Agenda of Ordinary Meeting - 26 February 2015

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Notices of Motion 9.2

Notice of Motion No. 9.2 Byron Bay STP - State of Effluent

File No: I2015/58

We move that Council:

1. Negotiate with affected rural landowners to form an Agreement on jointly managing the stream of effluent emanating from Byron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant and its wetland system and crossing their properties on the Belongil floodplain;

2. Review both the data and the monitoring system for that effluent flow-path;

3. Receive a report on current fates of effluent from the STP and from the wetland system;

4. Receive a report on options for alternative routes for the wetland effluent;

5. Receive a report on the status of the Trust that operates or operated the Union Drain;

6. Receive these reports and a report on the Agreement no later than May 2015.

Attachments:

1 Letter dated 20/02/02 Proposed West Byron STP Upgrade, e2015/8807 , page 8

2 Byron Bay Integrated Water Management Reserve Groundwater Impact Report, DM942501 (provided under separate cover)

Councillors’ Background Notes:

Urbanisation of societies is lauded in most of its facets but one that has traditionally escaped robust scrutiny is the management of urban sewage. “Flush and forget” has been both the aim and the achievement of many wonderful engineers since Roman times.

On the positive side, urban sewage management allows far denser settlement than under a comparative rural scenario. On the negative side, users of urban sewage systems are not exposed to and hence don’t appreciate the impacts of their system on the water cycle that supports it. The larger the system, the greater are the interference and hence the impacts.

The Byron Bay sewage treatment plant (STP) was upgraded about a decade ago. Its predecessor West Byron STP had been deemed overloaded for about a decade prior to that. The current BBSTP was designed to treat loads already plumbed to WBSTP plus additional loads from both the South Byron STP as well as from planned and forecast development. SBSTP was decommissioned and its loads transferred once BBSTP had successfully passed its commissioning phase.

Current dry weather flow from the STP averages around 5 ML/day. New loads are coming and a further upgrade is anticipated for the 2020s.

The major concern for the adjacent landholders is the quantity of effluent being discharged into a drain on their properties, artificially maintaining a high water table and impacting on their farming operations. Where once the water was there only as a result of seasonal rainfall and allowed to dry out in drier winter and drier months, it is currently carrying an estimated 3 or 4 ML/day all year round and soaking into the surrounding sandy soils.

Attachment 1 (#E2015/8807) is a letter dated 2 February 2002 setting out Council’s then understanding of the situation.

The value of the wetland system is to ‘polish’ effluent from the STP in preparation for its return to the environment. We understand that the EPA Licence under which the system operates recognises the wetlands along with the effluent discharged from them.

That effluent flows first west, then south under Ewnigsdale Road, then south-east in the Union Drain to Belongil Creek, then north into the Bay at the Belongil mouth . Early in that stream-path, effluent is the dominant discharge. Further down-stream it is joined by normal catchment flows: surface discharge during rain, interflow detained short-tem, base-flow that is retained medium-term and groundwater that seeps from higher ground via whatever subterranean strata.

Despite effluent being very clean due to the state-of-the-art treatment and wetland systems, it is not the natural flow that would be there if the sewage component were removed.

We believe Council and state agencies should acknowledge our responsibility for that component and play a significant role in care of the environment downstream, at least as far as the mouth of Belongil Creek. In the upper reaches of the flow-path, we should share with other landholders and interested parties in the operation and maintenance of the waterways.

Those landholders use of their land may be impacted by changes in the flow regime, as caused by the STP flow component.

The detailing of such impacts could occupy a scholar for decades and still yield only a ‘more studies’ outcome. Sufficient study has likely already been undertaken. Likewise, it is assumed that environmental impacts have been examined in the past.

This proposal is to sit down with landholders and agree on means to manage impacts on their land. Any such means will need to be examined in light of their environmental impacts. This proposal thus includes a review of the current monitoring system, of data gathered so far and of understandings established in environmental studies to date. Such factors will be considered when contemplating measures that may result from the Agreement proposed.

Council already pursues best practice by re-using and supporting others to re-use effluent. The portion able to be re-used is not as high as was anticipated ten or 15 years ago when the current STP was envisaged. Several attempts to promote re-use have not generated the level of uptake originally hoped for. Hence it is likely the current level will remain the case for years to come.

These issues were raised with staff on 22 January. The Director’s response was emailed to Councillor Dey on 9 February and forwarded to Councillors on 11 February.

The photo on the next page shows the culverts under Ewingsdale Road, after slashing:

Recommended priority relative to other Delivery Plan tasks:

TBA

Definition of the project/task:

Open a new dialogue with landowners on the Belongil floodplain to form an Agreement on jointly managing effluent from Byron Bay STP; review the data and the monitoring of that effluent; report on current fates of effluent ; report on options for alternative fates for effluent; report on the status of the Drainage Union Trust.

Source of Funds (if applicable):

Sewer funds set aside for environmental management or to be allocated, if not already available.

Signed: Crs Duncan Dey and Alan Hunter

Ewingsdale 04 Alan

Management Comments by Peter Rees, Manager Utilities:

(Management Comments must not include formatted recommendations – resolution 11-979)

Clarification of project/task:

Part 1 - Negotiate with affected rural landowners to form an Agreement on jointly managing the stream of effluent emanating from Byron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant and its wetland system and crossing their properties on the Belongil floodplain

Part 2 - Review both the data and the monitoring system for that effluent flow-path

Part 3 - Receive a report on current fates of effluent from the STP and from the wetland system

Part 4 - Receive a report on options for alternative routes for the wetland effluent

Part 5 - Receive a report on the status of the Trust that operates or operated the Union Drain

Director responsible for task implementation:

Phillip Holloway, Director Infrastructure Services

Relationship to, priority of, and impact on other projects/tasks:

Part 1 is related to the ongoing operation and maintenance of the Byron Bay Integrated Water Management Reserve. The Reserve is subject to an extensive fleet of management plans encompassing maintenance activities, data collection, threatened species, feral animals, weed control, acid sulphate soils, bird habitat, visitor access, melaleuca plantation and Sewage Treatment Plant operation and maintenance.

All activities on the reserve are documented and controlled in accordance with EPA licence 3404. Sewer Operations has developed robust systems to ensure due diligence is maintained by Council in the operation of the site.

Given the importance of the treated effluent discharge from the site into the Belongil catchment, Sewer Operations could comfortably adapt and expand its maintenance and control systems to include a whole of Council approach to management of the Belongil Catchment from the Byron Bay Integrated Water Management Reserve to the Belongil Creek, including the Byron Bay stormwater system if required.

