Source: a series of web pages under "Councillor Induction" on the BMCC website on 16 September 2008
The Blue Mountains City Council is responsible for approximately 140,377 hectares (542 square miles), 26 townships or villages and has a population of approximately 76,000.
The inauguration of local government in the Blue Mountains commenced on 4 January 1889 when the Municipality of Katoomba was incorporated and in 1890 the first Katoomba Council was formed.
The Kanimbla Shire Council was incorporated on 13 June 1906. At this time the Council covered the major part of the Mountains except for Katoomba. On 14 December 1919 the separate Municipality of Blackheath was incorporated, being taken from the Blue Mountains Shire area. At this stage, there were three Councils operating in the Blue Mountains area and it later became necessary to form a county council to supervise the distribution of electricity and water supplies in the area. On 1 July 1944 the Blue Mountains County Council was established. Other duties of this County Council were the supervision and operation of the sewerage schemes.
In May 1946 Katoomba was proclaimed a City. On 1 October 1947 the Municipality of Blackheath, the City Katoomba and the Blue Mountains Shire Council, together with Blue Mountains County Council, incorporated to become the Blue Mountains City Council.
Further changes took place on 1 January 1980 when the electricity function was transferred to Prospect County Council and on 1 July 1980 when the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board assumed responsibility for water supply and sewerage services in the City.
Further changes to the structure of local government and Blue Mountains City Council were made on 1 July 1993, when the NSW Local Government Act took effect. This Act changed the responsibilities of the Mayor and Councillors and separated the functions more clearly from those of the General Manager. The new Act has forced local government to become more responsible and accountable. One of the significant changes has been to place all senior staff on performance based contracts.
Blue Mountains City Council has 12 Councillors (including the Mayor who is elected by the Councillors), representing 4 Wards within the City. The General Manager is appointed by the Council to manage the administration of the Council and in turn, the General Manager appoints staff within Council.
The Council has a 25 [year] City Vision and manages the Council through a series of 4 year Management Plans which then have an Annual Management Plan for each fiscal year.
The Council is also committed, in strategic intent, to sustainability practices and this is measured through various trend data collections.
The Census 2006 demonstrated a small decline in population as well as an aging demographic. The main industry in the area is Tourism and Council, along with the health industry, are the largest single employers.
The Blue Mountains City Council administration is based in Katoomba, New South Wales, and serves 26 townships [map] in a local government area of 1433 square kilometres. The 26 townships are situated from 50 to 120 km west of Sydney and cover a 100km strip of sandstone ridge within the 1,000 square kilometres of the World Heritage Area.
10.5% of the total land in the LGA is in private ownership and the land supply for development is projected to be exhausted by 2020.
The population is currently 76,000 and is static and aging. There is a limited rate base with increasing costs of service.
Blue Mountains attracts millions of visitors from throughout the world, making it one of the top three tourist destinations in Australia.
Over the next decade, it is projected that:
These trends will have significant implications for service provision in the next 5-10 years. Aging of the population will place pressure on existing services and facilities.
A major challenge for the City of Blue Mountains is to work towards achieving and retaining a mix of young, middle aged and older people in our community.
There are significant and growing differences in socio-economic status within the City of Blue Mountains. People living in the Lower Mountains, on average, are more advantaged in terms of household income, educational achievement, unemployment and occupation.
Given the correlation between poor health outcomes and low socio-economic status, there is a need to continue initiatives aimed at improving well being in the Mountains.
City in a World Heritage Area
The City's location [aerial photograph] within a World Heritage Area not only places limits on the land available for living. It also places responsibilities on the community, Council and other agencies to ensure that impacts of urban development are carefully managed and that the internationally recognised values of this natural environment are protected.
Because it is the major reason many people choose to live in and visit the Blue Mountains, protecting the environment is the number one issue identified in the 2006 Community Survey.
Its attraction also means the environment is under increasing threat from the pressure of human settlement and application of the principles of sustainability are even more necessary.
There was a change to ward boundaries in 2005 to ensure that the population distribution across words was within the guidelines. Information on this change can be found on the BMCC main website www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/mediacentre/wardboundarychanges. There are Ward boundary maps available as downloads at this site.
The following outlines information about the wards:
This section provides some useful links to external organisations that may be useful as well as some Council related links.
This section provides access to a range of documents that Councillors would use in making decisions and having discussions with constituents.
