According to the Mayor, Doctor Geoff Brooke-Cowden, this is a most exciting time and Baulkham Hills is the most exciting place to be Mayor.
He has every reason to be proud of what has been achieved by Council over the past five years.
The outstanding results can be attributed to a combined effort by Council, management, staff and the community.
“The organisation is being totally transformed,” Mayor Brooke-Cowden said.
“It was during the second half of last year we realised that what we set out to do was starting to work.
“Through quality management and establishing targets, we are seeing a change in the organisation.
“We have moved from insolvency to being an industry leader. However, we had not expected the results to come in as early as they have.”
The Mayor said that as a result of Council’s regular community surveys and being prepared to stretch the limits, through lateral and innovative ideas to improve the processes and services to residents, the Cultural Vitality Survey (Morgan and Banks) shows Council’s score at 14% higher than the public sector.
“However, we are still 10% below the best in the private sector,” he said.
“So we must keep working to rate alongside the best across the board.”
From a precarious financial position just eight years ago, Council is now operating with reserves of $22 million.
This represents 37% of operating expenditure. Council has also reduced total debt from $15.3 million at 30 June 1997 to $10.9 million as at 30 June 1998.
At the same time, Council’s operations and activities continue to expand at a rapid rate in line with the fact that Baulkham Hills is one of the fastest growing urban areas in Australia.