Part 5 is a necessary activity in relation to Part 1.

Part 2 was undertaken in 2009/10 in accordance with Council Resolution approving the Byron Bay Sewage Augmentation Scheme (BBSAS). Condition 44 required:

“A suitably qualified and experienced consultant shall be engaged to provide advice on the inherent uncertainties associated with the results generated by the computer simulation model(s) used in the environmental assessment. Relevant information regarding this uncertainty shall be addressed in preparation of the operational EMP. The findings of the investigation shall be made publicly available.”

This study was completed in March 2010 and made publicly available. The report is attached as Attachment 2 (DM942501). As a result of this report, data collection was scaled back as it was no longer required. Any second review would necessarily be skewed to the 10 years of data collected and previously analysed from 1999 to 2009.

Currently staff are preparing a review of the Byron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant capacity and its ability to meet quality performance limits as set by the operating licence issued by the EPA. The scope of the review is to address the following issues:

1. review the most recent available information for the Byron Bay STP including current licence conditions, influent (raw) sewage characteristics/quality, and plant performance data

2. assess the average dry weather flow to the STP over the past two December and January periods and festival loading (Easter Bluesfest and Splendour In The Grass July/August)

3. estimate the hydraulic capacity of the STP relying on available hydraulic design information

4. assess the ability of the STP to meet the current licence conditions

5. compare the design capacity of each process unit with typical literature values and experience to determine the overall process capacity for the STP

6. the overall capacity of the STP will be compared to the current load and project future loading being:

a. previously identified ‘committed’ loads (GHD/consultant reports)

b. post 2005 STP commissioned identified development including the hospital [and potential property connection around the hospital site/region], the West Byron Land Alliance and other new areas denoted in the new LEP. (Further input is required from the Strategic Planning division to more accurately map this growth and prepare a briefing note for GHD)

7. determine the residual capacity of the STP from the above assessment

8. identify when Council needs to start planning for an increase or to upgrade the STP

9. identify what process components require capacity upgrades and provide a budget estimate for the upgrades.

The genesis of the review came from a number of Councillor enquiries, WWS Committee requests and the Executive Team on 24/09/2014 to plan for possible developments in the future such as the hospital, the proposed seniors living development, “The Farm” and any others, including the West Byron Urban Land Release.

The scope of this review wasn’t intended to include the wetland system, Union drain or Belongil Creek. This review is currently scheduled for completion at the end of February 2015. The preliminary results indicate dependent on the timing of the developments, the plant will need to be upgraded sometime between 2020 and 2025.

Parts 2, 3 and 4 would therefore be duly considered with the required environmental assessments during project definition. Previous experience with BBSAS would indicate a substantial environmental impact statement would be commissioned and include a comprehensive data acquisition, community and expert engagement spanning most likely two to three years.

Any reports on these issues prepared in two months would be preliminary only and would require a more reasonable time to complete as the matters are quite complex. Council would need to consider reallocate funding from existing budgets to adequately provide the resources required (Internal and External) for the activity.

Financial and Resource Implications:

Parts 1 and 5 could be funded and resourced out of the existing budget savings in sewer operations for the Byron Bay Integrated Water Management Reserve and, depending on the scope, supplemented by existing operational budget activities for Byron Bay stormwater and Belongil Catchment Management activities.

Legal and Policy Implications:

Local Government Act 1993

Water Act 1912

Water Management Act 2000

Water Management (General) Regulation 2011

Environment and Planning Assessment Act 1979

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - General Manager 13.1

Staff Reports - General Manager

Report No. 13.1 Results of Park and Ride, SEPA and Butler Street Reserve 2014/15

Directorate: General Manager

Report Author: Claire McGarry, Events and Grants Officer

Simon Bennett, Traffic and Transport Engineer

File No: I2015/30

Theme: Economy

Economic Development

Summary:

This report reviews Council’s second year to operate Park and Ride, Special Event Parking Area (SEPA) and the use of Butler Street Reserve as a car park, all of which occurred over the seven (7) days from 29 December 2014 to 4 January 2015 inclusive. A related matter, the Safe Summer in the Bay NYE 2014 Plan will be detailed in a separate report to Council.

In summary, the Park and Ride program was successful in its second year and saw a significant increase in the number of locals using the service; a reduction in project costs; and a higher user satisfaction rating than in its first pilot year. Also as this report highlights, those who chose to Park and Ride, rather than contribute to traffic congestion on Ewingsdale Rd, found the experience overwhelmingly positive.

As for SEPA, costs were down and revenue up, with very little local dissatisfaction reported or received other than in relation to understanding, administration and obtainment of the SEPA permit. While Butler Street Reserve car park had steady numbers and use, and was welcome by and beneficial to those who used it, especially local workers, it is believed better utilisation can occur.

The combination of Park and Ride, SEPA and the Safe Summer in the Bay NYE Plan resulted in an easing of pressure on the local community during the busy holiday period with the bus service providing a real and valued alternative to driving into town.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That Council note the report and recommendations regarding the results and analysis of Park and Ride 2014/15.

2. Given the expectation that both our volunteer base and partnership income will increase over the next 2 years of the trial, Council approve upfront expenditure in 2015/16 for signage that can be used for the remaining two years of the Park and Ride program eg $50K budget 2015/16, $30K budget 2016/17

Report

In June 2014, Council resolved:

14-293 Resolved that Council:

1. Allocates $120,000 over three years to the park and ride project.

2. After each year, receives a report illustrating measurable outcomes and data concerning usage (both local and visitor), traffic and town parking effects, tourism benefits, sponsorship and investment levels, effects on local businesses, levels of satisfaction of users and any other measure considered beneficial and possible.

3. As part of this report, forward projections and KPIs are also included for the following year.

4. Prepares a project plan as soon as possible with projections for each year and that this plan be separate from SEPA provisions.

5. Invite Councillors to join a working party to help develop the project plan.

Following this approval, Council also resolved as follows in October 2014:

14-514 Resolved:

1. That the Local Traffic Committee supports Council's temporary traffic management initiatives for Byron Bay for the seven (7) days from Monday, 29 December 2014 to Sunday, 4 January 2015 inclusive, and approves for the same period the:

a) conversion of the parking lane on the north side of Shirley Street, Byron Bay between Kendall Street and Wordsworth Street into a bus lane

b) declaration of a 2P Special Event Parking Area (SEPA) which applies to all road-related areas east of the Belongil Bridge on Ewingsdale Road and north of Seaview Street, Byron Bay as per the Schedule of Streets at Table 5.1.1

c) extension of existing signed time limits through to 12midnight

In addition to the above was Resolution 14-561 relating to funding of SEPA, Butler Street Reserve and who was eligible for an exemption to SEPA, all of which are discussed further below in this report.