Contact the Council's Executive Officer for more information:
Blue Mountains City Council is governed by the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 (www.legislation.nsw.gov.au). Once in this site, you will note there is a separate section for Acts and a separate section for Regulations. Click on the L in either section and scroll down to the relevant Local Government Act or Regulation.
This Act and accompanying Regulation requires local government to be responsible and accountable for its own governance requirements.
The Council also reports to the Department of Local Government for statutory requirements. These statutory reporting requirements are set out in Department of Local Government Circulars along with other legislative guidelines for the purpose of providing guidance to Local Government. (www.dlg.gov.au)
Councillors and the Council also have access to the Local Government Shires Association. (www.lgsa.org.au)
Council officers have access to the Local Government Managers Association for their professional requirements and development, as well as other technical based organisations. (www.lgma.org.au)
The overarching element of Governance within the Council, apart from the Acts above, is the Code of Conduct. (www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/policiesandplans/codeofconduct)
The generally accepted principles of public sector governance, as articulated by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), include:
Source: Australian Public Service Commission, Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service, 2005.
There are 12 elected representatives from the community - 3 in each of the four wards (www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/electedrepresentatives). The Mayor is elected annually by the Councillors pursuant to the Local Government Act, Section 282(2) (www.austlii.edu.au).
The Operational Management of the Council is led by the General Manager. There are three Group Managers (See Modules 4, 5 and 6 for individual Group information) (www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/contactus/seniormanagement) and an Executive Officer who is a central point of reference and contact for Councillors (See Module 7: Executive Services).
The Blue Mountains City Council has 12 Councillors including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor representing 4 Wards within the City. Councillors are elected for a term of four years with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor being elected by the Council each year. The General Manager is appointed by the Council to manage the administration of the Council.
As a member of the governing body of the Council, the role of a Councillor is:
As an elected person, a Councillor's role is:
Councillors are required to attend regular Council Meetings held at the Blue Mountains City Council headquarters. These meetings are held on a 3 weekly cycle. Previous Council Meeting information including Business Papers, Minutes and Resolutions are available on Council's main website. (www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/councilmeetings)
In addition to Council Meetings, Councillors are encouraged to attend weekly briefing sessions and working parties which deal with current issues being addressed by the Council. These briefings and working parties are not decision making forums and are not open to the public.
Each Tuesday night between Council Meetings, Councillors attend both Working Party and Briefing Sessions. These are scheduled a year in advance and include the following:
Councillors carry out their roles and responsibilities as both members of Council and Council Committees. The Mayor is always the Chair of a Committee of Council but can delegate this function as well as resume the function at his/her discretion.
Council's Committees are either entirely comprised of Councillors or include Councillors, community members and Council staff.
The Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 under Sections 260 (www.austilii.edu.au) outlines the roles and responsibilities of Council Committees. Section 260 states that Council may, by resolution, establish such committees as it considers necessary. Section 261 of the Regulation requires Council to specify the functions of each of its committees when the committee is established. Council also has the power to amend the functions it allocates to its committees.
A Council may delegate to the General Manager or any other person or body (not including another employee of the Council) any of the functions of the Council. There are restrictions as to what can be delegated, for example, the making of rates cannot be delegated or the fixing of a fee cannot be delegated. (www.austlii.edu.au)
The payment requirements for Councillors are set out by the Department of Local Government. Councillors are not considered a PAYE employee. For further information regarding fee contributions please see Local Government Act 1993 Section 248 to 254. (www.austlii.edu.au)
Councillors are entitled to have Superannuation deducted from their payments. (www.lgsuper.org)
The Department of Local Government has recently released a publication on 'Becoming a councillor. The document can be sourced at www.dlg.nsw.gov.au. Ref 08-12 published on 4/4/08.
Information on requirements for candidates for the Local Government elections is available at the Electoral Commission of NSW website. (www.elections.nsw.gov.au) Information on campaign funding for Local Government elections is at the Electoral Funding Authority website (www.efa.nsw.gov.au).
For the latest information on Political Donations legislation, please refer to the DLG Circular 08-45. In this Circular and the Model Code of Conduct it is a requirement for Councillors to provide a copy of their "Declarations of Political Donations and Electoral Expenditure by an Elected Member, Candidate or Group".
In addition, Councillors also need to make a declaration about any gifts received. It is the General Manager's responsibility to maintain a public register.
All declarations should be forwarded to Executive Services in hard copy or electronically. Click here for contact details.
Blue Mountains City Council has developed a face to face induction program for new Councillors. The current version is available - click here.
Please note that the first meeting of the newly elected Council is scheduled for 30 September 2008 based on this timetable.
