AT this month\u2019s regular Golden Plains Shire council meeting, acting director corporate services Ingrid Bishop presented the financial report for the second quarter.<\/p>\n
Ms Bishop outlined the year-to-date performance of the Shire against the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf note is the $3.3 million favourable variance, as attributed to the factors listed in the report,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn summary, these are the receipt of supplementary rates, receipt of operating grants, the COVID-safe grants for outdoor activation, and income received from developer contributions to the public open space.<\/p>\n
\u201cContract and material costs were down, and employee costs were down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Clayton Whitfield said the Shire\u2019s underlying surplus is currently within one per cent of the forecast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are always mid-year fluctuations as a factor on that, so it is tracking okay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cr Brett Cunningham noted a revised capital works budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes works such as Three Trails Project, Bannockburn Youth Hub, and the Inverleigh Sporting Complex and Clubrooms Upgrade,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cr Les Rowe had cost queries and made an accusation against municipal officers, while asking a question about the Napoleons bore, which was budgeted at $75,000, but cost $48,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a 35 per cent variance. I smell a rat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficers are over budgeting this project at the time, hoping that councillors would reject the upgrade of this bore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crs Cunningham, Helena Kirby, and mayor Gavin Gamble said the accusation and language were out of order.<\/p>\n
Director infrastructure and development Phil Josipovic said the bore was considered in the 2021\/2022 budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we prepare budget estimates, we have a significant amount of contingency to allow for the unexpected and unknown costs at the time, given the lack of detailed design,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we progressed through the project and had the detailed design and elements prepared, and put it out to the market, the market came back at a lower price, resulting in a $26,000-odd saving.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Council Plan in action.<\/strong><\/p>\n The work and achievements of council staff in implementing the Council Plan 2021-2025 was noted and celebrated by Cr Whitfield.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see the progression of mental health initiatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mums Matter Psychology signed a memorandum of understanding with council to provide perinatal psychology services to women… from the family services centre, also the awarding of a contract to Barwon Child Youth and Family to provide generalist mental health services across the Shire.<\/p>\n \u201cIn other sectors, council continues to provide improved facilities for community activities through the Community Services Infrastructure Plan, and a review of community facility fees and charges, and the community subsidy policy has begun.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr Whitfield noted the development of six new community plans, that funding has been secured for the Craddocks Road, Smythesdale, and Steiglitz Road Black Spot projects, the community transport trial, and renewable energy work with Federation University.<\/p>\n \u201cCOVID has been periodically applying the handbrake, so well done. There has been good progress made,\u201d Cr Whitfield said.<\/p>\n Cr Kirby highlighted the ongoing implementation of the Active Ageing and Inclusion Plan, and the Bins for Blokes, anti-elder abuse, gender equity, accessibility, and interactive map initiatives.<\/p>\n Cr Cunningham said a recent community transport trial had been \u201cpositively received by the community.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Earthen drain design change<\/strong><\/p>\n Councillors adopted a Shire specific change around earthen drains to their design manual for civil infrastructure.<\/p>\n Mr Josipovic said the alterations to section 17.4 of clause 17 in the Infrastructure Design Manual meant the longitudinal slope of earthen drains for land development within the low-density residential zone would shift to 1 in 300.<\/p>\n \u201cOur present IDM guidelines state a 1 in 500 as a minimum slope for earthen drains within that LDRZ. For regional and rural areas [this] standard does not consider area-specific issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cGolden Plains Shire has a faster rate of development in LDRZ than most other regional and rural areas. In addition, development areas within the Golden Plains Shire… have a reactive clay base which is less permeable than most other earthen bases.<\/p>\n \u201cAdopting a council-specific change… from 1 in 500 to 1 in 300, consistent with engineering principles and within threshold of design standards, will likely gain operational efficiencies in… required draining, reducing risk to public health and local amenity due to water-logging and stagnant pooling.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr Kirby asked if water will more often flow onto roads. Mr Josipovic said the change may impact the \u201cspeed at which the water arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, there\u2019s some water that might stagnate and pool, but it would be minor compared to the overall flow in existing drains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere might be a further requirement to do some rock beaching or something like that to prevent erosion, but the difference in water volume would be marginal at best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AT this month\u2019s regular Golden Plains Shire council meeting, acting director corporate services Ingrid Bishop presented the financial report for the second quarter. Ms Bishop outlined the year-to-date performance of the Shire against the budget. \u201cOf note is the $3.3 million favourable variance, as attributed to the factors listed in the report,\u201d she said. \u201cIn […]<\/p>\n