Local libraries to go fine free – City of Ballarat council meeting briefs

CITY of Ballarat councillors unanimously voted to abolish library fines from 1 July at their regular council meeting on Wednesday, 22 February.

Current fines will also be waved and they are estimated to effect 32 per cent of members of Ballarat Libraries.

Currently fines are 36 cents per day with a maximum of $2 per item. People can no longer use the service if their fines reach $15.

The proposed change come after many Victorian libraries have also done away with late fees and some other charges to protect the financially vulnerable and encourage use of the services.

“Hopefully this will go a long way to alleviating some of those barriers to people who might have experienced fines or who have received a bill for books they have never returned,” said Cr Amy Johnson.

In the 2017-2018, the cost of chasing late items totalled more than the money collected in fines.

The revenue raised from liberty fines was between $25,000 and $28,000 whereas the staff resources needed to collect the fines was estimated at over $29,000.

“I think this is a great initiative coming forward firstly from a commercial point of view but far more importantly it encourages everyone to use our libraries,” said Cr Peter Eddy.

 

Ageism on the agenda

Councillors voted to support the EveryAGE counts campaign which is a national group of organisations that aims to end ageism in Australia.

Ballarat is an increasingly aging city with more than 24 per cent of the city’s population over 60 and there’s also growing body of research that suggests ageism is harmful to individuals.

The council supported the move to build awareness for ageism and its impacts in Ballarat and take steps to end ageism.

“Every form of discrimination can have a negative impact whether its on the basis of age, gender, sexuality, culture,” said Cr Coates.

“All of those things can have an impact on people’s wellbeing and sense of connection.

“Anything that helps us become a healthy and more connected, inclusive community I support.”

Support for the campaign aligns with the municipal Ageing Well in Ballarat Strategy 2022-2026, Action Plan 2022-2024, the Community Vision 2021-2031, and the Inclusion Framework 2022-2026.

 

Creating green

A new way of assessing sustainable planning will be introduced in the City.

The move comes after councillors decided that both residential and non-residential development plans will need to have a sustainable design assessments.

The change includes measures to evaluate energy, water efficiency, and overall environmental impact and could mean reports that assess water use, provide environmental ratings, and green travel options would be required.

How many of these mechanisms will be needed will depend on the type of building being proposed.

“Its really important to have those provisions in the planning scheme because sustainable housing is of benefit to everyone,” said Cr Belinda Coats.

“It reduces emissions but also makes houses more liveable for people so it’s a bit of a no brainer.”

 

Landfill mistake fixed

A resolution made at September 2021 meeting, where the timeframe for the contract to manage the municipal tip at Smythesdale was voted on incorrectly, has been amended.

At that September meeting council voted to award the contract to Cleanaway for an initial eight months with one-or-two-year extension options.

The tender documents, however, stated an initial contract of six years with an option for a further four years and then another 12 months after that.

“We are an organisation that is made up of humans,” said mayor Cr Des Hudson.

“From time to time there will be errors that are made and whilst we don’t see an open a floodgate of them, we also want to be able to own them openly, transparently and in good faith.”

The error was detected in a government check.

 

Action for Cardigan Village

A joint letter tabled by 53 members of the Cardigan Village community was brought before council.

The letter calls for evidence that infrastructure in the village meets certain planning and liveability requirements particularly in relation to water management.

Cr Daniel Moloney said that flood mitigation measures will be considered in the upcoming budget.

“Director [Bridget] Wetherell and her team have already made some great moves and provided us councillors with a briefing of options for Cardigan Village and they’ve also provided a draft financial response to it as well,” said Cr Daniel Moloney.

“Its important as the body that has historically allowed a lot of that development to take place perhaps not with the right measures in place to commit some budget to it.”