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2014-07-28 General Committee Agenda
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AGENDA
General Committee
Meeting
Monday, 28 July 2014
commencing at 10am
Council Chambers, 9 Pelican Street, Tewantin
Committee: Crs Tony Wellington (Chair), Bob Abbot, Sandy Bolton,
Joe Jurisevic, Frank Pardon, Noel Playford, Frank Wilkie
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Section 2
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ITEM PAGE
ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES 3
PRESENTATIONS 3
ITEMS REFERRED FROM INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES COMMITTEE 3
1 NOOSA COAST GUARD - REQUEST FOR MEMORIAL WALL 3
4 COUNCIL CABS REVIEW 2014 3
ITEMS REFERRED FROM PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE 3
1 APPLICATION FOR MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE - ANIMAL HUSBANDRY TYPE
2 (1,000 BIRD CHICKEN FARM) MCU14/0028 SITUATED AT 317 LAWNVILLE RD,
BLACK MOUNTAIN 3
REPORTS TO GENERAL COMMITTEE 4
1 COUNCIL CABS REVIEW - FURTHER REPORT 4
2 BANKING AND INVESTMENT ARRANGEMENTS 8
3 CORRECTION OF 2014/15 WASTE MANAGEMENT MINIMUM CHARGE 10
CLOSED SESSION 12
Page 2 of 12
Section 3
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES
PRESENTATIONS
Nil.
ITEMS REFERRED FROM INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES COMMITTEE
1 NOOSA COAST GUARD - REQUEST FOR MEMORIAL WALL
(Previously distributed in Planning and Organisation Committee Agenda, Page 4)
Reason for Referral: Cr Wellington disagrees with the recommendation.
4 COUNCIL CABS REVIEW 2014
(Previously distributed in Planning and Organisation Committee Agenda, Page 16)
Reason for Referral: Request for further report outlining the number of passengers
affected, alternatives available and potential social impacts.
(Further Report provided at Item 1, Page 4)
ITEMS REFERRED FROM PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE
1 APPLICATION FOR MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE - ANIMAL HUSBANDRY TYPE 2
(1,000 BIRD CHICKEN FARM) MCU14/0028 SITUATED AT 317 LAWNVILLE RD, BLACK
MOUNTAIN
(Previously distributed in Planning and Organisation Committee Agenda, Page 4)
Reason for Referral: Significance of issue.
Page 3 of 12
Section 4
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
REPORTS TO GENERAL COMMITTEE
1 COUNCIL CABS REVIEW - FURTHER REPORT
DOCUMENT IN FOR MATI ON
Author Design Services Manager, Ross Sanderson
Planning & Infrastructure Department
Index ECM\Subject\Traffic and Transport
ECM\Project & Contract\Council Cabs
Attachments Nil
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Nil
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by Design Services Manager, Ross Sanderson to the General
Committee dated 28 July 2014 and agree to discontinue the Council Cabs services and advise
existing users of the alternative transport options available.
REPORT
A report on Council Cabs and future options for the service was presented to the Infrastructure
and Services Committee on the 22 July 2014. At this meeting the Councillors requested a further
report be presented to the General Committee on the 28 July 2014 addressing the following
questions:
Are the same individuals utilising the service every month?
Are these individuals eligible for alternative services?
How did users of the service travel before Council Cabs commenced in 2010?
What are the Public Transport fares for seniors and pensioners?
Is Sunshine Coast Council still delivering Council Cabs?
1. Patronage
Table 1 below highlights individuals who repeatedly use Council Cabs. In general there are 10
individuals who use the service on a monthly basis.
