Wrap of May council Meeting

Please find a summary of last night's Ordinary Monthly Meeting of Council below.

Councillors can opt out of pay increase

Councillors voted in favour of a 2.5% increase to their annual fee, however an amendment was included allowing individual Councillors to forego the pay increase if they wished.

Council cautiously optimistic about JOs

Council have agreed to form a Joint Organisation (JO) with Central Darling Shire, Wentworth and Balranald, but only if it receives Government assurance that it will be able to easily opt out of the JO in future if need be. JOs are partnerships between neighbouring Councils designed to allow them to share resources, provide a united voice for advocacy, and work together to tackle issues that affect their shared broader region.

Key Direction Working Groups supported

Councillors voted to continue with Key Direction Working Groups, which operate in place of the former Standing Committees. The working groups team Councillors with senior staff members with an aim to achieve goals set out in the city's Community Strategic Plan. The four key directions covered are Community, Leadership, Economy and Environment.

Sulphide Street open to Broken Heel revellers

Council has again supported the Broken Heel Festival, and voted in favour of the suspension of an Alcohol Free Zone in Sulphide Street (between Crystal Lane and Argent Street) for the duration of the festival.

Civic Centre trees to be removed

Councillors voted to replace three gum trees at the front of the Civic Centre that are damaging the building's walls and footings. A budget of $10,000 has been authorised to remove the trees. Lawn and strappy leaf plants will be planted at the front of the centre.

Improved asset auditing causes depreciation hit in budget

The last quarterly budget review shows Council's operating deficit (before capital) is expected to increase by $1,472,000 to $3,293,000 after a thorough inspection of Council's assets was carried out this year. The inspection resulted in 51 structures with a replacement cost of $10,535,030 being added to Council's asset register. However this in turn saw an increase in depreciation of $1,261,000, which also includes an increase in depreciation due to the cost of remediating the tip increasing by $5.3m through a recent revision, as well as a number of Council roads being upgraded to an asphalt seal as opposed to a bitumen seal. The deficit also increased by $200,000 due to reduced earnings at the Civic Centre.

Meanwhile Council is looking to save around $210,000 in capital expenditure, with a proposed $500,000 material recycling facility for the Waste Depot put on hold while related strategic plans are updated. Around $290,000 will be spent on fire hose reels upgrades at the airport, a septic system at the Starview Primitive Campsite, a new irrigation pump for Sturt Park, restoration of the Mosque, and new tyres for a Council loader.

Traffic Committee flags changes

The latest meeting of the Local Traffic committee has recommended:

Emu and kangaroo warning signs be installed in the vicinity of Duff and King Street New Line marking at the front of Far West Community Transport Speed humps are installed in the Beryl Street Foodland carpark Several changes to the draft Parking Strategy including unlimited time parallel parking in Crystal Street on the opposite side of the new health facility, and two-hour timed parking and the installation of a refuge island in Sulphide Street near the new health facility. In the confidential matters: Councillors voted to temporarily return funds donated by the BHP Billiton Foundation (BHPBF) after deciding in February to use the donation on the new library, rather than building parklets and relocating the Outback Archives to the Administrative Centre basement. The BHPBF is a United States-based charitable organisation, and under the US Internal Revenue Code any donated funds that are not being used for their original purpose must be returned. BHPBF have not taken the donation away from Broken Hill, however they will hold the money until Council is ready to move forward with the new library project. Council will seek development approval to outfit a former refuelling depot located at the airport to serve as the new pound. Councillors approved an interim continuation of the current airport kiosk lease agreement. Councillors voted in favour of a $50,000 grant to AFLBH for redevelopment of the Jubilee Oval, and a $100,000 grant to the YMCA to assist with the development of their new facility. A $163,628 tender for a new Unified Communications System to replace Council's old phone system was awarded to Tie Networks Pty Ltd. A $177,000 tender was awarded to Schindler Lifts Australia Pty Ltd to replace the old lift in Council's Administration Building. Councillors voted to award separate requests for quotation for a new Water Tanker ($198,525, Isuzu Australia) and a new Tipper Truck ($168,909, Hino Motor Sales Australia).