIL 

Governance 

Action Created 

Meeting Date: 23/03/2011 - Council Meeting 

___________________________________________________________ 

Item 18 

Subject TOWARDS 2030 INTEGRATED PLANNING AND 

REPORTING FRAMEWORK 

Director / ACTING GENERAL MANAGER: (ACTING) JEFFERY 

SHARP 

___________________________________________________________ 

RECOMMENDATION 

1. That the Towards 2030 Community Strategic Plan, Resourcing Strategy, 

2011-2015 Delivery Program and 2011-2012 Operational Plan be adopted as drafts. 

2. That Council endorse financial Scenario 3 together with the 2011-2015 Delivery 

Program and 2011-2012 Operational Plan in order to submit an application to the 

Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a special rate variation. 

3. That Council submit an application to the IPART under section 508(A) of the 

Local Government Act, for a Special Rate Variation that continues the 2010/11 

7.36% variation and includes an additional 5.18% above the rate pegging limit in 

2011/12 and includes an additional 3% above the rate pegging limit in 2012/13 , as 

detailed in Scenario 3 of the Long Term Financial Plan. 


2011-2015 Delivery Program and 2011-2012 Operational Plan be reviewed for formal 

adoption once the outcome of the IPART application is known. This is estimated to 

occue mid June 2011. 

Summary 

On December 1, 2010 Council placed on public exhibition the suite of Integrated Planning and 

Reporting documents in order to seek feedback from the community in accordance with the 

legislative guidelines of the NSW Government Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework. 

The suite of documents on exhibition and being further considered in this report include: 

Towards 2030 Community Strategic Plan – A whole of community plan that identifies the 

community's priorities and aspirations for the future and outlines strategies for achieving them. 

Resourcing Strategy – The detailed analysis of Council’s position incorporating a 10 Year Long 

Term Financial Plan, Four Year Workforce Management Strategy and a 10 Year Asset 

Management Strategy. 

PAGE 1


2011 – 2015 Delivery Program – Commitment to the community from Council for the activities 

that will occur during the next four year term. 

2011 – 2012 Operational Plan – The actions and projects that will be undertaken next financial 

year to give effect to the 2011-2015 Delivery Program. (Replaces the Corporate Plan) 

This report analyses the consultation undertaken on the development of this suite of documents 

and in particular the implications for Council’s potential funding model to implement these plans. 

Discussion 

Since the 2009 introduction of a new Local Government planning and reporting framework, Port 

Macquarie-Hastings Council has undertaken a major review of its asset management systems, 

long term financial planning and levels of community consultation in regards to strategic and 

operational planning. 

The new framework encourages Councils to draw their various plans – social, environmental 

and economic – together, to understand how they interact and to get the maximum leverage by 

planning holistically for the future. 

The documents that make up the suite that was on public exhibition from 1 December 2010 to 

28 February 2011 include; 

Towards 2030 Community Strategic Plan (CSP) – summarises the community’s aspirations for 

the future and strategies for achieving them. An earlier version of this document was placed on 

public exhibition in May 2010 in order to confirm the community's vision before proceeding 

further. 

Resourcing Strategy 

Comprising of a 10 Year Long Term Financial Plan, a Four Year Workforce Management 

Strategy and a 10 Year Asset Management Strategy, this document highlights the time, money, 

assets and people required to meet the community’s aspirations. 

2011 – 2015 Delivery Program / 2011 – 2012 Operational Plan 

As Council’s commitment of priorities for the next four years the Delivery Program is the single 

point of reference for all principal activities undertaken by Council. The Operational Plan 

outlines the details of the individual projects and actions Council will undertake in the upcoming 

financial year, in order to meet the commitments made in the Delivery Program. 

These documents have been provided to the Administrator under separate cover and will be 

tabled at the Council meeting. 

In order to develop these documents Council has facilitated and sought detailed feedback from 

the community regarding funding priorities, service levels and the preservation of local identity / 

culture. Council have published reports summarising what the community identified at each 

stage of the consultation process. 

These reports have included the 2009 Consultation Report, reviewing the Community Forum, 

group meetings and surveys which informed the development of the Community Strategic Plan. 

