Integrated Planning and Reporting Manual - Division of Local ...

3. THE RESOURCING STRATEGY
3.1 General Requirements
Local Government Act
A council must have a long-term Resourcing Strategy for the provision of resources required to
implement the strategies established by the Community Strategic Plan that council is responsible for.
The strategy must include provision for long-term financial planning, workforce management planning
and asset management planning.
The Community Strategic Plan provides a vehicle for each community to express its long-term
aspirations. However, these aspirations will not be achieved without sufficient resources – time,
money, assets and people – to carry them out. The Resourcing Strategy is a critical link when it
comes to translating strategic objectives into actions.
It will also be one of the more challenging aspects of the new planning framework for councils to
prepare, because the components cannot be completed in isolation and will take considerable time,
especially asset management.
The integrated nature of the plans means that essentially they will all be developed concurrently,
with cross-referencing and adjustment as the development of each plan progresses.
The community will need to have some basic information about community assets and their
condition to help inform its strategic planning process, but the final strategy for asset management
can’t be completed until the Community Strategic Plan has been finalised. The Community Strategic
Plan can’t be finalised until financial projections and options have been prepared and discussed with
the community. The Long Term Financial Plan will not take on a level of detail until the Delivery
Program and Operational Plans are developed.
The Resourcing Strategy process will allow communities to consider a wider range of options for
delivering strategic outcomes.
Councils do not have full responsibility for implementing or resourcing all the community aspirations
identified in the Community Strategic Plan. Other stakeholders, such as State agencies, nongovernment
organisations, community groups and individuals also have a role to play in delivering
these outcomes. The Resourcing Strategy process provides an opportunity to quantify what
Council’s contributions might be.
Planning & Reporting Manual Page 59 of 115