By Wendy Campana, LGA (SA) Executive Director
The City of Playford Council has been a strong participant in activities generated by South Australia’s Local Government Association to address financial sustainability issues for Councils. The LGA (SA), of which Playford Mayor Marilyn Baker is a State Executive Committee member, initiated Australia’s first independent inquiry into the financial sustainability of Local Government in South Australia during 2005. Subsequently both the New South Wales and Western Australian Associations have commissioned similar studies.
The inquiry’s report found that many Councils had major infrastructure backlogs and that our financial governance frameworks were lacking. It also found that cost shifting and poor funding by other governments had made Councils’ tasks more difficult.
City of Playford Council members and staff were among almost 300 people who attended eight regional forums conducted by the LGA as part of its response to the inquiry report during February and March, 2006.
The forums sought to explain the issues in plain English and to consult on key issues such as a formal definition of financial sustainability.
The LGA believes it is crucial that all staff, particularly those not directly involved in financial management, and elected members have a clear understanding of the challenges faced by Councils to ensure there is better community understanding of the challenges faced by their Councils.
Much of the content of the forums was built on the LGA’s first information paper “Financial Sustainability” and on the LGA’s work program framework. The forums highlighted that most communities, through their Councils, were “not paying their way” but rather they were living off their assets, and would hand infrastructure to the next generation in a mess unless policies were changed. In addition, the forums highlighted the report’s findings that despite the gloomy outlook, Councils in SA generally had very low net debt.
The City of Playford has been a strong advocate of best-practice in relation to both financial governance and financial management. It is supporting the LGA’s efforts in this area by providing information about its own activities and searching for sector-wide benchmarks and standards against which they can measure themselves.
The LGA will shortly adopt a definition of financial sustainability and has commissioned a series of projects to implement the inquiry recommendations. It is also supporting national work through the ALGA on both good practice within Councils and better treatment by other governments.
Further information about LGA activities can be found on www.lga.sa.gov.au/goto/fsp