Similarly the publication of the 2010 Consultation Report captured the feedback from the 

service priority voting exercise, online budget allocator and Community Reference Group 

workshops. The resulting 2011 – 2015 Delivery Program and 2011 – 2012 Operational Plan 

reflect the level of service and activities priorities that were identified in the 2010 consultation. 

PAGE 2

Alignment With Strategic Direction 


The suite of documents presented will provide Council and the community with the framework 

for the priorities and projects / actions to be carried out over the next four years. Specifically the 

Operational Plan sets out the objectives, budget and performance measures for next financial 

year. 

Consultation 

An engagement process spanning three years has informed the development of these 

documents. In order to capture the depth of this engagment the relevant techniques and results 

for each document are highlighted below. 

Community Strategic Plan – the aim of these activities was to help the community imagine 

and identify a vision for the future and to outline what elements of this vision Council would be 

expected to deliver. 

Consultation 

Activity 

2008 Community 

telephone survey 


Forum 


survey & forums 

Feb 2010 Draft 

Community Vision 

May 2010 Draft 

Community Strategic 

Plan 

Technique 

600 randomly selected residents 

gauging attitudes, satisfaction 

with and perception of Council 

and its facilities and services 

130 people in a full day forum to 

discuss visions for the areas 

future 

Participation by around 700 

people across target groups and 

geographic area. 

Document on public exhibition, 

1100 surveys mailed to all 

previous participants 

Document on public exhibition, 

copies and links distributed to 

around 2,000 participants 

Result in Brief 

Top 3 priorities 

identified were 

maintenance of sealed 

roads, car parking, 

providing value for 

ratepayers dollar. 

Identified themes & 

aspirations in focus 

areas of Environment, 

Infrastructure, 

Governance, and 

People & Community 

Biggest challenges 

identified in priority 

were transport, health, 

employment, 

community services 

113 surveys returned 

Of 11 statements 

summarising feedback 

on what is important to 

the people of the 

Hastings, 88% of 

respondents classified 

statements as either 

important or very 

important. 

A total of 40 surveys 

and 3 written 

submissions were 

received. 93% of 

respondents rated the 

draft CSP and how it 

captures the vision of 

Port 

Macquarie-Hastings in 

the future as very 

PAGE 3


December 2010 - 

February 2011 

Community Strategic 

Plan 

February 2011 – 

Community 

Reference Group 

(CRG) workshop 

session 


Information sessions 

Document on exhibition as part 

of suite of Integrated Planning 

and Reporting documents. 

Advertising and media reports to 

highlight document availability 

(as part of document suite) on 

website along with electronic 

submission form. 

CSP specific presentation and 

discussion with CRG members. 

Promotion to all 250 members of 

CRG. 

Static CSP specific display and 

staff available to answer 

questions in Wauchope, 

Laurieton and Port Macquarie. 

Promotion through newspapers, 

radio and community groups. 

accurate or accurate. 

75% of respondents 

rated their 

understanding of the 

document as high. 

See Results and 

Exhibition Summary 

18 CRG members 

attended. Overall 

support for document, 

emphasised 

importance of 

feedback to 

community on results. 

See Workshop Report 

Total attendance 30 

All engaged in 

disucssion with staff. 

Resourcing Strategy - the aim of these activities was to determine what level of service the 

community expects from Council and what priority they place on individual elements of the 

Council's work, such as road maintenance and libraries. A further aim was to educate and 

inform the community of Council’s asset management as well as increase understanding of 

funding sources and budgeting processes and in turn to gauge the level of preparedness to 

pay. 

Consultation 

Activity 

Service Priority 

Voting Exercise 

“Sticky Dot” 

Community 

Reference Group 

workshops 

Technique 

Over 1,000 residents voted on 

their preferences for Council’s 

services 

Agreeing asset standards for 

roads, identifying challenges in 

generating funds and rating 

communication methods. 

Budget Allocator Online tool completed by 156 

residents submitting the budget 

and service priorities they would 

approve for the next financial 

year. 

