Tammin and Kellerberrin Shires in Western Australia have set out to overcome some of the problems faced by small Councils through an innovative sharing agreement.
With the intention of maintaining excellence in service provision and client satisfaction, the two Councils have integrated their financial services to achieve cost reductions and better productivity for both organisations.
Tammin’s Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Matthews said that having worked in Victoria and for a small island Council in Queensland he knew the benefits that could come from sharing resources.
“We were fortunate to have a like minded Council with whom we could cooperate,” he said.
Prior to the collaboration, the restrictions of a small staff and an outdated computer system meant that Tammin had to effectively privatise its financial services with much of the CEO’s time diverted to accounting.
With widespread changes occurring in Local Government and recognising the limitations of traditional practices, the two Councils could see that by integrating their financial services they could make cost savings while establishing a system that could deliver all the requirements of modern Local Government.
Under the new system, the two Shires have a Memorandum of Agreement which sets out their respective responsibilities. They still retain data input of debtors creditors and payroll information to ensure confidentiality of sensitive information.
The partnership has been operating since February and Kelvin Matthews said it has proved highly rewarding.
“Being a small Council we are not in a position to hire an accountant,” he said. “This has allowed streamlining of processes, and it is a lot easier to understand and produce data. For myself, it gives me more time to be a CEO.”
The innovative collaboration of the two Shires resulted in them receiving a commendation in the recent WAMA Best Practice Awards.
For further information contact Kelvin Matthews, telephone (08) 9637 1101.
