At the 2005 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress in Canberra, FOCUS invited delegates to nominate an individual or team from their Council who is improving their Council’s operations and meeting community needs.
In this edition, we showcase the final two of our competition winners for 2005.
Gary McCallum, Pool Security Officer, City of Gosnells, Western Australia
Located in metropolitan Perth, the City of Gosnells covers 127 square kilometres. Serving a population of more than 90,000 people, the City is known for its great climate, pleasant residential living, markets, bush walks, wildlife parks and wineries.
With over 6,000 private swimming pools in the area, Gary McCallum’s role as a Pool Security Officer is vital to ensuring the safety of the community. Gary’s position involves dealing with the public and inspecting private swimming pools to ensure they comply with current legislation.
“All pools in the Gosnells area must be checked at least once every four years,” Gary McCallum said. “We have all residences with a swimming pool registered on a Council database and it notifies us when an area is due to be checked.”
Gosnells Mayor, Councillor Patricia Morris, nominated Gary to appear in FOCUS for his continual dedication.
“Gary has no hesitation in organising appointments with residents outside normal business hours to inspect pools or simply provide advice on how best to make them compliant,” she said. “In the past, he has had appointments as early as 5:00 am and as late as the residents desire. On numerous occasions he has made appointments on weekends and has even attended site visits on his rostered day off,” Gary has been with the City of Gosnells for 28 years. He commenced his current role in 1999 with the closure of the Kelvin Road Landfill site, where he was a supervisor.
Gary is most obliging in providing advice on minimum standards for private swimming pools and he goes to great lengths to ensure the public understand the requirements.
“If I visit an elderly citizen or someone who is unable to carry out minor maintenance works to upgrade their pool security, I am more than willing to carry out the work for them,” Gary McCallum said. “All I ask is for a cuppa in return and that the resident pays for any parts needed to complete the work.” Gary also carries a can of lubricating spray with him on inspections so that he can oil hinges and latches where necessary rather than issuing a serve notice on the pool owner.
“Rather than going out and telling people what is wrong and to fix it, I prefer to let them know how to go about it and who they can call for help,” Gary said. “Good communication is a large part of this job. You need to be able to get on people’s good side and show them that you are there to help.”
Gary McCallum also said that flexibility is key to maintaining good relationships with the community. “I want to make it as easy for them as possible, and if that means being available before and after hours, I am more than willing,” he said. “No matter what sort of industrial award I’m under, the bottom line is that I work for the City of Gosnells, and at the end of the day I work hard to reflect positively on Council.”
Recently, Gary was able to get a fencing contractor, L & R Fencing, to donate an entire fence with gates and locks to a family with disabled children.
The family had purchased a spa as a form of physiotherapy for the children but could not afford to pay for fence to comply with regulations.
“The job is satisfying,” he said. “If at the end of the day I can go home and say I helped someone today – I’m happy.”
Environment Division, Hornsby Shire Council, New South Wales
Located in New South Wales, Hornsby Shire Council is the second largest Local Government area in the Sydney region, covering 51,000 hectares. Known as the Bushland Shire, approximately 67 per cent of the area is bushland, providing extensive opportunities for bushwalking and natural experiences. National Parks and Wildlife Services manage 52 per cent of this bushland and Council manages 17 per cent.
Council realised the need to better structure the organisation to meet the ever increasing demands from the community to address sustainability. To achieve this goal, the first Environment Division within Local Government in New South Wales was established in 1993.
The establishment of the Division achieved a number of strategic outcomes, including lifting the profile of the environment both within the organisation and external to it, and encouraging innovation by staff when addressing environmental concerns.
Hornsby is now recognised as a leader across the country in sustainability and natural resource management.
The Environment Division incorporates a total of 140 permanent and part time staff members, broken up into the following five teams, each with its own manager:
- Water Catchments
- Biodiversity and Bushland Management
- Parks and Landscape
- Waste Management
- Environmental Health and Protection.
Hornsby General Manager, Robert Ball, nominated the Environment Division, and in particular its managers, to appear in FOCUS for achievements that he believes are unparalleled in both the public and private sectors.
“The managers are leading the division,” he said. “Each has contributed significantly to the achievements we have accomplished and I believe they have done this through leading by example. Each team has recently won an award for their achievement. For example at the LGA NSW Awards, the Waste Management team was a finalist for their efforts in disposal of sharps.”
As Executive Manager of the Division, Bob Stephens oversees the entire division and provides direction, encouragement and support. He believes the Division’s success is due to its highly skilled and committed staff.
“All workers are dynamic, motivated and passionate about their work,” he said. “Everyone is well qualified, with most having at least a postgraduate qualification.”
Manager of the Water Catchments team, Ross McPherson, said the Environment Division incorporates a group of very professional individuals who are dedicated to and believe in what they are doing.
“The high level of qualification and education alone is a reflection of the team’s commitment to the Division,” he said.
Ross McPherson said his team recently won three awards at the 2005 Sustainable Water Challenge, open to all Councils in New South Wales.
Hornsby won the Infill category for the proposed Brickpit Park at Thornleigh. Work on site included collecting rainwater and using it for irrigation, water conservation devices in the surrounding buildings, wetland construction and treatment of leachate, water from the old tip site, for reuse on the proposed golf range. Ross McPherson’s team also won the Landscape category for creek remediation work done in Kent Street Park and was runner up in the Policy and Planning category for its recently released Sustainable Water Cycle Management Strategy for Hornsby Shire.
Manager of the Environmental Health and Protection team, Adam Davis, said that major challenges to his team are keeping up with community expectation and balancing resources.
Over the past couple of years, the team implemented Australia’s most comprehensive local energy performance contract that saves Council $150,000 per year on energy water bills. This year the team is looking to expand on this initiative.
“While people are aware of the need to protect the environment, it often takes some time to see if people are actually following through on some of the initiatives and making a difference,” he said.
Adam Davis attributes the success of his team and the Environment Division to the support received by managers and General Manager, Robert Ball.
“We are given the freedom to work on projects that other Councils haven’t touched,” he said. “The support from Robert Ball also allows us to have access to the resources we need to make a difference.”