However as can be seen from the above resolutions the Park and Ride, Bus Lane and Special Event Parking Area (SEPA) for Byron Bay were inextricably linked and accordingly Council, for the second year running, ran them as concurrent programs over the Christmas / New Year period:

1. The Special Event Parking Area (SEPA) restricted parking to two hours in many streets in the town centre, i.e introduced a time limit in areas where typically no limit exists.

2. Park and Ride was offered as an alternative transport, and is a valued option for those wanting to stay in town longer and/or avoiding parking restrictions

3. The use of Butler Street Reserve as a car park, which helped offset the restrictions of SEPA especially for local workers

This report details the outcomes of each of the three initiatives separately.

Park and Ride Logistics

This year, the Park and Ride program was reduced from twelve days down to seven based on the usage data from the previous year. Operating hours were also reduced from 12 hours per day to 10 hours. These reductions aimed to:

· Capitalise on the busiest usage periods from last year

· Ensure the Park and Ride option was made available on the day of the Byron Sunday Market

· Allow for clear marketing regarding the duration of the program – one week

· Ensure the best value for money by operating during the busiest periods

These reductions were successful and the usage trends mirrored those of the previous year – the busiest time was in the few days leading up to and including New Year’s Eve, with numbers reducing fairly significantly after that. With this trend now confirmed for a second year, the operating days could be reconsidered for next year.

In terms of timetabling, two buses ran per hour, with the longest recorded wait for a bus at either end 11 minutes – no doubt contributing to the high customer satisfaction with the service. Blanch’s buslines diverted their regular public transport routes via the BRSCC for the first three days, although they decided against this for the final four days as the take-up of their buses was very low and the diversion caused some delays in their regular bus timetable.

This year saw the introduction of the “Byron Summer Pass” – a business-card sized pass that each Park and Rider received that acted as their ‘bus pass’ but also gave them access to 7 days, 7 deals (special deals and discounts at businesses in the town centre). This Byron Summer Pass was used as the data collection mechanism for the project – each person filled in a form to receive their pass and each pass had a unique number so that repeat users could be tracked throughout the week. This collection enabled us to track much more closely actual usage numbers, repeat users, points of origin and key demographics. It also gave local businesses the opportunity to show their support for the Park and Ride program, with the 7 days, 7 deals sponsors being locked in within the first few days of ‘going to market’. This strong business support highlights the potential to increase revenue raised from this Summer Pass in future years.

Park and Ride Usage and Satisfaction

The usage numbers this year were comparative to those of last year, with high usage up to and including New Year’s Eve and then a significant reduction after the 1^st of January. This reflects the feedback given by the bus drivers that on the quieter Park and Ride days, Ewingsdale Rd and the town centre were also very quiet, with some days having a clear ‘run’ in to town along Ewingsdale Road, no congestion in town and plenty of parking available. This year reinforced that when traffic is banked up Ewingsdale Road beyond Belongil Bridge, the number of people choosing to Park and Ride increases markedly.

There was a significant rise in local users this year, with 35.5% of Park and Riders being from Byron and immediate surrounds – 20% higher than last year. This highlights the potential for the growth of Park and Ride as an increasing number of locals become used to the idea of parking and riding and choose to avoid contributing to the traffic congestion in town during busy periods. A number of travelers staying at backpackers accommodation in town chose to park at the BRSCC for a number of days, paying for 4 days parking up front, and catching the shuttle in to town for their accommodation. There were also quite a number (4.5%) of ‘drop offs’ – parents dropping off teenagers who were heading in to town for the day.

Additionally, this year saw 301 families using the service, or 35% of total users. Finally, there were a significant number of repeat users with 37% choosing to ride the bus a second, third or even fourth time during the week. This, combined with 97% of users indicating that they were “very happy with the experience and would use the service again” highlights the growth potential of the program once people experience it. In addition to this satisfaction rating, all anecdotal feedback was extremely positive with many users thanking Council and the bus drivers for such a great service, commenting on the ease of use and indicating how grateful they were not to have to drive in to the town centre.

Average daily traffic numbers – 20 Dec to 6 Jan 2013/14 and 2014/15

Year	Rail Crossing		Ewingsdale Rd
Year	Inbound	Outbound	(west of Kendall St, both directions)
2014/15	12,675	10,633	20,838
2013/14	10,869	As above	19,419

Park and Ride Staffing

This year, a more streamlined approach was taken to the internal Byron Shire Council staffing of Park and Ride. A core project team of six staff (from Economic Development, Community Development, Infrastructure Services and Organisational Development) met for one hour each fortnight to discuss delivery of Park and Ride and New Year’s Eve projects. An Infrastructure Services team also met monthly with the Community Development project officer to specifically discuss infrastructure needs for Park and Ride and New Year’s Eve. Comparatively, last year weekly meetings were held for two to three hours with the Mayor, General Manager, Directors and an additional 7 – 10 staff. The streamlined process of staffing in the lead up to this year’s Park and Ride resulted in far more efficient project management and a significant decrease in staff hours required.

In terms of on-ground staffing, the initial approach for this year was to staff Park and Ride with volunteers, with one Council staff member on-ground per shift. While a volunteer recruitment drive (Byron Greeters) was successful in recruiting 30 – 40 volunteers for projects throughout the year, unfortunately the time of year that Park and Ride is held meant that only 5 were available during the project period. An alternative approach was needed, so casual JHA staff were hired to staff the project, with a Council staff member on ground each shift and volunteers filling shifts where possible. A total of 40.5 volunteer hours were contributed to the project. The JHA staff were incredibly professional and efficient. Towards the end of the week some staff shifts were cancelled, and for future years the staffing numbers required on-ground could be significantly reduced. The project manual has been updated to reflect a more efficient staffing model for future years.

Promotion

Based on recommendations from last year, the communications plan for Park and Ride this year was initiated in October in order to give appropriate promotional time for the project. The aim of the campaign was to:

· Inform potential users of the summer service and how to use.

· Encourage usage of the Park and Ride service for locals and day trippers.

· Keep internal and external stakeholders informed of the summer service and how to use.

· Reduce traffic impacts on Ewingsdale Road.

Promotional avenues included:

· Internal and external stakeholder briefings

· Media releases

· E-news mailouts

· Social media

· Byron Shire Council website

· Stalls at Farmers’ Markets

· Print advertising

· Radio advertising

· Public Notice advertising

· Signage

· Letters to residents (within Byron Town Centre)

Data gathered during the service period indicated that similar to last year, the majority of users (44%) found out about Park and Ride by seeing signage on the road on the way in to town. However, the higher percentage of users this year who heard about Park and Ride prior to driving in to town indicates that the Communications Plan was effective in utilising a range of mediums to reach specifically identified target audiences.

