An extensive review of Broken Hill Council’s functions and processes has identified a host of opportunities, challenges and recommendations to drive its quest to remain relevant and sustainable.
The operational review conducted by Local Government Management Solutions provided several recommendations across a range of business areas including leadership, resource allocation, human resources, relationship building, cost efficiency, managing community expectation and streamlining management systems.
Broken Hill General Manager Frank Zaknich said the report complemented a recent employee climate survey and a number of other recent workplace consultations and planning sessions, including an integrated community strategic plan, community and employee surveys, long term workforce and financial planning and Council’s business excellence process.
Frank Zaknich said the results provided it with a solid foundation to move forward.
“It is essential to have the appropriate knowledge and data to address workplace and community issues, otherwise changes are very difficult to implement,” he said.
The report outlines a number of challenges facing Council including its financial sustainability due to diminishing income and the increasing costs associated with delivering such a broad range of community services and projects.
This analysis includes an increase in the ageing population – resulting in a higher proportion of residential rebates – and a declining population.
Potential changes in the future of mining also underpin the challenges and approach to be taken.
Frank Zaknich said reviews and business planning would be used by internal resources wherever possible and allocate any savings into service gaps,
“One of the positive outcomes of this report is that it helps us understand some of the issues faced by our workforce,” he said.
“Council can work in a very difficult environment and the report is a reflection of this.
“We have some difficulty recruiting experienced personnel to higher level positions, there is often a community expectation that Council should provide services that Council does not have the human resource or financial capacity to deliver and Council’s capacity to deliver innovative programs can be restricted by the statutory obligations that need to be signed off and budgeted for prior to any other investment.
“However, Councillors and employees must be congratulated for their honest approach to this consultation.
“Everyone involved was able to identify where Council could improve service delivery and the opportunities for workplace improvement but the report also reveals that that the Council team are prepared to work hard to ensure that Council has a sustainable future and that the organisation remains an Employer of Choice.”
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