In addition to this induction session, if you are elected as a Councillor, you are required by the Department to attend a seminar as part of the Councillor Development Strategy as outlined in the Department of Local Government Circular 08-55 click here.
There are three potential dates that may suit Councillors in the Blue Mountains due to their proximity to the local government area:
Once the new Council is elected it is the responsibility of the Council to nominate each Council for a seminar date onto an online system after the 22 September 2008. This will be dealt with at the Councillor Orientation on 25 September at 2pm in the Council Chambers.
General Managers have to report the attendance at this training program by Councillors at the first meeting in 2009 which in the Blue Mountains is scheduled for 27 January 2009.
Whilst this is the formal training program there will be opportunities throughout the first month to engage in Briefing Sessions on particular issues coming before the Council. In addition to these activities you can also seek one-on-one advice on particular issues from the Executive Officer on (02) 4780 5509.
As you would appreciate the NSW Electoral Commission timetable of 22 September 2008 for publication of results has been used to plan this schedule. Should this date not be met this programme would need to reflect the new timetable.
Blue Mountains City Council is in the process of developing a Governance Strategy that enables the Council to adhere to its corporate goals in a manner consistent with applicable legal and policy obligations.
The current suite of Council governance documents sets out direct guidelines for Staff and Councillors to follow when conducting Council business in accordance with Acts and Regulations. Council's governance documents include:
?Code of Conduct www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/policiesandplans/codeofconduct
During the late 1990's and early 2000's a number of countries, including Australia, looked to a Purchaser/Provider Model of organisational management to make their organisation more businesslike, competitive and to have a mechanism for addressing rising costs.
A variant of the Purchaser/Provider Model was implemented into BMCC in 2001. The 2001 BMCC Business Model was adopted to focus on:
There was an organisational restructure in 2005, to address:
The BMCC Business Model, while having elements of Competitive Tender Outsourcing, is not a pure-bred purchaser/provider model. It was adapted to fit the circumstances that prevail in:
The model can be seen as Outcomes Driven, Policy Led in philosophy. The Policy and Outcome requirements are set by the Community and Corporate Group (Purchaser) and are then delivered by either Blue Mountains City Services or Environment and Customer Services (Partners) OR where deemed appropriate, delivered from the marketplace through a competitve process.
This BMCC Business model has delivered some significant benefits to the organisation. Those benefits include:
The General Manager has emphasised the need to fine-tune the purchaser/provider model to improve those elements of the model that are not working as well as they could, while maintaining those parts that are working well.
There is currently a Continuous Improvement Project running to further refine the Business Model and this project has undertaken:
We are now implementing a number of changes including:
In addition to these changes we are:
Some of the initiatives mentioned above will take some time to progress and are dependent on available resources. Others are moving ahead quickly and the pilot project on the Roads Service Level Agreement, for example, is expected to be decided by May 2008.
The role of the Community and Corporate Group is to ensure the organisation has the focus and capability to achieve results for the community, effectively and efficiently, through the delivery of Council's Management Plan.
The Group sets policy, identifies and delivers community and corporate priorities, delivers programs, purchases services and provides corporate support to the organisation including business planning and reporting. In this role the Group holds an umbrella view of all Council business.
The Group is made up of an Executive Section comprised of the Group Manager and an Executive Assistant and 8 Branch Managers to oversee the following functions:
The total number of FTEs for the Group is 107.38 (total allowable FTEs).
The Structure Chart summarises the functions of each Branch.
Key priorities to be addressed by the Group over the next four years include:
Sustainable Asset Management: Improving the management and maintenance of Council's built assets will continue to be a major focus for the Group. This will include completing an overarching Sustainable Asset Management strategy and framework with clear reporting milestones to guide implementation of asset management work. It will also include addressing the mix of affordable asset provision and reviewing and improving Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) Plans for each asset category.
Financial Sustainability: The Community and Corporate Group are committed to managing the community's resources in a sustainable, responsible and business like way. In addressing the financial challenge before Council, the Group will continue to refine the 'Long Term Financial Strategy ' so that it drives business planning and sustainable resource allocation. Priority attention will also be given to developing and implementing a range of income generation initiatives including the Property Disposal and Investment Program.
Implementing the Human Resources (HR) Strategy: A key focus will be strategically addressing Council's escalating employment costs and ensuring retention and recruitment of a skilled, valued and effective workforce that meets the needs of the organisation. A range of Human Resources initiatives will be implemented as part of the HR strategy.