Media	2013/14	2014/15
Signs on road	80%	44%
Word of mouth	16%	26%
Radio	-	16.5%
Newspaper	8%	10%

Additionally, a targeted social media campaign this year resulted in a 450% increase in ‘likes’ on the Byron Bay Park and Ride Facebook page. The ‘reach’ of the page was up to 3,000 unpaid and 9,400 with paid advertising. Those reached via Facebook were from Brisbane (40%), Byron Shire (16%) and Gold Coast (14%). Paid Facebook was aimed at growing the number of ‘Likes’ to allow future growth of the Park and Ride Facebook page to help spread awareness of the service when activated again. As a result, 926 new ‘likes’ were achieved and and the Park and Ride advert on 32,173 Facebook Pages.

In future years, it would be valuable to reduce on-ground staff numbers and invest in more simple, clear, strategic signage. A flexible budget approach for the signage expenditure will achieve economies of scale over the remaining 2 years.

Key Park and Ride Budget Indicators

Key Indicator	2013/14	2014/15	Trend
Total project cost	$113,960	$37,651	67% reduction in project costs
Bus cost	$46,906 · 12 days	$18,200 · 7 days	62% reduction in bus costs
Staffing costs	$40,469 · Excluding BSC staff	$8,309 · Including BSC staff	80% reduction in staffing costs
Project cost per trip	$18.36 per trip	$14.75 per trip	20% reduction in cost per trip

Key Park and Ride Usage Indicators

Key Indicator	2013/14	2014/15	Trend
Passenger trips	6,057 · 12x12 hour days including Suffolk shuttle,Lighthouse Shuttle and joyriders	2,790 · 7x 10 hour days without shuttles or NYE joyriders	Average per day usage down 10%
Local users	15%	35.5%	20% increase in local users
Number of repeat users	Unknown	516	-
Number of families	Unknown	301	-
Parking at BRSCC	685 · 12 days – average of 57 per day	400 · 7 days – average of 57 per day	Daily average has remained steady
Customer satisfaction rating	85% rated the experience as 8/10 or higher	97% were ‘very happy’ with the experience and indicated they would use it again	12% increase in customer satisfaction

Forward Projections and KPIs

The combination of two years of data allows us to look at trends and make projections for the remaining two years of the Park and Ride trial. With lessons learnt from 2013/14 and 2015/16 the project can be run more efficiently for future years, with an increase in local usage and revenue derived from the project.

This year, Transport NSW were particularly interested in the Park and Ride project as it’s the first of it’s kind in New South Wales. The NSW Regional Transport Action Plan includes the following priority:

“Providing park and ride facilities, or links from motorways to train stations and bus interchanges, will allow people in regional areas to link car trips to public transport services as part of their journey. Maintaining good connectivity and accessibility will require innovative solutions.”

Transport NSW are impressed with the program and are interested in becoming partners in future years.

A project such as Park and Ride is typically impacted by, and dependent on, cause and affect. It is fair to assume that there would be an increase in Park and Ride usage if / when other factors are at play, such as:

· Paid parking implemented in Byron town centre

· SEPA applying at other times of year

· The rail line from North Byron Beach Resort becoming active

· New developments on Ewingsdale Rd contributing to further traffic congestion

· An extended bus lane being introduced.

If any / all of these factors came in to play, it would be fair to say that Council would see additional partners support the program, an increase in local usage and an increase in usage from South-East Queensland visitors.

In addition to external factors, to reach the above targets would require an increased marketing budget, the source of which has been identified earlier in this report.

Project Plan for 2015/16

Item	Timeframe
Update Park and Ride Manual to reflect suggested changes for 2015/16	Completed
Safe Summer in the Bay Committee appointed	March 2015
Safe Summer in the Bay Committee meetings	Monthly from April 2015
Internal staff project group established	June 2015
Internal project group meetings	Monthly June – November 2015, weekly December 2015
Sponsors and Partners approached	July 2015
Venues, buses and signage booked	October 2015
Complete TCP and relevant signage	October 2015
Implementation of Communications Plan	From October 2015
Staffing roster confirmed	November 2015

Special Event Parking Area

On 30 October 2014 Council resolved as follows.

14-561 Resolved:

1. That Council provide $14,000 from Paid Parking Reserve to fund the 2014/15 implementation of both the:

a) Special Event Parking Area (SEPA)

b) Use of Butler Street Reserve as a temporary free car park for a period of six (6) days, subject to a resolution from the Reserve Trust Committee confirming its support for Council to apply and enter into a short term 34A licence with Crown Lands including:

i) Authorise the completion and lodgement of the Application for Short Term Licence over Crown Land with NSW Trade and Investment Crown Lands Division for the use of part Butler Street Reserve as car park; and

ii) Authorise the General Manager to execute and affix the Seal to the Licence Agreement with Crown Lands (if required) for part Butler Street Reserve in accordance with Local Government (General) Regulations 2005.

2. That these funds be reimbursed from the revenue that is raised from parking infringements issued during the time both are operational.

3. That the following SEPA exemptions apply:

i) to residents (and their guests), workers and accommodation providers within the SEPA only

ii) to the distribution of the exemption permit is limited to collection from Council either at Mullumbimby office or BRSSC

iii) and that collection of the permit be by or before 24 December 2014 and from 27 December to 4 January 2015, inclusive, from either of the two park and ride sites at BRSCC or the surf club

As a result of Res 14-514, the 2P Special Event Parking Area (SEPA) restrictions applied over the same seven (7) day period of park and ride (29 December 2014 to 4 January 2015). During this time a total of 267 infringements were issued in respect of the offence of “Park in special event parking area”.

As per Table 1 below, SEPA penalty infringement notices (PIN) issued provided a total face value of $64,614, which is an average of $9,230.57 per day and 38 infringement notices issued per day. In comparison, the previous year (2013/14) SEPA resulted in $43,188 over twelve (12) days with 183 infringements issued, which equates to an average of $3,599 per day and 15 infringement notices issued per day.

Also improving on last year is the costs of implementing SEPA, with the main cost of the totals shown in Table 1 relate to signage and pole installation and do not include enforcement which is a cost incurred regardless if SEPA operates or not.

As per council resolution 14-561 (Part 2) the cost of SEPA, budgeted at $14,000 but eventually cost $17,000 mainly due to poles being installed as permanent (not temporary) fixtures for future use, will be recouped from this infringement revenue.

