News from Council Meeting - 22 February 2021

Published on 22 February 2021

The 2019-20 Annual General Meeting was held this evening in the Hobart Town Hall.                  

The Annual Report, which was formally adopted at the meeting, detailed an end-of-year $7.12 million deficit position brought about by the impacts of COVID-19.

Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds described the 2019-2020 financial year as one of “exceptional circumstances and challenging times”.

“Like so many in our community, we were impacted financially by the COVID-19 global pandemic and some of the initiatives, programs and projects we had planned were either cancelled or postponed, or funding redirected to provide assistance packages and community grants,” Cr Reynolds said.

“Despite this, Council was able to make good progress toward achieving some major actions and initiatives set out in our Annual Plan for 2019–20.”

Highlights of the 2019–20 financial year include the redevelopment of the South Hobart Community Centre, replacement of the toilets at Swan Street in North Hobart, construction of the Rose Garden Bridge, pedestrian improvements at Salamanca Place, and the refurbishment of Fern Tree Park and visitor amenities.

The Annual Report and the Lord Mayor’s speech can be viewed on the City of Hobart’s website.

The operation of a hotel and beer garden has been approved for a premises in Melville Street.

The application for partial demolition, alterations, extension, signage and change of use has been approved with conditions, including limiting the operating hours of the outdoor garden bar to between 10am and 10pm.

During January 2021, 41 building permits were issued for projects with a combined value of nearly $6.9 million, including nine new dwellings.

In the 12 months to the end of January, a total of 646 building permits were issued with a combined value of more than $177 million.

Financial reporting at end of December 2020 has resulted in a forecast underlying deficit for the City of Hobart of $12.624 million at the end of the financial year.

The forecast deficit is about $800,000 greater than originally budgeted and reflects the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the City’s financial situation.

Contributing to the deficit is a freeze on rates, fees and charges, waiving of rental income and other supporting measures for the community. This has been partially offset by a reduction in materials, services and labour costs as a result of projects and events being cancelled or postponed.

The City will write to the Minister for Local Government to advocate for a statewide legislative approach to the registration of lobbyists and developers who seek to interact with elected members.

It will be suggested that a register be considered as part of the consultation process for the Draft Local Government Bill.

The Council tonight endorsed a holistic approach to the issue, with a further report to be presented on the outcome of discussions at a later date.

The Council has reiterated its support to investigate locations within the municipality that have the potential to be utilised as all-day park-and-ride facilities.

In a motion jointly put by Aldermen Simon Behrakis, Marti Zucco, Geoff Briscoe and Cr Will Coats, it was noted that actions were needed to improve commuter access to Hobart’s CBD through both public transport and parking infrastructure.

The motion noted the work already being undertaken under the Hobart City Deal to improve public transport infrastructure across Greater Hobart and that the City would continue to work with the state government to expedite the implementation of policies to improve public transport services.