An interview with West Arnhem Shire Council Chief Executive Officer Adam Seiler.
Adam Seiler is experiencing the sharp edge of Local Government business efficiency and sustainability issues as he works to steer a fledgling Northern Territory Shire Council towards a structure better suited to facing some funding and geographic factors peculiar to remote Australia.
Appointed CEO of West Arnhem Shire Council in November 2010, he was surprised at the differences experienced in this role compared to his previous positions as CEO and Deputy CEO of small remote and regional communities within the Goldfields region of Western Australia.
With 17 years experience in Local Government in metropolitan, rural and remote areas of Western Australia, he highlighted several areas of difference between Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Adam Seiler said probably the biggest issue in the transition to this role is the vastly reduced rates income potential in the Northern Territory.
“A huge percentage of West Arnhem Shire’s operating revenue is sourced from Commonwealth and Territory government grants; as most of these funds are tied grants, the organisation has very little opportunity to direct resources to discretionary projects,” he said.
“Our income has decreased substantially since the inception of the new Council, especially in the area of agency services which represent a substantial component of our delivery of services ‘on the ground’, which obviously affects our capacity to realise outcomes that the community wants.
Annualised grant funding makes it incredibly difficult to accurately forecast future revenue and undertake long-term planning, something every Local Government is expected to now deliver.
Additionally, this restricts the length of contract that can be offered to entice professional staff to remote communities in the Top End. Put these factors together and you’ve got yourself a hot potato.
The current model of funding for regional NT Shires is, in my opinion, unsuited to the realities of providing core (basic) services to remote communities and goes against the very notion of organisational sustainability.”
Another issue he has had to face is an organisational structure that did not adequately reflect the funding available to the Shire, having to reduce staffing levels by 12 per cent in his first seven months of employment.
Adam Seiler said as well as instituting a significant reduction in spending during the first 12 months of my tenure, he had focussed his energies on reducing staffing levels through a program of natural attrition and selected redundancies.
He points to the young age and history of the organisation as one factor leading to human resource inefficiencies.
“West Arnhem Shire Council was created in mid-2008 as part of the NT Government’s program of Local Government reform, which saw five smaller community councils merge,” he said.
“The new body effectively absorbed all of the existing staff of the constituent councils and, unfortunately, their associated liabilities.
West Arnhem is also endeavouring to create other areas of operational efficiency.”
The Council has partnered with neighbouring East Arnhem Shire to launch Latitude 12, a company providing services in fields such as transactional financial management, complete record solution management, internal auditing, and a myriad of other opportunities still being developed.
Latitude 12 is able to deliver these services to Councils and commercial businesses across the nation, not just in the NT.
It is intended to provide these functions to other organisations in a more commercially viable way than they might be able to undertake them in house.
Adam Seiler said the venture has proven to be very successful, not just in terms of increasing the efficiency of the partner councils, but as a commercial operation that is already returning a financial dividend.
“Future opportunities for cooperative action or joint ventures are being considered with neighbouring East Arnhem Shire in the areas of freight, procurement and modular building construction.” he said.
West Arnhem Shire encompasses some 50,000 square kilometres and Council services some communities that are isolated to all but air or barge traffic for up to seven months of the year.”
Adam Seiler said these restrictions place a huge impost on freight expenditure, so the opportunity to create efficiencies of scale and reduce the cost of doing business in the region is definitely worth exploring.
“As an example, the cost of simply filling diesel in one of my graders in a West Arnhem Shire island community exceeds $800 a day.
As a comparison, in other Shires I’ve worked for, the total cost of operating a similar machine is not much more, incorporating all associated costs.
That is just one very basic example of how our hands are tied in delivering services on the ground.”
There are many challenges facing the ongoing sustainability and efficient operation of regional and remote Local Government bodies in the NT.
His focus remains to streamline and reshape this organisation to best meet these challenges while still delivering quality programs and services to the communities of West Arnhem Shire.
He said on the positive side, I do get to work in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, and live in the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park.
“I get paid to fly around Arnhem Land in the Wet season as part of my job; some people wait their whole life to experience the kinds of opportunities I get to take for granted,” he said.
“I have started West Arnhem Shire on a journey, a journey of recovery from what was certain insolvency prior to my commencement.
“I intend to see this process through and have expectations for the organisation each year from here on in which I know can be realised with the excellent team of staff I have on board.”