Table 1: breakdown of SEPA offences (sites and per day ) and comparison of two years

Site	No.	2014/15
Lawson Street	86	Date	No.
Butler Street	37	29-Dec	76
Somerset Street	34	30-Dec	76
Childe Street	17	31-Dec	41
Gilmore Cres	13	1-Jan	10
Manfred Street	12	2-Jan	50
Border Street	10	3-Jan	0
Shirley Street	10	4-Jan	14
Lee Lane	6
Brownell Street	6	Comparison	2014/15	2013/14
Tennyson Street	5	Total Rev - $	64,614.00	43,188.00
Johnson Street	3	Total days	7.00	12.00
Cowper Street	2	Avg $/day	9,230.57	3,599.00
Middleton Street	2	Total PIN	267.00	183.00
Other	24	Avg PIN/day	38.14	15.25
TOTAL 2014/15	267	Total cost - $	16,934.00	21,240.90

While SEPA can be viewed and may cause some inconvenience, it greatly benefits the local residents, especially those in streets which would be otherwise untimed and an attraction to overnight staying/camping. SEPA also provides a clear and enforceable regulation which Rangers find beneficial. Add these benefits to the fact the poles remain for future use, SEPA is able to be run again at less cost, assuming the SEPA boundary does not alter, and on which there is no perceived benefit to do so.

However the one drawback on SEPA is the confusion on eligibility, obtainment and administration of (and for) the SEPA permits the sole purpose of which is to offset the 2P SEPA time limit only and as resolved meant for residents (and their guests), workers and accommodation providers within the SEPA only.

Given this stipulation only 6,000 permits were initially printed; considered ample for the about 1,000 properties within SEPA. Prior to Christmas stock had run low and another 4,000 were printed. At the end of the SEPA only handfuls of permits remained, suggesting permits were given away thereby eroding the purpose of SEPA.

It is therefore intended that when SEPA is again considered and reported to Council it will be recommended permits not be issued and instead encourage greater use of Butler Street Reserve.

Butler Street Reserve as a car park

As with the previous year, anecdotal reports suggest the site was under utilised despite it offering a few hundred car spaces. This is likely due to a number of reasons including an over supply of SEPA permits, little knowledge of its existence, and perhaps being viewed as an undesirable location to park and walk from. These matters will need to be addressed as Council look to trial the Reserve as an ongoing car park over the coming 1-2 years.

Financial Implications

The resolved budget for Park and Ride was $120,000 over three years, therefore $40,000 for 2014/15. An additional $14,000 was budgeted for SEPA.

Park and Ride Financials

Income
Byron Summer Pass partners	$1,950
Parking revenue	$1,692
Total Income	$3,642
Expenditure
Bus hire and driver costs	$18,220
Park and Ride Staffing (Casuals)	$5,539
Park and Ride Staffing (BSC)	$3,068
Park and Ride Promotions and Marketing	$5,054
Park and Ride Signage	$4,017
Venue Hire	$1,337
Security and cash collection	$500
Total Expenditure	$37,735

SEPA Financials

Income
Parking infringement revenue	$64,614
Total Income	$64,614
Expenditure
Signage, staffing and promotion	$16,934
Total Expenditure	$16,934

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

The bus lane operated well and was again positively received by patrons of the park and ride and local bus operators alike. The bus lane was also of benefit to accommodation service providers and their vans and was able to be used by motorcyclists and taxi services. Compliance with the bus lane was high and no reported issue or complaint is known of at this time.

The park and ride bus drivers have suggested the bus lane be extended further west by providing temporary traffic lights/control at the Belongil Bridge to provide a priority to the park and ride service. This suggestion would require careful assessment and implementation if supported.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.2

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services

Report No. 13.2 Review of Outstanding Council Resolutions

Directorate: Corporate and Community Services

Report Author: Mark Arnold, Director Corporate and Community Services

File No: I2014/22

Theme: Corporate Management

General Manager’s Office

Summary:

Council, at its Ordinary Meeting on 28 August 2014 resolved (14-417), in part, as follows:

3. That staff conduct a review of outstanding resolutions to determine:

a) which ones currently fit within other resolutions

b) which ones cannot be resourced

c) report to Council resolutions able to be closed

This report outlines resolutions which currently fit within other resolutions, cannot be resourced, and are able to be closed.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That Council receive and note the information provided in this report on outstanding Council resolutions.

2. That Council resolve that no further action be taken in respect of the following Council resolutions and that the resolutions be closed:

Resolution No. 09-1125

Resolution No. 11-219

Resolution No. 11-548

Resolution No. 12-25

Resolution No. 12-29

Resolution No. 12-265

Resolution No. 12-324

Resolution No. 12-511

Resolution No. 12-525

Resolution No. 12-779

Resolution No. 14-230.

Attachments:

1 Outstanding Council Resolutions recommended for no further action, E2015/8308 (provided under separate cover)

At the Ordinary Meeting on 28 August 2014 Council resolved (14-417), in part:

3. That staff conduct a review of outstanding resolutions to determine:

a) Which ones currently fit within other resolutions

b) Which ones cannot be resourced

c) Report to Council resolutions able to be closed.

Table 1 provides a summary of Council resolutions that are no longer relevant, or that have been superseded either by other Resolutions, Legislative change or other matters.

Table 2 provides a summary of Council resolutions that cannot be implemented due to resources not being available, allocated or allocated to other adopted projects, services, activities or works. Any resulting decisions of Council will be incorporated into the next quarterly review of resolutions.

The review has also identified that a number of what are listed as outstanding resolutions have in fact been completed but the administrative updating tasks not complete. These will be rectified prior to next quarterly report on outstanding resolutions.

In addition to the resolutions identified in this report, it is anticipated that staff as resolutions are reviewed, may identify other resolutions that could meet the framework set out in Resolution 14-417. Should this be the case then those resolutions will be reported as part of the future quarterly reports on outstanding resolutions.

