2016-07-18 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                    18 JULY 2016


OTHER ACTIVITIES
Of course, not everything that Council has done in the last 12 months falls neatly into the seven
key priorities outlined above. In no particular order, some other key issues during 2015/16
included:
 Local Government Election - March 2016
    Although managed by the Electoral Commission of Queensland, the March 2016 Council
    election was a milestone event seeing the conclusion of our first term following de-
    amalgamation and the commencement of our second term. The retirement of Mayor Noel
    Playford and Deputy Mayor Bob Abbot saw the departure of over 50 years of local
    government experience. Cr Tony Wellington was elected as Mayor and there were also three
    new Councillors elected. As such, an extensive and intense induction program was
    developed to smooth the transition process from April to June 2016. That has been
    successfully achieved.
 Audit and Risk Committee
    Our Audit and Risk Committee continues to work quietly on ensuring that good governance
    practices are in place. Although not high profile, this Committee plays an important role in
    making sure that Council “dots the i’s and crosses the t’s” both in governance and in the
    management of risk. Council received an unqualified audit from the Queensland Audit Office
    (QAO) for its financial statements and during the external audit process, no issues of concern
    were raised by the QAO. Council’s Internal Audit Program included internal audits on Cash
    Handling and the Waste Charges system.
 Establishment of Enterprise Risk Management
    We are significantly more advanced over the last 12 months in embedding risk management
    practices into Council operations. An Enterprise Risk Management Policy and Framework
    has been adopted by Council and risk registers established. The Leadership Team reviews
    strategic risks on a quarterly basis and operational risk registers have been established at a
    Departmental level. A comprehensive Business Continuity Plan is all but complete and will
    be tested in 2016/17.
 Disaster Management
   Our Noosa Disaster Management and Disaster Recovery Plans have been adopted by
   Council. Specific Disaster Management Plans were also developed for the Pomona and
   Daintree Estate areas. In 2015/16, we undertook a major training exercise for a wild fire
   event. Luckily, throughout the year, we were spared any major flooding events unlike some
   other SEQ Councils. We have undertaken significant training for our staff to ensure that we
   are ready for disaster events and the level of volunteering for this role by staff remains high.
 Workplace Health and Safety (WHS)
   At the request of the CEO, we have had a higher focus on our WHS compliance during
   2015/16. At the beginning of 2015, we were a long way off being at an acceptable standard
   in terms of our WHS compliance but we have made good progress in 2015/16. After another
   12 months, we should be approaching an acceptable standard.
 Noosa North Shore
   Council is well advanced with planning for a refurbishment of the Noosa North Shore
   Wilderness Camp. At the same time, negotiations are continuing with DNRM to sort out
   historical tenure issues on the Noosa North Shore and these negotiations are progressing
   well.
 KPI Reporting
   We have continued to refine our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which assist in managing
   the organisation. About 30 detailed management KPIs are reviewed monthly by the
   Leadership Team and about 10 to 12 high level KPIs are reported to Council on a quarterly
   basis. The next focus will be to develop a range of community indicators.



                                                                                    Page 39 of 41