State of City Monitoring - Tracking Progress in Achieving City Vision: Work will continue on the development of State of City monitoring and reporting through a variety of tools and processes including further developing the Sustainable Blue Mountains Web Site as a key engagement, monitoring and reporting tool, expanding the Trend Database and producing the legislatively required State of Environment report as a component of State of City reporting.
Improving Council Decision Making so that it Demonstrates Achievement of a More Sustainable Organisation: Particular attention will be given to supporting staff involved in writing council reports that need to assess Triple Bottom Line (TBL) impacts through provision of training in TBL assessment and decision making.
Aligning Work on Asset Management and on Development of Service Provision Framework Addressing Who Gets What, Where, When and Why: A key Priority is "to provide accessible and fairly distributed services and facilities throughout the Local government Area". Key Outcomes to be achieved include applying the service provision framework adopted by Council in the 2007 Community Plan to Council's asset management work.
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre and Mixed Use Development Project: Work will continue on the development of the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Mixed Land Use development project in Katoomba (including the development of a new Library, Theatrette, World Heritage Interpretive Centre, Art Gallery and Café) and on planning for the redevelopment of the Civic Centre Precinct and the construction of pedestrian links. In particular, priority attention will be given to:
Lawson Town Centre Project Implementation: A major priority for the Group is the implementation of the Lawson Town centre redevelopment project including construction of road and public space infrastructure works.
Springwood Town Centre: Continuing work to address strategic planning of the Springwood Town Centre in close consultation with relevant stakeholders
Preparing for the development of the four year (2008-2012) Service Level Agreements (SLAs): The SLAs are the primary mechanism by which the Council delivers its daily services to the community. The 2007-2008 financial year was the final year of the previous 3 year Agreements. New four year SLAs with a focus on outcomes will need to be developed and implemented. The outcomes of the purchaser/provider review will inform the ongoing framework for SLAs.
Major Waste Management Projects: A new Kerbside Recycling Contract will commence in 2008/09 with a change from crates to mobile bins. Project development or major physical works will continue at all 4 Waste Management sites:
The second stage of the remediation project, involving batter stabilisation, leachate controls, capping and revegetation will be programmed when funds are available.
BM City Services is the principal service provider for the Blue Mountains City Council. It has the primary goal of providing local government services specified within Service Level Agreements to the community in a manner that is transparently competitive with the private sector.
The Group operates as an in-house business unit and is required to return a surplus (profit) to the Council after accounting for all costs, expressed as a return on investment (ROI) against the written down value of assets (WDVA). As a public service entity, BM City Services is expected to exercise the values of social and environmental responsibility in its operations while operating commercially in a contestable environment.
BM City Services is certified under ISO9001 Quality Management and ISO14001 Environmental Management international standards.
Services provided cover the wide spectrum of traditional local government activity:
BM City Services strives to compete successfully in a contestable environment. At the discretion of the Council, the Group can be required to compete for the Council's work, in contestable processes. Where resources and capacity are available the Group may tender for external work in the private sector.
The Group is progressively developing a multi-skilled and flexible workforce. Innovation in service delivery, value-adding and achieving triple bottom line outcomes are priority goals.
As a result of reduced funding in real terms for the maintenance of infrastructure and other services in recent years, a number of asset classes show signs of accumulated, deferred or reduced maintenance. The reduced funding has not always been offset by reductions in levels of service and BM City Services has endeavoured to maintain service levels with diminishing resources.
The situation of financial constraint facing the Council continues to dominate business planning for the 4-years ahead. The Council has set a target for 2008-2012 to increase expenditure on asset renewal and maintenance by $6.5m, funded through efficiencies and savings in the costs of operations, innovation and seeking additional revenues. While the funding of Service Level Agreements for service activities is forecast to be below anticipated increases in employment and essential materials costs, it is important that the Group does not react introspectively by constantly cutting back on resources.
The Group must strive for constant improvement in the delivery of services and increased participation, particularly in tourism, recreation, leisure and cultural activities. It is also important to exploit any capacity to win external work in the open market to provide additional revenue streams.
Key priorities to be addressed by the Group over the next four years include: To remain the Council's preferred provider of services, delivering customer focused services in a sustainable and business-like manner and achieving commercial objectives. We will do this by:
Key elements driving business performance:
Environmental and Customer Services Group (E&CS) aims to provide quality customer service and regulatory functions to both internal and external customers whilst engaging in both a regulatory and enforcement role.
