At the 2003 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress in Adelaide, FOCUS invited delegates to nominate an individual and team from their Council who are excelling in their field and promoting the organisation’s corporate goals. In this edition we showcase two more of our competition winners.
Individual Winner – Lesley Buckley, Cultural Development Officer, Tweed Shire Council, New South Wales
NSW Premier Bob Carr, through the NSW Ministry for the Arts, recently named Tweed Shire as the State’s Fifth City of the Arts for 2003 to 2005. The honour came just five years after Lesley Buckley became the Shire’s first Cultural Development Officer. Her job was to position Tweed as a viable and creative arts precinct that would be ready and capable to manage the prestigious award. With a background in commerce and business administration – followed by 20 years as a performer, arts administrator and cross-cultural arts educator – Lesley Buckley came to the Tweed on the NSW north coast with a strong commitment to community cultural development. Over the past five years, she has worked with Council’s Community Cultural Development Advisory Committee and the local community to develop a Cultural Policy and a five year Cultural Program Plan. She has also attracted $500,000 in funding from State and Federal agencies to support Council’s cultural budget. Councillor Wendy Marshall nominated Lesley for her commitment to promoting arts and cultural development in the Tweed. “She gives dedication and enthusiasm to every task,” Councillor Marshall said. “Everybody she deals with says she is just wonderful at her job.” Lesley Buckley said winning the Fifth City of the Arts program was a strategic milestone in the Shire’s cultural progression. “The program will provide stimulus to Council’s current economic and tourism strategies and will maximise the economic viability of our burgeoning arts and cultural industry,” she said. “The Tweed is blessed with an extremely strong and supportive arts and cultural community. This spirit of cooperation and partnership has enabled the delivery of meaningful outcomes over the past five years.” Lesley’s achievements from 1999 to 2003 include the following:
- development of a responsive Cultural Policy and five year Cultural Program Plan
- development of Place Making and Public Art Policy
- inclusion of an arts and cultural perspective within Council’s five core planning strategies (the Management Plan, Social Plan, Economic Development Strategy, Tourism Strategy and Public Art Policy)
- initiating and managing the highly successful State of the Arts 2000 Regional Arts Forum
- being nominated by the NSW Centenary of Federation Committee as the Regional Coordinator for the Northern Rivers arm of the Centenary of Federation Regional Parade Participation Program
- initiating and facilitating several community arts projects and events
- initiating and managing a community based heritage study
- initiating and managing a heritage trail in Murwillumbah’s Main Street and the refurbishment of Council’s Civic and Cultural Centre.
General Manager, Dr John Griffin, said Lesley had made an outstanding contribution in advancing Council’s cultural development programs.
“Lesley has been able to bring together a multitude of cultural and arts organisations to work with Council to consolidate programs and develop policies for the betterment of the community,” Dr Griffin said.
Team Winner – Library Services Team, Caboolture City Council, Queensland
Library Services Manager, Jane Cowell, joined Caboolture Shire Council in 1999 from neighbouring Caloundra Shire on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
Under her direction, library membership rates have increased by five per cent each year, then by 16 per cent last year. Jane was also named the 2003 Queensland Library Achiever of the Year.
There is a central library at Caboolture and six branches throughout the Shire, including one that opened at Narangba last December.
Caboolture covers an area of 1,215 square kilometres and has a population of 115,000.
“I came into a library service that was still stuck in the 1950s,” Jane Cowell said.
“I wanted a 21st Century library service and I had to start with the basics, like getting public toilets in all our libraries and having the libraries cleaned every day.
“I really believe in libraries that reflect the needs of the community. My libraries are noisy hubs of learning and activity.”
Jane and her team have developed a range of innovative library programs aimed at attracting new members and improving existing services.
Mayor Joy Leishman nominated the Caboolture library staff for their innovative and dynamic approach. “They continually surprise and tantalise the community to make effective use of our library services,” Councillor Leishman said. “I am constantly receiving glowing comments about staff and the services that they provide.”
The team’s innovative programs include Library Express, a fast borrow and return service for commuters at Caboolture railway station, which operates between 5.30am and 8.30am once a week. “The whole transaction is designed to take three minutes so commuters never miss their train,” Jane Cowell said.
“The motto is ‘read, relax and ride’.”
Library Express was launched on a Brisbane radio station last year, with a free breakfast for commuters.
“There was an eight month trial project which succeeded so well that Council will provide continued funding,” Jane Cowell said.
Another initiative is Project GOAL (Grade Ones at the Library) that aims to ensure all Grade One children have a library card. Children receive a special card and library book when they join and, during Australian Library Week, schools receive $250 worth of books.
Jane Cowell said more than 900 Grade One students joined the library each year through GOAL. “Siblings and parents also join and the library service now has a much closer relationship with the region’s 26 primary schools,” she said.
Council has also set up the Caboolture Community Campus with the Queensland University of Technology and the Brisbane North Institute of TAFE.
This involved a major refurbishment of the Central Branch Library and an upgrade of its information management system.
“This partnership is working well, with plans on the board for a new Library Campus facility due to open in 2005,” she said.
Council has also formed partnerships with the local Rotary club to provide high quality sports equipment for loan and with Queensland Health to run a parenting group and baby clinic at the Narangba branch.
Caboolture’s Friends of the Library group has obtained funding for disabled and visually impaired services ($18,000), a photography exhibition of 31 key community figures ($7,000), a toy library at Narangba ($8,000) and PlayStations at Burpengary and Woodford ($2,000).
Monthly meetings and an annual team training day are held for all library staff, as well as regular team breakfasts and social functions.
“This ensures that branch staff are involved in a whole service approach,” Jane Cowell said. “The focus is on building team culture.”