Table 1: Repeat Council Cab Passengers
Repeat Individuals by Month
Individuals Jan- 14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14
Using the
Service
Dec-13 12 10 10 10 10 10
Jan-14 16 10 10 9 7
Feb-14 14 10 9 9
Mar-14 10 9 9
Apr-14 14 10
May-14 12
Page 4 of 12
Section 5
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
2. Alternative Services
From the passenger data available, it is not possible to determine individual eligibility for
alternative transport as listed in Table 2 below. Of the five regular Council Cab passengers who
were contacted, two passengers have utilised the Noosa Respite Centre bus once or twice and
one passenger regularly uses Blue Care (HACC provider) for transport to specialist medical
treatment in Kawana.
Table 2: Alternative Transport Options
Service Details Comment
State Government Taxi Subsidy The Taxi Subsidy Scheme subsidises taxi Limited eligibility
Scheme travel, half of the total fare, up to a
maximum of $25 per trip, for people with
severe disabilities.
Queensland Ambulance Service Provides non-emergency patient transport
for pre-arranged visits to a medical facility
for ongoing treatment or transfers between
medical facilities for specialist treatment.
Home and Community Care Community transport is available to help
(HACC) aged persons and people with disabilities to
go shopping or attend medical
appointments. Each HACC service provider
has its own fees policy.
ComLink ComLink is a not-for-profit, volunteer based The nearest service is
community organisation. They provide based in Birtinya.
transport and social support options for Customer is charged for
eligible community members to and from driver to travel from
medical appointments, shopping and social Birtinya to Noosa Heads
outings. at $7 per 4km.
Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans and war widow/ers who travel for Limited eligibility
Repatriation Transport Scheme approved medical treatment may be eligible
for reimbursement of certain expenses
incurred.
Noosa Day Respite Centre Transport for clients one day a week for
their shopping and banking. Fee is $5.
Services Noosa and the Hinterland.
TransLink Public transport provider. Public Transport is not
available in certain areas
(eg Lake Macdonald
which is a pick up location
for 6 regular Council Cab
passengers). Passengers
may also experience
difficulties walking to their
nearest bus stop.
Page 5 of 12
Section 6
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
3. Travel Prior to Council Cabs
Five regular users were contacted and asked how they travelled prior to 2010 when Council
Cabs was introduced. Responses included:
Paid full taxi fare at a significant cost
Used public transport
Previously drove but have since developed medical conditions which prevent them from
driving
Doesn’t have a licence so was previously driven by husband but he can no longer drive.
4. Public Transport Fares
A 50% concession fare on TransLink services is available to pensioners and seniors. See Table
3 below for fares.
Table 3: TransLink Fares
Zones Go card Go card Paper Ticket
Travelled off peak
1 $1.77 $1.42 $2.60
2 $2.07 $1.66 $3.10
3 $2.46 $1.97 $3.60
4 $2.76 $2.21 $4.10
5. Sunshine Coast Council – Council Cabs
Sunshine Coast Council is continuing Council Cabs. The service is delivered by Suncoast Cabs
and managed by Council’s Community Services Department. The service is supported because
the eligibility criteria does not compete with alternative transport options but rather assists service
providers such as HACC (Home and Community Care) who have strict eligibility criteria, rather
than turning clients away HACC service providers can refer them to Council Cabs.
Previous Council Consideration
Refer to Infrastructure & Service Committee Report dated 22 July 2014.
Finance & Risk
Refer to Infrastructure & Service Committee Report dated 22 July 2014.
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Five regular Council Cab passengers were contacted by telephone and asked the following
questions:
1. How did you travel to the shops and medical appointments prior to Council Cabs in 2010?
2. Are you aware of alternative transport services such as the Taxi Subsidy Scheme, Qld
Ambulance Service, Home and Community Care Services, Noosa Day Respite Centre etc?
Passengers were from Cooroy, Tewantin, and the Peregian Beach area.
Page 6 of 12
Section 7
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
Responses are included in the body of this report, additional comments include:
Passenger feels they are too active to use the Noosa Respite Centre bus.
Passenger would be willing to pay $5 for Council Cab Service.
Passenger really appreciates Council Cabs, doesn’t have a car and relies on it every week.
