At the 2008 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress at the Gold Coast,
Local Government FOCUS invited delegates to nominate individuals or teams from their Council who are improving Council’s operations or enhancing service delivery within their community. In this edition, we showcase the first two of our high achievers for 2008.
Sue Hillel, Building Services Manager, City of Armadale, Western Australia
As Building Services Manager at the City of Armadale in Western Australia, Sue Hillel is faced with the challenge of overseeing a large amount of development across the City.
Western Australia is in the midst of a building explosion. Located 35 kilometres southeast of the Perth CBD,
Armadale is experiencing rapid growth as a lack of land in the inner Perth suburbs drives people to its outer edges. As such, Armadale’s population is estimated to increase from 55,000 to 85,000 over the next ten years.
Sue Hillel is responsible for managing this development explosion. In the 2007–08 financial year alone, she has issued in excess of $270 million value of work in building licences.
“This a lot of work for what once was a small fringe council,” she said. “Armadale is an idyllic location, with the best of both worlds. It has a city block on one hand, and a large rural component, comprising an array of birds, gumtrees and nature, on the other.
“Our statistics show a huge increase in building activity across all these areas. We have a large number of housing developments, and are also overseeing shopping centre redevelopments and expansions. While this development brings a lot of challenges, pushes us to meet deadlines and keeps us extremely busy, it is great for the City, generating a lot of work and income.”
Sue Hillel has been with Council for over 15 years. She initially held a contract with the City, but obtained a permanent position as a Building Surveyor in the early 1990s, and was promoted to a senior position in 1999. From 2001 to 2003 she returned to university part time to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma in Building Surveying.
“I have always had an interest in architecture, building, construction and surveying,” she said. “I chose to return to study to enable me to further pursue my career in this field.”
The study paid off, as in August 2007 with the departure of then Manager Building Services, Sue moved into this management position. As such, Sue is responsible for signing off on all building licences.
“In Western Australia, private practitioners do not possess any legal standing, given our current legislation, which differs from the rest of Australia,” Sue Hillel said. “Ultimately, Local Governments are responsible for issuing all building licences and approvals and oversees all development – in effect; they are the regulators of development.
“The decisions my team makes, and I ultimately sign off on, deal with safety of the community. We need to pay attention to detail and ensure everything goes through the right process, without being rushed. With the tight and neverending deadlines we face, it is crucial to keep calm and rational.”
Sue said pivotal to her ability to perform her role is Armadale’s terrific management team and the dedication of her own team.
“The Building Services team comprises a blend of staff, both male and female, junior and senior,” she said. “It is important to develop a good rapport with all the internal and external people you deal with, so that everyone gets along and we can get on with the job. Creating a good team environment is important – the technical skills come with the territory.”
Not only has Sue risen through the ranks to become the chief of her sector, she is also believed to be the only female Building Services Manager in Perth, and possibly Western Australia.
City of Armadale Mayor, Linton Reynolds, commended her progress through the organisation and said she does an excellent job of managing growth, with limited staff resources.
“She regularly puts in 60 plus hours per week and is committed to doing whatever it takes to get the job done,” he said. “She is an absolute trailblazer when under the pump, deals well with the intense pressure to meet deadlines, and remains calm and collected in any situation.”
Mayor Reynolds said Sue also takes on the important role of working with junior staff, tackling the shortage of skilled staff in the region.
EcoVision Team, Whitehorse
City Council, Victoria
With climate change and the environment currently at the top of most council’s priority list, the City of Whitehorse established an EcoVision Team to develop a Sustainability Strategy for the whole of Council and to help Council and the community become more sustainable.
Located 15 kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD, the City of Whitehorse covers around 64 square kilometres and is known for its tree lined streets and abundance of bushland reserves.
The Sustainability Strategy developed by the team was recently adopted by Council. It sets out projects and initiatives to be implemented from 2008 to 2013.
Council’s EcoVision Coordinator, Ian Barnes, said the team recognised that responding and adapting to climate change, drought and diminishing natural resources are big issues.
“As such, the strategy we have developed has three main focuses – Council and its actions, Council staff and the community,” he said. “We work with staff across many departments to establish how Council can become more sustainable in its everyday workplace practices, programs and projects.”
Ian Barnes said the team also works with the community to develop and implement programs.
“We need to raise awareness and encourage the community to become more sustainable in their daily lives,” he said. “As part of implementing Council’s Sustainability Strategy, in 2008/09, we will introduce a Community Sustainability Forum and a Sustainable Ambassadors program, which will train sustainability ‘champions’ within community groups”.
Council’s Manager Civic Services, Tony DaFazio, nominated the team to appear in FOCUS. He said the team members are go getters on environmental sustainability and helping to minimise Council’s environmental footprint.
“The unified team works together with a common goal to implement Council’s Sustainability Strategy,” he said.
The EcoVision Team comprises six people and is part of the Engineering and Environmental Services Department.
Ian Barnes said the team’s environmental passion and working together towards common goals are what makes it successful.
“We have a strong professional work ethic, which not only assists with our good strategic approach, but drives timelines,” he said. “We develop programs in a way that get results. It’s not just words – we have a practical focus about our actions.”
The team constantly encourages others to contribute their ideas and knowledge, as part of developing a positive and sustainable corporate culture.
“If we are going to make a real difference, then it is up to everyone to play a part, not just our EcoVision Team,” Ian Barnes said. “We admit that we are not the only people with knowledge on environmental matters and as such, we are constantly liaising with people from the community, all Council departments and other organisations. Because of this, our team members have had to become versatile as change agents while maintaining a strong strategic focus.”
Ian Barnes said a major challenge for the EcoVision Team is getting through to the environmental sceptics and those who think there is nothing they can do to change the situation.
“Part of our role is to bring the big issues down to a local level and provide practical examples of actions the community and staff can take that will genuinely make a difference,” he said.
“We have also found that while most of the community is willing to make changes, it can be hard to get them to commit to action, especially if they don’t have the knowledge on how to do it. Through our community education programs and events such as Sustainability Living Week, we are beginning to overcome this.
“The City of Whitehorse is committed to implementing a range of sustainable projects and programs, which not only makes it a great place to work but also provides good job satisfaction knowing that we are genuinely making a difference.”
