Tag: municipal association of victoria

Discussing experiences as a Councillor for the MAV Stand for Council Campaign

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Being an elected Councillor requires an ongoing time commitment coupled with an understanding of good governance and the ability to respond to community feedback. Victorian council elections will be held at the end of October in all local councils with the exception of Brimbank City Council.

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) provides introductory sessions for prospective council candidates to assist in understanding the role and responsibilities of local government. The sessions include an overview from a neighbouring Council Chief Executive Officer and Councillor to discuss the role of council officers and elected representatives.

This evening I was invited to speak at the information session held at Knox City Council to provide an overview of my experiences in local government and advice on conducting council campaigns. The session provided an opportunity for candidates to discuss the operations of a Council and the role that Councillors undertake within the community. In particular I was able to provide an overview of governance structures for Council to assist candidates in understanding how Councillors can deliver results for the community.

I attended a similar information session in 2005 when I first stood for local government in Maroondah and found that the discussion was useful in gaining an insight into councils. Candidates should be advised to learn about local government and its decision making processes to ensure that they can become effective representatives for their community.

Media Release: Council motions supported at MAV State Meeting

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Six out of the eight motions tabled by Maroondah City Council were carried at the 26 May Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) State Council meeting.

The successful motions related to improving information technology for customer service, general valuations, unfunded superannuation liability, road reserves owned by VicRoads, Tax deductibility for election expenses and building and planning fees.

Councillor Alex Makin, Council’s representative on the MAV, said the State Council Meeting provided an opportunity for each member council in Victoria to submit motions which have significance on a state level for all Victorian municipalities.

“The motions presented are viewed as being of significance across the Victorian Local Government sector, including the Maroondah community,” Cr Makin said.

“Council has a proven record of leading the way in highlighting issues faced by the Victorian Local Government sector. This is reflected by the favourable response to previous motions submitted by Maroondah and passed, often with unanimous support, at the MAV State Council Meeting,” Cr Makin said.

“At its meeting of Monday 18 April, Council approved eight motions to be submitted to the MAV State Council meeting which was held on Thursday 26 May,” Cr Makin said.

“The motions were developed by Council following interaction with the community in the form of various forums, consultation and strategies,” Cr Makin said.

Of the eight motions presented by Council, six were carried.

The motions carried included:

  • That the MAV State Council calls of the State Government to remove the requirement for Local Government to have superannuation cash backed, given the inconsistency between the three tiers of government and given that both state and federal governments carry these amounts on their balance sheets as unfunded liabilities.
  • That the Municipal Association Of Victoria State Council calls on the State government to extend the frequency of general valuations from two to three years.
  • That the MAV State Council calls on the State Government to abolish the prescribed Statutory Annual Increments for both planning and building fees and enable Councils to set their own fees.
  • That the MAV State Council calls on VicRoads to review current funding allocated for the maintenance of arterial roads and associated infrastructure, roadsides and central medians, and if necessary advocate for increased levels of funding.
  • That the MAV convene a working party comprising of Councillors and Information Technology Officers to explore the technological opportunities to provide a one stop shop customer service approach for Local Government communities.
  • That the MAV State Council writes to the Australian Tax Office seeking an urgent review of the current ceiling of $1000 for election expenses that can be claimed by candidates for Council elections.

– ENDS –

MAV State Council Meeting – May 2011

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The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) is the peak body that represents local government across the State. The MAV represents the interests of local government and advocates on behalf of local councils within Victoria.

The MAV holds two State Council meetings each year, where Councils are able to propose motions and debate the direction of the organisation. This session Maroondah proposed eight motions, of which six were supported by a majority of representatives.

Motions adopted at the MAV State Council meeting help shape the direction of the organisation, with the MAV being responsible for the implementation of these items.

Media Release: Push to turn Maroondah’s street lighting green

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Maroondah residents were among more than 3500 people to support a Municipal Association of Victoria petition calling on an upgrade to energy efficient street lighting.

Maroondah Mayor Councillor Alex Makin thanked those Maroondah residents who pledged their support to the Give Our Streets the Green Light campaign.

“The petition was calling on the State and Federal governments to partner with local councils to fund the $114 million upgrade costs which come with the switch to energy efficient street lighting,” Cr Makin said.