Table 1: Council resolutions that are no longer relevant or that have been superseded by other resolutions

Meeting Date	Resolution No.	Report Title	Staff Comments and Recommendation
17/12/09	09-1125	Tourism and Risk Management	Part 1 of this resolution is not a priority, there is no budget allocation and the action is already included in the Tourism Management Plan for implementation at a future date. Part 2 has been completed with an Emergency Assistance Leaflet produced in 2013. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 09-1125
09/02/12	12-25	Review of Rates for Bed and Breakfast Establishments	The resolution for this item required that Council receive a report on the potential and options on the reductions of commercial ratings and or the recategorisation to residential rating for Bed and Breakfast establishments. This resolution cannot be acted upon given the constraints of Section 514 to 518 and 529 of the Local Government Act 1993. Land for rating purposes must be categorised on its dominant use. For Bed and Breakfast properties, this means it is not possible to categorise all properties as business (commercial) or residential as each property has to be assessed individually. It is possible for Council to have a rating sub-category that can cater for particular circumstances but this requires all properties to be located in one geographical area such as an industrial estate for example by virtue of Section 529 of the Local Government Act 1993. Section 525 of the Local Government Act 1993 provides for a property owner to have their rating category reviewed at any time upon application to Council. However, the constraints of the current legislation does not provide a mechanism for Council to apply a blanket rating category or sub category rule specific to Bed and Breakfast establishments. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-25
09/02/12	12-29	Review of charges for Community Markets and Holiday Park Cabins	The resolution for this item required that Council receive a report on the future operation and charges for holiday parks. Council has recently completed a tender and then entered into a contract negotiation for the management of its two holiday parks. The outcome of that process resulted in Council operating both holiday parks under a single management contract and manager for both holiday parks. Since this resolution, Council has endorsed the fees and charges for holiday parks including cabins on three subsequent separate occasions relating to the Revenue Policies for the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 financial years. Council again will have the opportunity to reviews fees and charges for Holiday Parks as part of the 2015/2016 Operational plan process that will be finalised by June 2015. It is considered by staff this resolution is no longer relevant as it has been superseded. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-29
12/04/12	12-265	Tender General Maintenance, Plumbing and Electrical Services	The resolution for this item included a requirement that Council receive a report at quarterly review of details of all payments made under contracts for contracted general maintenance, plumbing and electrical services. Quarterly reporting of this matter has not been provided to Council since the resolution was made for the following reasons: 1. Council has not required or made a further request for this reporting of any other tender process. 2. The potential to disclose commercial and private information of the tenderer by identifying payments made to them. 3. The Office of Local Government in 2001 issued circular 01/14 to Councils to stop listing cheque warrants or listings of payments to suppliers in Council business papers. This was further reinforced in the release of the Meeting Practice Note by the Office of Local Government in August 2009 where at Section 1.4.3 it again reaffirmed the position not to disclose payments in Council business papers. For the above reasons, staff have not been able to act on the resolution and therefore suggest it is no longer relevant as it is suggesting reporting not endorsed by the Office of Local Government. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-265
28/06/12	12-511	Various matters and householder recognition program	This resolution had four parts to it of which three have been completed. The outstanding part is in relation to a householder recognition program that was to provide small plaques to the participants of the Sustainability Streets Program. Given that the Sustainability Streets Program is no longer funded (it was grant funded) this action is no longer relevant. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-511
28/06/12	12-525	Suffolk Park Caravan Park Plan of Management Exhibition	The context of this resolution is being worked on by staff to the extent that a park survey has been completed, discussions have been held with Crown Lands regarding the encroachment on the beach side of the Park with a view to obtain a licence agreement. Additionally a planning proposal has been finalised to reclassify the sites occupied by the long term residents to operational land with the aim to allow the long term residents to have certainty over their sites whilst retaining the remainder of the Park as Community Land. The goal is to conclude the land classification process to provide new leases to long term residents and to address compliance matters at the Park once surety for the long term residents is established. In view of this the points raised in resolution 12-525 are being addressed and are also superseded by resolution 14-51 where Council determined to proceed to reclassify part but not all of the land at Suffolk Beachfront Holiday Park to Operational from Community. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-525
27/09/12	12-779	Investments – August 2012	The resolution for this item included that Council review its Investment Policy #12/009 with a view to include ethical investments. Investments by Councils in NSW are regulated by the Ministerial Investment Order issued by the NSW Minister for Local Government. As a consequence of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the impacts that had on Councils, the NSW State Government reviewed the Ministerial Order in 2011 which is still current. The latest Ministerial Investment Order restricts Council to investing with Authorised Deposit Taking Institutions (ADI). As a consequence investment products that were considered with an ethical base that were in the investment market and available to Councils prior to the GFC are no longer offered to Councils as there is no market. Additionally, in the overall investment market, Council is such a small investor that it has no power to direct a financial institution where to direct funds it lends to organisations via the funds Council has invested with it. It is on this basis the resolution is not relevant as it is something Council cannot currently control or pursue. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-779

Table 2: Council resolutions that are not resourced

Meeting Date	Resolution No.	Report Title	Staff Comments and Recommendation
10/03/11	11-219	2010 New Year’s Eve	This resolution required investigation of cost effective and safe alternative methods to supply water and electricity to stall holders and buskers across Apex Park. Apex Park will be receiving considerable attention during the Master Plan process, the amount of water and power outlets are considered adequate in the interim. The resolution also requested the conducting of a thorough risk assessment around potential areas for injury or harm including use of electricity, rock retaining wall, beach activities, fire provisions, safety of temporary structures. Such an assessment is unfunded. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 11-219
30/06/11	11-548	Valuing the natural environment and natural capital accounting	This resolution required that other council and governments who have completed, or are undertaking, an analysis that assigns an economic value to the environment be investigated. It required applying for grants or seeking partnerships to undertake an environmental economic assessment. It also required that a carbon offset program be investigated for residents and visitors and that Council receive a report on the Australian Governments Carbon Farming initiative. This resolution is unfunded and not resourced. If Council wanted to pursue this it could be included as an action during the review of the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 11-548
26/04/12	12-324	Unconfirmed Report Main Beach PRG meeting 16 March 2012	This resolution asks that staff prepare a works program for the Main Beach Crown Reserve Trust Committee. The works program is to include a costed implementation plan and a schedule of items which will address and include efficiency, the reduction of required maintenance, risk analysis and priorities. Numerous upgrades have occurred in the park since 2012, including new lighting and public toilets. Staff believe that we should wait until seeing the Master Plan before planning works that may be contrary to its vision. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 12-324
22/05/14	14-230	Koala and wildlife sanctuary	This resolution requested a report on the creation of a Byron Shire koala and wildlife sanctuary. At the time of the resolution the state government was calling on expressions of interest for suitable partners to create large conservation areas. On investigation Council did not meet the criteria to be a partner. This resolution is unfunded and not resourced. If Council wanted to pursue this it could be included as an action during the review of the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Staff Recommendation: Close resolution 14-230

Financial Implications

A number of resolutions note that resource constraints limit completion of action required. Council may consider the priority of the respective resolutions and whether further action is still required.