PAGE 4 

Result Highlight 

Roads, parks and 

Recreation and 

Economic 

Development; major 

Events; Tourism rated 

as top priorities 

80 members voted to 

increase overall 

condition of priority 

roads, increased 

awareness of funding 

challenge, review of 

communication 

channels 

325 site visits, 159 

budgets submitted, 

64% agreed budget of 

$25-29 million 

(represented Scenario


PMHC Listening 

online discussion 


February 2011 


on exhibition 


CRG workshop 

session 



Explaining the service priorities 

and seeking comment on Water, 

Waste and Sewer funding that 

aren’t part of the general rate 

fund 


of suite of Integrated Planning 

and Reporting documents. 






Resourcing Strategy specific 

presentation and discussion 

session. Promotion to all 250 

members of CRG 

Static display on Resourcing 

Strategy and Long Term 

Financial Plan as well as staff 

available to answer questions. 



3) 

216 participants read 

water services fact 

sheet, 50 comments 

received 

See results and 



attended. Themes of 

investing in assets and 

careful management 

of expenditure were 

highlighted. 

See Workshop Report 

Total attendance 30. 

All participants 

engaged in discussion 

with Council staff, 

some completed a 

feedback / submission 

sheet at the session. 

Delivery Program / Operational Plan - The aim of these activities was to clarify the 

expectations that had been made in earlier consultation in relation to the volume of work 

Council will commit to and the associated budget required for that work. 

Consultation 

Activity 

November 2010 

Participation Report 


February 2011 


on exhibition 


CRG workshop 

session 

Technique 

Compilation of all results from 

2010 consultation activities on 

Resourcing and CSP. Direct mail 

notification to all CRG members 

and previous participants and 

website publication of report. 


of suite of Integrated planning 

and reporting documents. 






Resourcing Strategy specific 

presentation and discussion 

session. Promotion to all 250 

members of CRG. 

PAGE 5 

Result Highlight 

No comments 

received or 

clarification sought on 

the service 

expectations 

presented. 

See Results and 



attended. Group was 

comfortable with 

specificed Operational 

Plan (based on 

Scenario 3) 

See Workshop Report




Static display on Resourcing 

Strategy and Long Term 

Financial Plan as well as staff 

available to answer questions. 



Total attendance 30. 

All participants 

engaged in discussion 

with Council staff, 

some saught 

clarification on the 

inclusion of specific 

projects in Operational 

Plan as basis for 

support of Scenario 3. 

Specific results December 2010 – February 2011 - Public Exhibition of Integrated Planning 

and Reporting Suite of Documents 

The purpose of this engagement is summarised above in relation to each of the documents. As 

has been consistent with all consultation activities in this process Council carried out extensive 

promotion to advise residents of an opportunity to have their say. 

Promotional methods included; 

• Editorial media stories in newspapers, radio and television. 

• Radio advertising promoting information sessions 

• Newspaper advertising promoting information sessions 

• Direct mail / email to Community Reference Group members highlighting links to 

document and promoting Workshop and Information sessions 

• Promotion of information sessions to schools, business organisations and community 

groups for inclusion in newsletters 

This promotion clearly highlighted that one of the important elements of the exhibition was to 

gain feedback from the community regarding the preferred financial scenario. (See attached 

media release). 

The financial scenarios and opportunity to comment were also highlighted through specific fact 

sheets and workshop session content. A dedicated page on the Integrated Planning section of 

the website was also published to highlight the relationship between the Operational Plan and 

the financial scenarios. 

Results 

CRG Workshop 

The key issues and themes of the discussion concerning the Resourcing Strategy and Financial 

scenarios have been summarised as; 

• There was in principle understanding from participants that in order to deliver the additional 

level of service that the community desires it would come at a cost. 

• It was reinforced that the current Delivery Program and Operational Plan is based on 

Scenario 3 and Council needs community views on this financial plan 

• Further explanation was given that plans would need to modified should Scenario 3 not be 

supported, initially by the community and then by the Minister following an IPART 

submission. 

All participants were given a handout summarising the financial scenarios to ensure participants 

had adequate information to make an informed submission. 

A full report on the two hour workshop is attached. 

PAGE 6


Submissions 

The results and analysis of submissions received presented in this report, relate to the financial 

position specifically. All other issues related to document content raised by the community will 

be tabled when the final documents are presented to Council. 