“The Municipal Association of Victoria delivered the community petitions to the Premier and Opposition Leader ahead of last Friday’s Local Government Climate Change Summit,” Cr Makin said.

“The Municipal Association of Victoria are confident the strong support by 46 councils and their communities will result in a commitment ahead of the state election to contribute some funding to fast-track the changeover to energy efficient street lighting,” Cr Makin said.

“Securing a combined contribution of $45million over four years from the Federal and State Governments would mean that councils could change about 330,000 street lights from 80W mercury vapour lamps to energy efficient globes at a low cost and in a quicker turn around,” Cr Makin said.

In Maroondah the upfront costs of replacing more than 5500 mercury vapour globes currently lighting Maroondah’s streets is about $2million.

Cr Makin said the reason for changing to more energy efficient globes was to reduce Council’s greenhouse gas emissions and create a greener more energy-efficient future.

“Council estimates that 31 per cent of its green house gas emissions and 22 per cent of its electricity costs are generated by lighting Maroondah’s local streets,” Cr Makin said.

“Electricity is predominately generated by burning brown coal which results in significant green house gases. By making the change to energy efficient globes, we can reduce our carbon footprint and work towards mitigating the effects of climate change,” Cr Makin said.

“The sooner the change over the sooner we start making a difference,” Cr Makin said.

– ENDS –

Media Release: Lighting the way to a greener future

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Maroondah residents are being asked to sign an online campaign, Give Our Streets the Green Light, to lobby the government to fund a changeover to energy-efficient street lighting.

Council has joined the Municipal Association of Victoria and other Victorian councils to lobby the state and commonwealth governments to fund the changeover to new energy-efficient globes.

In Maroondah the upfront costs of replacing more than 5500 mercury vapour globes currently lighting Maroondah’s streets is about $2million.

Maroondah Mayor Councillor Alex Makin said the goal was to reduce Council’s greenhouse gas emissions and create a greener more energy-efficient future.

“By changing all local road street lights from the mercury vapour 80W lamps to a more energy efficient lighting it would not only benefit the environment but it would save on electricity costs.

“Council estimates that 36 per cent of its green house gas emissions and 39 per cent of its electricity costs are generated by street lighting,” Cr Makin said.

“Electricity is predominately generated by burning brown coal which results in significant green house gases,” Cr Makin said.

“By making the change we can reduce our carbon footprint and work towards mitigating the effects of climate change,” Cr Makin said.

“The sooner the change over, the sooner we start making a difference,” Cr Makin said.

Maroondah Council has been a strong advocate for the campaign, moving a motion at the Australian Local Government Association’s National General Assembly in June calling on the campaign to be adopted as an issue of national significance.

The Give Our Streets the Green Light campaign, organised by the Municipal Association of Victoria, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 78,000 tonne over the life of the lights. That equates to about 31.2 billion black balloons or 341,917 cars off the road for a year.

Residents can pledge their support by signing an online submission www.greenlightourstreets.org.au or by sending a letter to their local Member of Parliament.

Media Release: Ensuring a sustainable financial future for Maroondah

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Maroondah City Council’s Proposed Council Plan 2010-2014 and Proposed Budget 2010-2011 were formally adopted during Council’s Monday 28 June meeting. The documents highlight the key initiatives which underpin the planning and budget blueprints for the Maroondah community.

Mayor of Maroondah, Councillor Alex Makin, said the Council Plan set out a broad range of Council activities designed to assist Council and the community move towards the future, as identified in Maroondah 2025: A Community Planning Together.

“The Council Plan clearly details the range of strategies that will be adopted over the coming four years and outlines Council’s commitment to working in partnership with the community to foster quality and sustainable lifestyles,” Cr Makin said.

“There are eight themes within the Council Plan: community; economic development and employment; infrastructure; leisure and culture; natural environment; transport; urban design and development; governance and corporate support,” Cr Makin said.

“The 2010-2011 Budget outlines the provision of financial resources for the coming 12 months, and details how these resources will be applied to delivering the many services Council provides to the community,” Cr Makin said.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

“One of the key factors in this year’s Budget is providing the resources to bring forward the operational deficit that has existed in 12 out of the past 14 Council Budgets,” said Cr Makin.

“It is imperative that this Council draws a line in the sand to ensure that ongoing deficits are no longer acceptable. We must move our financial status into surplus as soon as possible to allow Council to be in the position to invest in community facilities and to meet our obligations now and into the future,” said Cr Makin.