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

This report has been prepared in accordance with Part 3 c) of Resolution 14-417.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.3

Report No. 13.3 Mullumbimby Golf Club - Assistance with Rates

Directorate: Corporate and Community Services

Report Author: Gayle McCallum, Governance Officer

Jane Steiger, Revenue Accountant

File No: I2014/74

Theme: Corporate Management

Administrative Services

Summary:

Council has received a request from the Mullumbimby Gold Club to be included in Council’s Policy Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewer Charges for assistance with the General Rates for at least a two year period until they are in a position to pay these council charges.

The purpose of this report is for Council to consider this request.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That the report be noted.

2. That the Crown land leased to the Mullumbimby Golf Club, not be included in Council’s Policy Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewer Charges for the following reasons:

a) It does not meet the Policy Statement being a “public hall, community centre or charitable organisation”.

b) It is not considered to meet the Policy criteria for Eligibility for Inclusion as the golf course is not a community centre, public hall or facility that is available for use and/or provides a charitable service to the general community.

Report

Council has received a request from the Mullumbimby Golf Club to be included in Council’s Policy Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewerage Charges. In a letter to Council the Club advise:

Following our commitment to continue leasing the crown land that is Mullumbimby Golf Course, I now request Byron Shire’s assistance in registering us on Council’s Policy “Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewerage charges.”

Council should be aware of our financial struggles, but determination to trade out of trouble. We are a registered Not for Profit organisation, so qualify as an eligible organisation under donations schedule, even though I note we are the only licensed club of your extensive list.

I appreciate Council’s recognition of the contribution our club makes to the community and request Council allow us to forego the general rates for at lease two years or until we are in a position to pay these Council charges.”

The golf course is Crown land with Byron Shire Council as Reserve Trust Manager. Council considered the renewal of a lease to the Golf Club at its Reserve Trust Meeting on 28 August 2014 http://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/meetings/2014-08-28-trust.

In accordance with resolution 14-422, a Trust Lease has recently been executed by Council and the Golf Club with a commencement date of 1 October 2014 and expiry date of 30 September 2024. Until such time as the Trust Lease is endorsed by the Minister, the Club’s continued occupation of the golf course is authorised by way of a temporary licence. At such time as the Trust Lease is returned to Council, rent will be payable by the Club in the amount of $6,600.00 pa ex GST with the application of a 50% rebate approved by Crown Lands.

Up until the signing of the new lease with the Mullumbimby Golf Club, all rates were paid by Council. The Business ordinary rates for 2014/2015 on the Crown land amount to $3,650.70. The proportion payable by the Mullumbimby Golf Club in accordance with the Trust Lease for 2014/2015 will be $2,730.50 payable by 31 May 2015.

Council’s Policy Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewerage Charges states:

Point 2 “Policy Statement” states:

Council shall each year make a donation under Section 356 of the Local Government Act of 100% of the general rates and fixed water and sewer charges on public halls, community centres and charitable organisations.

Point 3 “Eligibility for Inclusion” states:

3.1 In order to be eligible for inclusion in this policy the facility must:

a) Be operated by a not for profit organisation; and

b) Must relate to a community centre, public hall or facility that is available for use and/or provides a charitable service to the general community.

3.2 All requests for an inclusion of a facility in this Policy will be determined by Council.

It is considered that the Crown land under lease by the Mullumbimby Golf Club does not meet the Policy Statement or Eligibility for Inclusion, to enable this land to be included in this Policy.

For your information the Club House (Assess No. 1195635) is owned by the Mullumbimby Golf Club and rateable, 2014/2015 as follows:

Ordinary Business Rates $1,082.48

Water Fixed Charge $709.32

Sewerage Fixed Charge $2,017.04

Commercial Waste Charges $1,837.51

Liquid Trade Waste Fixed Charge $250.00

Total Rates and Charges $5,896.35

A review of the water connection on the property was carried out in November 2014 resulting in the 40mm meter connection being changed to a 25mm connection. The change in the size of the water meter connection will save the Mullumbimby Golf Club an amount of $2,279.00 annually (2014/2015) in Water Fixed Charges and Sewerage Fixed Charges.

Financial Implications

The Rates and Charges for the Crown Land which is now leased by the Mullumbimby Gold Club is as follows:

Business Ordinary Rates $3,650.70

After signing the new Lease with Council on 1 October 2014, these rates will be proportioned to $2,730.50 payable by the Mullumbimby Gold Club. In future years the total amount of rates and charges for the Crown Land will be payable by the Mullumbimby Club Golf Club.

A payment arrangement can be agreed upon in accordance with Council’s Debt Recovery Policy if the Mullumbimby Golf Club wishes to make application.

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

Policy – Section 356 Donations – Rates Water and Sewerage Charges http://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/policies

It is proposed that the Finance Committee will consider a report on review of this Policy at it’s next meeting, in accordance with the following Resolutions of Council:

Council in December 2013 considered a report to assist the Island Quarry with outstanding Rates and Charges wherein it resolved as follows:

13-695 Resolved that Council, under Policy 12/008 Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewerage Charges, donate 100% of the General Rates and fixed Water and Sewer Charges currently outstanding for iQ Reserve, Ewingsdale Road, Byron bay 2481 (Assessment No. 1101963) and include this property under Policy 12/008 Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewer Charges.

13-696 Resolved that a review of Policy 12/008 be undertaken by staff and be brought back to Council as a report.

At a Finance meeting of 12 June 2014 Council set parameters for this review with the aim for possible savings. This resolution reads as follows:-

14-256 1. That Council include the following parameters for the review of Policy 12/008 Section 356 Donations – Rates, Water and Sewerage Charges.

a) The critical nature/uniqueness of the facility within its locality;

b) The level of utilisation both current and prospective;

c) The sustainability of the facility, e.g future maintenance costs;

d) The cost effectiveness of current operations.

2. The review consider a two step approach as follows:

Step 1: A hierarchy of facilities be established to determine overall community benefit and possible level of subsidy for each type of facility.

Step 2 Expand criteria as per Item 1 above, as those that must be considered by Council when making a decision regarding subsidy.

3. The review consider

a) A phased transition on the level of support;

b) A regular review of entitlements be performed every 3 years;

c) Encouraging financial independence.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.5

Report No. 13.5 New Years Eve 2014 outcomes and recommendations

Directorate: Corporate and Community Services

Report Author: Joanne McMurtry, Community Policy Officer

Marisa Snow, Projects and Tourism Officer

File No: I2015/15

Theme: Society and Culture

Community Services – Community Development

Summary:

This report provides an overview of The 2014 New Year’s Eve events in Byron Bay Town Centre and the associated outcomes and recommendations against the Plan for New Year in Byron Bay 2014 as adopted by Council (14-300).

