A brokerage service that sources transport for young people has taken out the 2005 Tasmanian Local Government Gold Award for Excellence presented at the recent Tasmanian Local Government conference. Dorset Council’s The Wheel Deal youth transport hotline helps young people get where they want to go at a price they can afford.
The Gold Award is presented each year for the most outstanding category winner. The program had received the Community Development Award earlier in the evening.
Young people and transport providers designed The Wheel Deal through consultation with Council. They call a 1800 number and leave a message. Messages are checked daily and a Council staff member then brokers the transport. The young passenger pays a proportion of the cost of travel and The Wheel Deal pays the rest.
“The program meets the exact transport needs of youth and improves the sharing of community transport resources,” said Dorset Council’s Youth Health Officer, Jen Barron. “Ten young people are now learning drumming,” she said. “But the only available classes were in Launceston. Our broker found that it was cheaper to bring the teacher to Dorset and pay for the petrol for the trip, rather than hire a minibus each week.”
For further information contact Jen Barron on 0417 833 652.
Other awards winners
West Coast Council – West Coast Weed and Fire Management Group
It is not every day that you can claim credit for finding more and more partners to address the vexing issue of weeds, but that is exactly what has occurred in West Coast Council. Covering 9,500 square kilometres, West Coast is home to 6,500 ratepayers.
Weeds are an imminent bush fire threat and West Coast residents are very involved in tackling the problem. Since 2001, the West Coast Council has helped mobilise an army of willing weed workers. It has employed a West Coast Weed and Fire Officer who has placed weeds firmly on the agenda of a number of local organisations as well as in the minds of the community.
In partnership with the West Coast Weed and Fire Management Group and through on ground work by the project officer, the West Coast Council is demonstrating leading practice in addressing regional natural resource management problems.
Collaboration between Council, community groups and volunteers is at an all time high. Council will continue to follow up and manage the weed problem to ensure residents do not get discouraged if the weeds return.
For further information contact Andrew Laird, Weeds and Fire Project Officer, telephone (03) 6471 4700.
Clarence City Council – Road Maintenance Management System
Clarence City Council’s road maintenance management system allows Council officers to access road maintenance records from their desk computer or laptop, reducing hours of data entry work to minutes. This enables immediate and accurate answers to road maintenance in the field or in the office.
The Clarence road maintenance management system, a software package, was developed by an in house team with specialist knowledge.
The system software lists all existing road assets, automatically updates databases as new roads are added to the asset register, automatically updates the asset condition database and automatically generates work orders. The system also incorporates a GIS system to pinpoint failures and schedule future works, and action is to be taken within seven days. As a result, planning of road works is more efficient and budgetary efficiencies are encouraged.
For further information contact Gary Richardson, Road Maintenance Manager, on (03) 6245 8644.
Launceston City Council – Lean on Me: A Day in the Life of Total Workforce
An exhibition of photographs and narrative has brought together normally disconnected elements: Council’s outdoor workforce, indoor workers and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
The exhibition illustrates the work of the Total Workforce, 24 hours per day, seven days a week. It is the response to a Council staff survey that showed a proportion of stet workforce felt undervalued.Total Workforce staff participated at every stage by posing for pictures, telling their stories and hanging the exhibition.
Lean On Me is a sensitive and stylish depiction of the unsung heroes who keep Launceston clean, safe and livable.
For further information contact Jim Burden, Manager Total Workforce, on (03) 6323 3511.