“Council has determined that the operational surplus will now be brought forward to the 2012/13 financial year (three years earlier), commencing with the 2010/11 Budget,” said Cr Makin.

“The operating result for the 2010/11 year is planned at a $1.782 million deficit which halves that of the 09/10 Budget,” said Cr Makin.

“It is important to remember that rates and charges provide 63 per cent of Council’s operating revenue, with the remainder sourced from user charges, operating and capital grants and interest,” said Cr Makin.

“The cost of services delivered to the Maroondah community in 2010/2011 is expected to be $91 million, which is an increase of $6.2million over the 2009/2010 Budget,” said Cr Makin.

The Budget is based on a proposed general rate and charges increase of 9.8 per cent.

This increase is made up from:

CPI (taken from the December 2009 quarter)3%
Infrastructure Levy2.5%
New initiatives2.5%
Regional Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Ringwood1.1%
State Government imposed increase in Landfill Levy0.7%

For the average ratepayer living in a median priced house in Maroondah this represents a $98.10 increase in annual rates and charges, or $1.88 extra per week.

“Maroondah remains one of the lowest rating councils in Victoria, with figures released this week by the Municipal Association of Victoria indicating Maroondah has the 7th lowest (per capita) rates and charges of 71 Victorian Councils,” said Cr Makin.

“When further assessing these figures, the six lower rating Councils (per capita) are much larger in population than Maroondah, and therefore benefit from substantial economies of scale as well as other sources of income,” said Cr Makin.

“In addition, at an average rate of $549 per head, Maroondah has the lowest rating of all nine Victorian Councils of similar size (90,000 to 120,000 people),” said Cr Makin.

INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

“Council’s Budget provides the resources to ensure we are able to sustainably provide over 120 services to the 105,000 members of our community, as well as providing resources for a number of new initiatives,” said Cr Makin.

These new initiatives include

  • $445,000 to provide ongoing maintenance on new capital works projects, such as the new Ringwood multi-purpose shared sports pavilion and all weather synthetic surface
  • An additional $126,000 in funding to Ringwood and Croydon libraries provides books and computer access for all members of the community, with over 1 million library books borrowed each year
  • An extra $150,000 to be spent on bushland clearance and fire prevention works in our bush reserves
  • Additional $250,000 to ensure powerline clearance of trees throughout the municipality
  • Investment of $50,000 to develop the Heathmont Structure Plan to identify and plan for residential and community needs around this transport hub and shopping precinct
  • Additional $50,000 on striking new signage throughout Maroondah identifying parks, reserves and buildings, includes pedestrian/cycling signage

LEISURE FACILITIES – MEETING THE COMMUNITY’S FUTURE NEEDS

“The allocation of funding in the 2010-2011 Budget (1.1% of rate increase) will be used to develop the design work and continue the community consultation for the proposed Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Ringwood, which will replace the existing Ringwood Aquatic Centre,” said Cr Makin.

“It is important that Council looks to the future to ensure that we meet the expectations and needs of the Maroondah community. A new regional aquatic and leisure facility is an exciting project that will generate enormous community benefit, and ensure significant leisure and aquatic facilities for the Maroondah community into the next 50 years,” said Cr Makin.

“Maroondah is maintaining its position as a lower rating council in metropolitan Melbourne and returning the budget to surplus allows us to deliver exciting projects like the proposed Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Ringwood,” said Cr Makin.

The 2010-2011 Budget and 2010-2014 Council Plan will be available for viewing on the Maroondah City Council website at www.maroondah.vic.gov.au

– ENDS –

MAV State Council Meeting – May 2010

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The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) is the peak body representing local government across Victoria and advocates on behalf of the sector.  The MAV holds two State Council meetings each year, where motions are debated to influence the policies and activities of the organisation.

As the current Mayor I am also Maroondah’s MAV representative, meaning that I represent the views of the municipality at the State Council meetings.

Maroondah submitted several motions to be debated at the State Council, including calling on the State Government to provide a centralised support service to provide assistance in regard to Councillor Workcover and Conflict of Interest provisions.  In addition Maroondah initiated a motion calling on the roll-out of energy efficient lighting across Victoria and expressed concern over the lack of consultation in regard to the increases in the State Government Landfill levy.

