Transcript The Local Government Infrastructure Crisis and its Impact

Review Today’s Services to Local
Government
Bob Gaussen
Managing Director
Review Today Pty Ltd
29th November 2013
What does Review Today do?
 Review Today does two
types of work:


Drafting Submissions
under the client’s name,
and
Independent
Sustainability Reviews in
our name.
Review Today Pty Ltd
2
Submissions in client’s name
 Review Today drafts :
Submissions to the
ILGRP (e.g. Woollahra
Council, REROC,
Urban Taskforce)
 Commonwealth Grants
Commission

Review Today Pty Ltd
3
Submissions in client’s name
 Review Today drafts :

Special Rate Variation
Submissions to IPART
(e.g. Woollahra
Council)
Review Today Pty Ltd
4
Independent Reviews in our name
 Review Today does
major financial
sustainability reviews
(e.g. 8 Regional
Councils)
Review Today Pty Ltd
5
What does council financial
sustainability mean?
40%
OD ratio
U
30%
20%
10%
actual values:
OD ratio = 15%
BL ratio = 120%
V
m
=m
present imbalances
S
BL ratio
0%
0%
-10%
50% x
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
target values:
OD ratio = -2½%
BL ratio = 60%
-20%
Review Today Pty Ltd
6
What does council financial
sustainability mean?
 Financial Sustainability
Goalposts:
 > 2.5% Surplus Ratio
 < 60% Net Debt Ratio
 No Infrastructure
Backlog
Review Today Pty Ltd
7
What does a Review do?
 It gauges the condition of Council’s infrastructure




including the size of any backlog.
It establishes Councils infrastructure enhancement
(i.e. expansion) needs
It estimates the required infrastructure renewals for
each of the next twenty years.
It calculates Councils required maintenance needs
over the same period.
It sums up Council’s total infrastructure requirements
for the next two decades.
Review Today Pty Ltd
8
What does a Review do?
 It projects council’s total (non-infrastructure) service




requirements for each of the next ten years.
It projects council’s likely revenue streams for that
period.
It sets goalposts for financial, service, infrastructure
and ratepayer affordability outcomes.
It tests which combinations of revenue raising and
service and infrastructure spending meet these goals.
It identifies the revenue and spending strategy that
best achieves the desired goals with the least
disruption to the community (i.e. political pain).
Review Today Pty Ltd
9
Who do we involve?
 The General Manager
 The Senior Management team (e.g. Chief Engineer,






CFO, Corporate Planner, etc) and staff.
Review Today, GHD and TreEnt.
The Councillors
Public interest groups
The General Public
The local State and Federal MPs
The Minister for Local Government (after Review)
Review Today Pty Ltd
10
Independent Reviews in our name
 Review Today does
desktop financial
sustainability reviews
(e.g. 2 regional and 18
metropolitan councils)
Review Today Pty Ltd
11
Who are our clients?
 Councils
 Others
 Armidale, Botany Bay, Bega,
 Alliance of Sydney
Burwood, Canada Bay,
Coolamon, Dubbo, Hawthorn,
Hornsby, Hills, Hunters Hill,
Hurstville, Great Lakes, Greater
Taree, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai,
Lane Cove, Leichhardt,
Newcastle, Mosman, North
Sydney, Randwick, Rockdale,
Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland,
Uralla, Warringah, Woollahra
and Wollongong.
Metropolitan Councils

To Commonwealth Grants
Commission re position of
Councils receiving “minimum”
financial assistance grants
 Riverina Eastern Regional
Organisation of Councils
 Urban Taskforce

To raise level of debate on
possible new structures of local
government in NSW
12
What are the benefits?
 The Review Today methodology is unique, well trialed
and cost effective. No-one else in Australia offers such
an integrated solution.
 It assists Council to achieve consensus between
councillors and management on the nature, extent and
possible solutions to a problem.
 It merges the different professions of a council (e.g.
engineering, finance, treasury, corporate planning, etc)
to produce consistent data for policy analysis.
Review Today Pty Ltd
13
13
What are the benefits?
 Management learns a common approach and
terminology to evaluating councils sustainability.
 Councillors get to understand the challenges and
choices of achieving sustainability.
 Community groups are forced to debate the trade-offs
needed to achieve sustainability.
 State government can be submitted a convincing
business case for change.
Review Today Pty Ltd
14
What are the benefits?
 It enables a council to prepare a convincing business
case for any rate rises or extra borrowings should this
need be established.
 The technical excellence of the reports means they can
withstand the critical scrutiny of the community, IPART,
ILGRP, CGC and other government bodies.
 The credentials of the consultants (Review Today,
GHD, and TreEnt) lend credibility to the results.
Review Today Pty Ltd
15
15
Don’t wait for Godot!
 Don’t wait on Governments
to force amalgamations.
 Councils should develop
their own business cases
to persuade both their
communities and the
Minister what needs to be
done.
Review Today Pty Ltd
16
Review Today’s contact details
 Review Today Pty Ltd
Mona Vale Business Centre
www.reviewtoday.com.au
1800 500 035
 Bob Gaussen
Managing Director
[email protected]
04 1912 2255
Review Today Pty Ltd
17