One ‘mega council’ Would Be a Disaster for Pittwater
11 Nov 2014
Mayor for Pittwater Jacqueline Townsend has slammed an article in a local newspaper that appeared earlier this week quoting Professor Graham Sansom, who said Pittwater people “are quite justified in wanting to see an arrangement in place to protect their quality of life, but it’s not a reason not to have a merger”.
“Quality of life is the number one reason we are vehemently against a merge into a ‘mega council’. Pittwater people will lose the very fabric of what makes a local community local,” said Cr Townsend.
“While the idea of a ‘mega council’ might look good on a spreadsheet, the good management of the social, economic and environmental pillars of the entire Northern Beaches peninsular is unsustainable," she adds.
Professor Sansom claims that one council for the Northern Beaches “could be very strong”.
“The notion of one mega council for the Northern Beaches being ‘strong’ is something I passionately disagree with. It is ludicrous to claim that a mega council can maintain the same level of service in such a large area—we currently manage 96 square kilometres and that would increase to 260 square kilometres.
“It also poses a huge risk to Pittwater’s unique ‘communities of interest’ and the strong sense of belonging that our residents feel; our community will become a very small fish in a big pond,” Cr Townsend added.
Mayor Townsend claims the recommendations of Professor Sansom and his team focused only on urban infrastructure, commercial assets and the delivery of services, and omitted the major issues that Pittwater people hold close to their hearts—being a connected and sustainable community.
“One mega council will undermine our community to continue as contemporary land managers, protecting our natural and built assets.
“It was only 22 years ago that Pittwater people fought for the right to have a council of its own. It would be an absolute tragedy if that right was removed.
Mayor Townsend said she didn’t want to see residents left wondering, why did we fight so hard in the first place? The reasons for succession in 1992 are still relevant today.
“My fellow councillors and I hear the same message all the time—our community don’t want to return to the old days,’ she said.
Mayor Townsend said, we should learn from the councils that have amalgamated and then regretted doing so—like Hume City Council in Victoria and a number of Queensland local councils—as a result of insufficient consideration given to community services, demographic considerations, economic and social activities, historic and environmental features, as well as adequate local political representation.
Related reference material:
• ....., ‘More power to the peninsular’, ...., 11 November, pg 3
• Pittwater Council local government reform updates: pittwater.nsw.gov.au/council/local_government_reform
• Flucher, H, (1989), Discussion Paper: The Concept of Communities of Interest
__________________________________________
Pittwater Council’s annual report demonstrates it’s delivering on its Community Strategic Plan
11 Nov 2014
Pittwater Council is pleased to announce financial results for the 2013-14 year delivered a balanced budget, with an operating surplus of $872,000. The report has unveiled a detailed summary of figures, showing approximately $23.8 million has been spent on major works and capital improvement.
Pittwater Mayor Jacqueline Townsend claims Council is proud of its achievements, which highlight the complex and diverse range of services it provides to the community.
“We are always striving to meet the expectations of the community, and of ourselves, to constantly deliver good outcomes,” she said.
“Our annual report is proof that we have excellent financial management and that Pittwater Council is strong and successful.”
Highlights include:
• $4.1m spent on improving roads & footpath network, including Hudson Pde, Avalon & Boondah Rd, Warriewood.
• Reduction in GHG emissions of operations by 7.6%.
• Granted $1m for a garden waste bin collection service.
• Major upgrade Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving Club
• Increased library utilisation by 17% due to evolving role as community hub.
• Creation of Pittwater Business Online website, to help local businesses.
• $544,000 spent on upgrading parks & playgrounds, including South Avalon Beach.
• $5.3m spent on carpark upgrades
Pittwater Council has also been recognised for several awards, including top honours from Parks & Leisure Australia for our Synthetic Turf Field at Narrabeen, winning a Local Government Arts & Culture award for our Arts Paper, an Award of Excellence from Storm safe NSW for our management of stormwater pollution, and winning a NSW Coastal Management award for our Coastal Ambassadors Program.