Each of these motions were successful and will help shape the policies and actions of the Municipal Association of Victoria.  The next State Council meeting is planned for late October.

Media Release: Proposed reporting framework a drain on Council funds

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The City of Maroondah will be forced to find up to $40,000 more in its annual Budget if new reporting requirements are introduced by the State Government.

The proposed requirements, released in a recent draft report by the Essential Services Commission (ESC), would leave Council to bear the administrative costs of annually reporting on an additional 65 performance indicators.

Mayor of Maroondah, Cr Alex Makin, said Council’s concerns were shared by the Municipal Association of Victoria.

“What we’re seeing is a proposal that would add nothing to Maroondah in terms of service delivery or extracting the best value from the ratepayer’s dollar,” Cr Makin said.

“While the City of Maroondah appreciates the necessity of compliance with reporting demands, it’s come to a stage where enough is enough as costs threaten to spiral out of control,” Cr Makin said.

According to the MAV, the ESC has identified more than 100 separate reporting demands already imposed on local government by at least 17 different State Government departments and agencies.

“If Council is forced to work within the ESC’s proposed reporting framework, money to enable compliance must be sourced from Maroondah’s Budget. These funds could be better directed to providing vital infrastructure projects and services for the Maroondah community,” Cr Makin said.

For more information on the proposed reporting framework, phone the MAV on 9667 5555.

– ENDS –

Media Release: Council opposes proposed planning changes

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Maroondah City Council will write to the Planning Minister and the Local Government Minister to express its serious concern with proposed changes to the Planning and Environment Act (the Act).

Mayor of Maroondah, Cr Alex Makin, said while the changes contained a number of minor administrative improvements, it was worrying that they also proposed a significant reduction in the role and power of councils in local planning issues.

Cr Makin said proposed changes to the Act would further centralise planning powers with the Planning Minister.

“The change that would allow the Planning Minister to appoint a private individual or developers to amend local planning schemes will disenfranchise local communities and signifies a move towards the partial privatisation of the planning system,” Cr Makin said.

“The centralisation of planning powers with the Planning Minister, coupled with several changes to fees, further reduces the position of local government in the planning process,” Cr Makin said.

“The significant increase of the involvement of the State Government in local planning matters facilitated by these changes will undermine community and broader industry confidence in the planning system as the decision-making system becomes potentially more political and uncertain,” Cr Makin said.

Council will outline its serious concerns in its submission to the Planning Minister and Local Government Minister – including the timing of the consultation process for the Planning and Environment Act Reform Bill (held over the Christmas and New Year period).

Council will also express its serious concern that the role of local government as the primary decision maker in local planning matters in Victoria is being continually reduced, and will contact local members of parliament to express Council’s concerns with the changes proposed in the review.

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has taken a similar stance, with its President Cr Bill McArthur stating that “the erosion of council roles in the planning system means less community input to the decision making process.”

“People are passionate about protecting the character of their neighbourhoods. It’s disappointing that the reforms seek to undermine the important role of councils and existing local planning policies that have taken significant time, cost and care to develop with input from the local community and the State Government,” Cr McArthur said.

The MAV has made a submission on the proposed changes to the Planning and Environment Act, outlining its concerns including the significant proposed changes to councils’ role as planning authority, loss of provisions useful to applicants (such as secondary consents), and the Planning Minister potentially authorising any person to prepare a planning scheme amendment.

– ENDS –

MAV Eastern Region Reception

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The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) is the peak body representing local government within the State and comprises of a board consisting of councillors elected by their peers. The MAV divides Victoria into regions, with the councils within each region electing a regional representative.

The City of Maroondah is part of the MAV’s Eastern Region and the regional delegate being Cr. Geoff Gough from the City of Manningham. This evening Cr. Gough organised a reception at the City of Manningham to encourage networking between the member councils.

The City of Maroondah has a number of motions which it is sponsoring at the upcoming MAV Conference, including calls to ensure consistent rates of depreciation across the sector, support for reducing greenhouse emissions and calling on the State Government to increase funding for the FReeZA program so that local government can continue to encourage youth participation and provide employment pathways within this music focused program.

Councils within Melbourne’s eastern region should share similar goals in seeking to reduce greenhouse emissions, support financial stability and encourage social inclusion.