• A total of 18 CGR members attended the Workshop 

• A total of 30 residents attended any of the three information sessions 

• A total of 28 submissions were received 

• 11 submissions did not identify a rating scenario preference 

• 4 submissions stated they were against a rate rise, i.e scenario 3 or 4 not supported 

• 1 submission supported scenario 1 

• 2 submissions supported scenario 2 

• 4 submissions supported scenario 3 

• 4 submissions supported Scenario 4 

• 2 submissions stated a rate rise was necessary / inevitable but a specific financial 

scenario was not nominated 

Detailed summary of all submissions is available in the attached table. 

Analysis 

• Significant consultation has been carried out on all documents in the Integrated 

Planning and Reporting Framework 

• Record numbers of participation have been achieved throughout the three year 

engagement process of developing the suite of Integrated Planning and Reporting 

documents 

• The promotion of the suite of Integrated Planning documents was extensive and 

targeted beyond the people who had already been involved in the process 

• The response rate to the public exhibition of the suite of Integrated Planning documents 

has marginally increased on the 2010 (latest Special Rate Variation) Corporate Plan, 

when there were 17 submissions received. 

• Of the 28 submissions received for 2011 there were 17 that nominated a preferred 

rating scenario and of this 10 supported a rate rise. 

• The community are reliably informed, have an identifiable level of understanding about 

the Integrated Planning documents and their relationship with the rates charged. In the 

light of this information the community has in general terms accepted the level of work 

highlighted by the exhibited Operational Plan and therefore approve of the funding 

model of Scenario 3. 

• Empirical evidence of responses to other issues, such as the 2010 mcdonalds DA, the 

2009 foreshore development plans and 2010 Dogs on Beaches policy, suggests that 

this community would be vocal if there was a significant objection. 

Planning and Policy Impact 

Aligned with the planning and reporting framework for NSW that was legislated in October 

2009. 

PAGE 7

Financial & Economic Implications 


The budget scenario used to develop the draft 2011-2012 Operational Plan, referred to as 

Scenario 3 in the Long Term Financial Plan, is based on the fundamental principle of continuing 

to deliver existing service levels, while remaining committed to the long term objectives of the 

Asset Management Strategy. 

As part of this budget scenario Council is required to apply to IPART and effectively the Minister 

for Local Government, to retain the 7.36% rate increase approved in 2010/11 and to apply an 

additional 5.18% Special Rate Variation on top of the Minister’s permissible capped rate 

increase which is 2.8%. 

This increase in rates will mean an average increase of around $70 per year or $1.35 per week 

from the amount of general rates paid in the current financial year 2010/11. 

The application for a Special Rate Variation under this scenario would include a rate increase of 

3% above the capped amount in 2012/13 and an assumption of only a 3% capped rate rise in 

2013/14. 

If the Special Rate Variation is not approved Council will have to reduce the works described in 

this Operational Plan by $3.1 million. This would be a significant impact on Council's budget 

and will have a tangible negative impact on the delivery of services to the community. 

Options 

That another financial scenario be adopted. Depending on which scenario was adopted this 

would require a new Operational Plan to be developed and may also require an alternate 

application to IPART. 

COUNCIL RESOLUTION: 

ADOPTED: 


2011-2015 Delivery Program and 2011-2012 Operational Plan be adopted as 

drafts. 

2. That Council endorse financial Scenario 3 together with the 2011-2015 

Delivery Program and 2011-2012 Operational Plan in order to submit an 

application to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a 

special rate variation. 

3. That Council submit an application to the IPART under section 508(A) of the 

Local Government Act, for a Special Rate Variation that continues the 2010/11 

7.36% variation and includes an additional 5.18% above the rate pegging limit 

in 2011/12 and includes an additional 3% above the rate pegging limit in 

2012/13 , as detailed in Scenario 3 of the Long Term Financial Plan. 


2011-2015 Delivery Program and 2011-2012 Operational Plan be reviewed for 

formal adoption once the outcome of the IPART application is known. This is 

estimated to occur mid June 2011. 

PAGE 8

Governance - Hastings Council - NSW Government

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