He thought costs could be reduced if the taxis were more efficient by transporting more
people in one cab.
Cannot use public transport as the nearest bus stop is 1km up a big hill. Passenger has
problems walking so it is not feasible to walk to the nearest bus stop.
Passengers have utilised the service from its inception and would really like it to continue.
Comments from Suncoast Cabs
Manager of Suncoast Cabs stated that the service is provided at a reduced taxi rate, it is more a
“feel good” community service for Council Cabs. For many of the regular Council Cabs
passengers, the service is “their life,” particularly the passengers from Lake MacDonald who use
the service for their weekly outing and catch up in Cooroy.
Internal Consultation
Refer to Infrastructure & Service Committee Report dated 22 July 2014.
Departments/Sections Consulted:
Community Services X Planning & Infrastructure
Disaster Management & Public Order Building & Plumbing Services
Waste & Environmental Health DA Planning
Community Facilities Strategic Land Use Planning
Cultural Facilities Asset Design & Investigations
Asset Planning
Civil Operations
Environment
Executive Office Corporate Services
Community Engagement Finance
Customer Service ICT
Executive Support Procurement & Fleet
Governance Property & Facilities
Human Resources Revenue Services
Page 7 of 12
Section 8
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
2 BANKING AND INVESTMENT ARRANGEMENTS
DOCUMENT IN FOR MATI ON
Author Manager Financial Services, Wayne Jensen
Corporate Services Department
Index ECM / Subject / 22 - Financial Accounting and Management
Attachments Nil
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Planning and Organisation Committee requested a report on the current Council banking
and investment arrangements.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Manager Financial Services to the General Committee
Meeting dated 28 July 2014 regarding Noosa Council’s banking and investment arrangements.
REPORT
Council currently has transactional banking arranged through the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia (CBA), with investment accounts also arranged through Queensland Treasury
Corporation (QTC).
The CBA facilities were arranged as an extension of facilities that exist for Sunshine Coast
Council for an initial period of 12 months to December 2014 with two x 1 year options for
extension. It should be noted that to undertake a full banking services tender is time consuming
and costly, and as such Council obtained Ministerial approval for the arrangements as a means
of ensuring facilities would exist for the commencement of business on 1 January 2014.
The range of banking services are relatively complex, and involves 2 primary bank accounts for
general consolidated funds plus a trust account; interest bearing accounts also provide short
term cash management opportunities. Council maintains a range of merchant EFTPOS facilities
across all venues and facilities, plus online payment interfaces; corporate purchase cards; and
interfaces with external service providers.
To this point investment of surplus funds has been constrained by the timing of the finalisation of
the transfer of cash from Sunshine Coast Council, including uncertainty around the level of
surplus cash that might be available for longer term investment. QTC provide a capital
guaranteed cash management account and this has been utilised along with the interest bearing
account at CBA for investment of surplus funds for the last six months.
Council’s investment policy allows for investment of funds in accordance with a number of
legislative heads of power including the Local Government Act 2009 and Statutory Bodies
Financial Arrangements Act 1982 (SBFA). Council has been granted Category 1 investment
power under the SBFA which allows for authorised investment with QTC or the Queensland
Investment Corporation (both state government entities), along with appropriately rated financial
institutions. The policy also identifies the need to ensure Council’s capital is preserved (i.e. no
loss on any investment occurs), whilst ensuring that maximum opportunity is realised from any
surplus funds available. Council’s budget includes interest revenue from investments which is
taken into consideration annually when considering overall revenue requirements to fund costs.
Page 8 of 12
Section 9
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
The CBA cash management interest bearing account is used currently as an effective buffer to
cater for short term and unexpected cash flow requirements, given the relative ease to transfer
funds from Council’s general operating account. The logistics of not utilising a cash management
account in some form for short term investment would prove costly for Council, as the QTC
capital guaranteed cash management account is not intended to be used as a daily transactional
account, but more for longer periods (+30 days) and term deposit contracts with third party
agencies cannot be easily broken, and to do so may incur penalties.