The Group's focus is on supporting a sustainable future for the Blue Mountains to achieve Council's commitment to the 25 year Vision and Map for Action outlined in its 4 year Management Plan. Below is a list of the group's key work areas.
The Information and Customer Services branch has a major role in providing good governance. The branch has a major focus on providing integrated customer service and information management. The branch is assisting the organisation to respond to the continued growth of internet bases services, expanding e-business and improving information systems to support the business.
The Branch provides a one stop quality customer service to internal and external clients of the Blue Mountains City Council. The Branch provides the major customer interface for Council through the Call Centre and the Business and Information Centres at Katoomba and Springwood. Council's internal records are also managed by the Group, along with the Katoomba RTA Agency.
The Branch supports improved business practice and efficient processes across the organisation through the maintenance/supply of technological equipment and, in partnership with other Groups, is proactively involved in implementation of corporate technological initiatives.
This branch has a big role in delivering Council's Management Plan principle activity areas of 'Looking after the Environment' and 'Using Land for Living'.
The Building and Construction Branch has two key roles, a regulatory role in development assessment and a competitive role in building construction. The assessment team manages development applications for single dwelling, granny flat and dual occupancy developments to meet the planning outcomes and expectations of our community in a bushfire prone and environmentally sensitive area surrounded by a World Heritage National Park.
The team also offers specialist environmental and landscaping advice and promotes a pre-purchase/pre-lodgement service that identifies issues associated with the development of the land early in the design of the proposal.
Our competitive unit actively pursues contestable services within the local government area. These services cover the issuing of construction and complying development certificates and construction inspection service as a Principal Certifying Authority.
The Branch takes an active part in developing and implementing policy to contribute to a sustainable Blue Mountains and in particular Council's Management Plan.
The Land Use Management Unit provides quality development assessment services for commercial, industrial, multi-residential and subdivision developments that comply with statutory requirements and ensure sustainable outcomes. This unit also issues Roads Act approvals and contributes to land use policy related to development activities.
The Environmental Health and Regulatory Compliance Unit has a significant role in supporting Council's Management Plan principle activity areas of 'Looking after People' and 'Looking after the Environment'. The Unit provides a range of services relating to health, safety and environmental matters. The Ranger Services team manages animal control, parking, by-law enforcement and responds directly to a number of requests from the community for on related matters.
The Development Monitoring Team manages land use issues including ensuring developments comply with approvals, illegal use, fire safety of buildings and the issue of Place of Public Entertainment Approvals.
The Health Team takes a proactive role in food safety, water quality testing of commercial pools, onsite sewerage management, footpath dining approvals and other environmental and safety matters.
The Vegetation Team is involved in issuing tree removal permits and hazard assessments on private property for bushfire risk. The section develops guidelines and policy relating to these regulatory activities. This unit provides an active presence within the community, in an educating and enforcement role to the wider benefit of the community.
These functions present an active presence within the community, with an education and enforcement role, to provide wider community benefit.
This unit co-ordinates the financial, business and performance monitoring activities of the E&CS Group. The unit takes a proactive role in implementing electronic systems and coordinating policy development. The team is also responsible for the registration of applications including those issued by private certifiers as well as the searching of files for information and/or notices.
The total number of allowable FTEs for the Group is 101.2 and are allocated across the Structure Chart.
Executive Services is a small unit responsible for functions that assist the General Manager and the elected Council. Unlike the three main Groups in Council, Executive Services does not have a Group Manager and reports directly to the General Manager.
Executive Services is also the home of the Public Officer who is designated under the Local Government Act 1993, Section 343 (www.austlii.edu.au).
The Internal Auditor also operates from Executive Services, as outlined in the Structure Chart.
Some of the other functions of Executive Services include:
If you require any further information in regard to the role of a Councillor or any aspect of Council operations please contact the Executive Officer on (02) 4780 5509 or (0414) 195 509.
While the Council's current financial position is relatively sound, there will be a decline in the financial position over the next 10 years if there is no change in the availability of resources to deliver the Council's services. The Council's financial position is being driven by the following factors:
The high costs associated with maintaining and renewing aging built infrastructure continue to increase. If this challenge is not addressed the financial sustainability of the Council and the City will increasingly be under threat which could lead to a reduction in service delivery to the community.
To see how the Council is responding to these challenges please refer to Management Plan: www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/managementplan .
Key Challenge - fostering social and economic well being while protecting and enhancing the Blue Mountains World Heritage environment.
From Towards a More Sustainable Blue Mountains - A Map for Action 2000-2025 www.sustainablebluemountains.net.au