2017-12-12 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                              12 DECEMBER 2017


A breakdown of revenue and expense performance against budget will be provided further in this
report. Council has achieved another solid annual financial result which reflects responsible
budget management by Council managers and staff on behalf of our community.

Council has met the requirements of its financial sustainability policy with respect to the operating
surplus ratio, with the ratio of 5% comfortably at the mid-point of the 0-10% target range set by
the state government.
Operating Revenue
Council achieved $93.6 million of operating revenue against budgeted revenue of $90.4 million
for the full year, reflecting the prudent budgeting approach adopted to manage any downside
revenue risk. A breakdown on each of Council’s revenue streams is contained in the following
table:

Table 1: Operating Revenue Performance by Type
 Revenue Type             Budget          Actual     Variance
                             $m              $m            $m
 Rates                     $62.3           $62.5          $0.2
 Fees                       $4.9            $5.5          $0.6
 Sales                      $8.0            $8.6          $0.6
 Dividend                   $1.7            $1.6        ($0.1)
 Tax                        $1.5            $1.5            $-
 Interest                   $4.4            $4.8          $0.4
 Other                      $2.0            $2.8          $0.8
 Grants                     $5.7            $6.3          $0.6
 Total                     $90.4           $93.6          $3.1
Note: Some rounding

 Rates and Levies – $62.5m of actual revenue was received against the annual budget of
   $62.3m. The majority of the additional revenue collected related to additional and prepaid
   general rates.
 Fees and Charges – Actual fees and charges collected of $5.5m exceeded budget by
   $600k. Planning related fees ($309k), local law infringements ($92k), community land use
   fees ($71k) and rates search fees ($104k) are some of the fee types that exceeded budget
   forecasts. Cemetery fees ($72k) and plumbing fees ($36k) did not achieve expected revenue
   targets.
 Sales – Actual sales of $8.6m exceeded budget by $600k. Income streams that exceeded
   budget included waste disposal and recyclable sales ($226k), holiday park entry ($214k), and
   other various community facility revenues (i.e. the J, Leisure Centre and Aquatic Centre).
 Interest Received – Interest earned of $4.8m exceeded budget by $400k. Interest revenue
   sources include Unitywater loans ($2.6m), interest on cash ($1.7m) and interest on overdue
   rates ($504k). Higher end of year cash balances as well as additional interest on overdue
   rates reflected the positive position against budget.
 Dividend and Tax – Actual Dividend and tax payments from Unitywater of $3.2m were
   marginally behind budget (offset by additional interest on Unitywater loans).
 Other Revenue – $2.8m of actual other revenue was received against the annual budget of
   $2.0m. Other income streams that exceeded budget included recoveries for Unitywater
   charges on Council leases, recovery of costs associated with debt recovery (SPER, CITEC),
   lease revenues and fleet small plant disposals via auction.
 Grants, Subsidies and Contributions – Operational grants of $6.3m received exceeded the
   annual budget of $5.7m. This difference includes 50% of the 2018/19 financial assistance
   grant being received in advance in June ($1m), with the Translink contribution towards the
   deferred electric bus trial ($480k) no longer required.


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