2021-08-16 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                  16 AUGUST 2021


    Accrued annual leave has continued to increase as staff are constrained in options to travel
     for leave and many staff have also been too busy to take leave (reflecting high workloads).
     This peaked in May 2021 as many staff worked on try to finalise projects before the end of the
     financial year and Council budgets. Staff burnout remains a risk due to high workloads and
     staff are encouraged to take leave to refresh and recharge.

Our Customers
   The number of customer requests has continued to increase and is at an all-time high. This
     has presented some challenges with meeting customer requests within the target dates and
     our management team is currently refocusing on this issue. One of our Infrastructure Services
     Managers is leading a project looking at how we can better manage customer requests across
     the organisation. This includes looking at new monitoring provisions which allows for escalation
     of requests if not addressed within certain timeframes.
    While the number of customer requests is increasing, the response time for our front line staff
     in answering telephone calls and dealing with matters in the first instance is still quite good.
    For building, plumbing and development applications, we are seeing record application
     numbers. This is not a Noosa phenomenon with other local governments reporting similar
     record application numbers. Further, all councils are competing for limited resources with town
     planners and building surveyors in particular being in short supply in south-east Queensland.
     This is no doubt as a result of the various government stimulus programs to encourage building
     development across the country and also reflecting the high demand for new housing as a
     result of the influx of interstate migrants. For the development assessment area, they are also
     dealing with the additional superseded planning scheme applications which could be made up
     to 31 July 2021. Now that no further superseded planning scheme applications can be made,
     the branch will be able to work through to clear the backlog over time. Other councils are
     facing similar issues but we have the added burden of the superseded planning scheme
     applications at this point in time.


Our Finances
   Our financial KPIs measure solvency, investment performance and outstanding rates. All of
     these KPIs continue to be on track and in particular, there is no significant change in trend for
     rate arrears. Our ratepayers are paying their rates at the same level as pre-pandemic times.
    Council receives a financial performance report at the end of each month which provides a
     more detailed analysis of Council’s financial position. Council receives a detailed report on
     Capital Works progress every quarter.

Our Systems and Processes
    The use of online services continues to increase year on year. The proportion of payments
     continues to be high as cash payments are being limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.




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