As rates revenue is received, and longer term cash flow requirements have been determined to
satisfy operational and capital works requirements, longer term investments with third party
agencies will be investigated in accordance with the provisions of Council’s investment policy.
This will likely result in investment opportunities with other financial institutions and products than
those currently in place (i.e. CBA and QTC), whilst still ensuring that overall returns can be
maximised where possible.
Previous Council Consideration
Nil
Finance & Risk
From a logistical perspective, changing banking service providers can be significant for an
organisation. As well as a tender process, there are the logistical issues associated with
EFTPOS, direct debits, etc. Typically, the process would take a minimum of 6 months (typically
6-12 months for full implementation of a change in provider), and would need to be managed
around rate notice periods to ensure a minimum impact on Council’s external customers and
ratepayers.
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Nil
Internal Consultation
Nil
Departments/Sections Consulted:
Community Services Planning & Infrastructure
Disaster Management & Public Order Building & Plumbing Services
Waste & Environmental Health DA Planning
Community Facilities Strategic Land Use Planning
Cultural Facilities Asset Design & Investigations
Asset Planning
Civil Operations
Environment
x Executive Office x Corporate Services
Community Engagement Finance
Customer Service ICT
Executive Support Procurement & Fleet
Governance Property & Facilities
Human Resources x Revenue Services
Page 9 of 12
Section 10
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
3 CORRECTION OF 2014/15 WASTE MANAGEMENT MINIMUM CHARGE
DOCUMENT IN FOR MATI ON
Author Director Corporate Services, Michael Shave
Corporate Services Department
Index ECM/ Revenue Management/ Waste
Attachments Nil
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Director Corporate Services to the General Committee
Meeting dated 28 July 2014 and:
A. Agree to reduce the minimum waste service charge to $194 from the current $230 per
annum; and
B. Make the necessary adjustment to affected property rate balance records in Council’s
rating system.
REPORT
During the preparation of the 2014/15 waste management charges an administrative oversight
has occurred with respect to the setting of the waste management minimum charge. Minimum
waste charges are applied where bulk waste services are used in strata / group titled units in lieu
of individual waste bins.
The 2013/14 minimum charge applied by Council was $176 per affected property. As part of the
setting of waste management charges for the 2014/15 financial year, the minimum charge has
been inadvertently set at the same level as a 140L collection service i.e. $230.
The minimum charge should have increased in line with the annual increase for the standard
kerbside collection pickup, set at a $9 increase for each 6 month rates period. As such the
minimum charge should reflect $194 for the full year rather than $230, a decrease of $36.
The oversight has been discovered after the July rate notices have been issued. An adjustment
to the rates balance of $18 for those affected properties will be required to reflect the reduced
July rate notice balance payable. Approximately 4,300 strata / group titled units will require an
adjustment.
Previous Council Consideration
Nil.
Finance & Risk
Council has an obligation to rectify the charging oversight as soon as possible.
Page 10 of 12
Section 11
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Nil.
Internal Consultation
Waste Management and Environmental Health Manager
Chief Executive Officer
Departments/Sections Consulted:
X Community Services Planning & Infrastructure
Disaster Management & Public Order Building & Plumbing Services
Waste & Environmental Health DA Planning
Community Facilities Strategic Land Use Planning
Cultural Facilities Asset Design & Investigations
Asset Planning
Civil Operations
Environment
X Executive Office Corporate Services
Community Engagement Finance
Customer Service ICT
Executive Support Procurement & Fleet
Governance Property & Facilities
Human Resources Revenue Services
Page 11 of 12
Section 12
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
CLOSED SESSION
Nil.
Page 12 of 12
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 28 JULY 2014
CLOSED SESSION
Nil.
Page 12 of 12