____________________________________________________
Pittwater residents are satisfied with Council – according to latest survey results
10 Nov 2014
According to an independent survey, 91% of Pittwater residents are satisfied with the overall performance of Council—a pleasing result that is higher than 2010 results and above NSW Local Government Area (LGA) benchmarks.
Mayor for Pittwater, Jacqueline Townsend said that the latest customer survey results demonstrate how Pittwater is leading the way for other NSW councils, and responding to the community.
“What makes Pittwater so successful are three dominant virtues—it’s a Council run by the people, it has excellent financial management and results, and it runs efficiently—and these survey results show that this combination translates to resident satisfaction,” Mayor Townsend said.
The key focus of the survey was to measure residents’ satisfaction with service delivery and the level of communication from Pittwater Council.
Some of the key findings of the survey were:
• 87% of residents feel that they belong to the community they live in.
• Overall 85% of residents surveyed were satisfied with the performance of Council in dealing with their enquiry.
• 77% of residents rated Council’s image with the local community to be ‘good’ to ‘excellent.’
• 71% of residents feel safe in the local community.91% of residents name major works/projects as the issue they’d most like Council to communicate to residents about.
When asked what issues Pittwater Council should focus on over the next five years, the majority named development - controlled, overdevelopment (13%) while 12% of residents named the upgrade and improvement of roads and footpaths.
Pittwater scored above the LGA benchmark for: providing and operating libraries; environmental and sustainability initiatives; provision of information to the community; supporting local businesses; and involving the community in decision making.
Mayor Townsend claims the survey is instrumental in providing feedback on Council’s performance and building a strategic path forward.
“The survey not only lets us know when we are doing a good job but it also pinpoints areas which need improving,” she said.
“Although the results are very pleasing, we are very aware that residents have told us what they see as important— and that gives us a focus to move forward.”
Research company Micromex conducted the 15 minute survey on behalf of Council.
A similar survey will be conducted in another two years, to assess whether satisfaction levels have improved.
To view the survey results visit pittwater.nsw.gov.au/council/community_survey
Community Survey
Council has again conducted a community survey to gauge resident satisfaction with Council services and performance.
The focus of this survey, conducted in July 2014, was both community satisfaction with Council services and the other Community Strategic Plan indicators. As such we separated out these elements and conducted two separate surveys.
Micromex Research was engaged to undertake the two telephone surveys. We sampled 400 residents, over the age of 18, for each survey (total of 800 residents surveyed). The consultant ensured that the survey participant sample was reflective of the demographics of Pittwater. The sample size of 400 participants is considered statistically valid and represents sampling best practice.
Survey highlights:
• Overall, 91% of residents surveyed were satisfied with Council’s overall performance. This is slightly higher than in 2010 and above all the NSW LGA benchmarks.
• The main drivers of satisfaction are responsiveness to complaints/ requests, provision of information to the community and community involvement in decision making.
• Overall, 77% of residents surveyed thought that Council’s image within the local community was ‘good’ to ‘excellent’.
• The top two key priority areas residents surveyed believe Pittwater should focus on over the next 5 years are controlled development/ over development and upgrading/ improving roads and footpaths.
• Compared with 2010 research there was a significant increase in resident’s level of importance with the following four services: cleanliness of beaches and waterways; managing and protecting creeks and waterways; support to local business; level of access to health services.
• In relation to satisfaction of Council services, Pittwater scored above the LGA benchmark for the following: providing and operating libraries; overall satisfaction with the way contact was handled; overall satisfaction with council; environmental and sustainability initiatives; council provision of information to the community; support to local business; community involvement in decision making.
• Overall 85% of residents surveyed were satisfied with performance of Council in dealing with their enquiry.
View full report (PDF 2.32 MB): http://portal.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/Temp/ViewedDocs/1F8_004AE4CA.002.pdf
