Shire joins application for shared council services

THE Surf Coast Shire will participate in applying to a program in which councils across the Geelong region will share services and equipment, but one councillor is unconvinced of the merits of the idea.

The state government has launched a $20 million strategic local government reform initiative, the Rural Councils Transformation Program (RCTP), under which councils will collaborate on regional service delivery or joint procurement, which aims to aims to improve financial sustainability by seeking economies of scale and efficiency.

According to the RCTP funding guidelines, activities eligible for funding include the establishment of governance arrangements, digital transformation or system development, IT hardware and software (new and upgrade) staffing (management and administration), related consultancy advice (legal and finance), leased buildings and fixtures and fittings (both leased and owned), and vehicles and equipment (phones, computers and office supplies).

RCTP applicants must submit an expression of interest November 15, and the five councils within the G21 region (Colac Otway, Geelong, Golden Plains, Queenscliff, and Surf Coast) are working on preparing a joint EOI.

At their meeting in October, the Surf Coast Shire council resolved to endorse its participation in the application, noting that “each council would retain autonomy for setting its strategy, service levels and policies in relation to the included services”, and the application requires each council’s Chief Executive Officer to sign a Memorandum of Understanding affirming the council’s willingness to participate”.

Of the seven councillors present at the October 23 meeting, Cr Wellington was the only one to vote against it, saying it was unclear what she was voting for.

“In principle, I think it’s not unreasonable to see where we can get efficiencies in service delivery, but we don’t actually have a clear direction about what we’re approving at the moment.

“I know these models, in healthcare they’ve been around a long time, they have issues.

“Are we committing just to apply to a grant from government to do an investigation or are we committing to a process beyond that? When does it come back to council?”