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That Council note the overview of NYE 2014 Report and feedback from surveys and stakeholders presented in this report.

2. That Council note the continued commitment to the partnership with the Byron Bay Community Centre to manage the NYE events (as demonstrated by the five year DA submitted in 2014).

3. That Council note that the New Year’s Eve public holiday in 2015 will fall on a Friday, making a long-weekend at this crucial time of year.

4. That Council adopt a similar approach for New Year as for 2014 with the following key strategies, noting recommendations throughout this report to ‘tweak’ the strategies further:

1. A family friendly main street event, incorporating activities specifically for youth

2. An event for 18 – 40+ (outside the town centre)

3. A new year’s morning event

4. Policing support

5. Alcohol minimisation campaign

6. Team of volunteers, including strengthening partnerships with educational institutions to provide experience opportunities for students

7. Coordinated sponsorship/ fundraising program

8. Establish a Project Reference Group (PRG)

9. Council NYE Program Support

a. Provide a point of contact for event managers and other stakeholders

b. Communications and media

c. Traffic, compliance, waste and infrastructure services management

5. That Council in the preparation and development of the 2015/16 Budget and Long Term Financial Plan, consider the provision of a budget of $400,000 over the next four years (2015 – 2018 inclusive, until the completion of the current DA) to continue the proven strategies outlined in point 4 over the next four years.

6. That Council re-establish the Safe Summer in the Bay Project Reference Group with the same members:

a) including two additional members from the creative industries, being from the event organisers; and

b) that the Terms of Reference for the PRG be changed to reflect this update to the membership of the committee.

Attachments:

1 Plan for New Year's Eve 2014 , E2014/26557 (provided under separate cover)

2 Byron Community Centre 2014 Acquittal, E2015/6860 , page 54

3 New Year's Eve Survey, E2015/6940 , page 59

4 Minutes Safe Summer in the Bay PRG meeting 4 February 2015 (debrief meeting), E2015/7745 , page 68

Introduction

Byron Shire Council implemented the Plan for New Year in Byron Bay 2014 with successful outcomes across major areas. The overarching goal of presenting a safe, engaging and diverse family friendly event exceeded expectations. Soul Street was extremely successful with more than 5,000 people attending the event and minimal reported arrests, noticeable anti social behaviour or injuries during the course of the night.

Council adopted the Plan (14-300) which included the following ten key strategies, identified to support a vibrant, inclusive and family orientated Byron Bay New Year’s Eve 2014 event.

1 A family friendly main street event

2 A youth event

3 An event for 18 – 40+ (outside the town centre)

4 A new year’s morning event

5 Policing support

6 Alcohol minimisation campaign

7 Team of volunteers

8 Coordinated sponsorship/ fundraising program

9 Establish a Project Reference Group (PRG)

10 Council NYE Program Support

a. Provide a point of contact for event managers and other stakeholders

b. Communications and media

c. Traffic, compliance, waste and infrastructure services management

Each key strategy is outlined in further detail in the attached Plan for New Year in Byron Bay.

The Safe Summer in the Bay Project Reference Group played a leading role in the development and delivery of key elements of the plan and proved to be a driving force behind the plan’s success in 2014.

Council’s partnership with the Byron Community Centre (BCC) continued to strengthen in 2014 with Council increasing event support from the Economic Development team and significant investment across key operational areas such as infrastructure, traffic and waste management. The BCC delivered a strong family friendly program that engaged a multi-generational audience with 60% surveyed coming from the Byron Shire.

Council Resolutions

Council resolved (14-300) at the 12 June 2014 Ordinary Meeting:

1. That Council adopt the draft Plan for New Year’s Eve in Byron Bay 2014 (#E2014/26557).

2. That Council allocate the budget, as detailed in the financial implications section of this report, to undertake the key strategies from the draft Plan for New Year’s Eve

3. That Council call for Expressions of Interest for two types of submissions by 30 June 2014:

a) Submissions to operate and manage the key events such as Soul Street NYE, First Sun NYD, a Youth Event, and a Greeter Guardians program.

b) Submissions to have other events included in the ‘Safe Summer in the Bay’ program, which are operated and managed by third parties.

4. That Council adopt the draft Terms of Reference for the Safe Summer in the Bay Project Reference Group (#E2014/27091).

5. That Council nominate Crs Richardson and Woods (with Crs Ibrahim and Dey as alternates) to the Safe Summer in the Bay PRG as follows:.

6. That Council write to Police, Byron Bay Liquor Accord, VIA Byron/Byron United, Arts Northern Rivers and Bundjalung of Byron Bay Aboriginal Corporation (Arakwal), Byron Youth Service and the Byron Community Centre, inviting them to nominate a delegate to the Safe Summer in the Bay PRG.

7. That Council call for nominations from two community members to participate in the Safe Summer in the Bay Project Reference Group (PRG).

8. That the General Manager and the Mayor have delegated authority to select the community representatives following the closure of the community nomination period.

Report

Outcomes of Key Strategies

To evaluate the effectiveness of New Years Eve 2014 the following outcomes were measured against the New Year in Byron Bay 2014 Plan

1. A family friendly main street event

Outcome: Soul Street

Following an expression of interest process, the Byron Community Centre (BCC) delivered the family friendly Soul Street event again in 2014 (following a successful delivery of the 2013 event). Soul Streett was attended by approximately 5000 people with over 35 local multicultural acts / artists performing in many different genres including circus, art, music, dance and multicultural food stalls. The event showcased these components in a carefully curated program across three performance areas and over 60 food, craft and artisan stalls between 4pm-12.30am.

In the capacity of Event Manager’s the BCC managed the event production and programming elements, including but not limited to; the artistic programming for the event; site layout; event specific marketing collateral and event specific sponsorship. Council supported the event with seed funding of $25,000 and support across many areas and departments such as traffic management, lighting and infrastructure support, alcohol minimisation, and coordination of essential services and stakeholders such as the business community, police, Byron United, rangers and RMS.

The event was an overwhelming success with a notable shift in the public perception of Byron Bay’s NYE celebrations. 60% of people surveyed at Soul Street were locals with a further 50% of those coming specifically into town for the family friendly programming. There were no arrests in the Town Centre and police reported a definite shift in behavioural attitudes away from violence and unrest seen in previous years.

2. A new year’s morning event

Outcome: First Sun

The BCC employed 7 practitioners in the Health and Wellness sector to devise and present the First Sun Program. This event showcased the skills of local well-known and highly respected practitioners in their chosen field and was programmed to run from 5.15 -9.00am.

The proposed program highlights included:

-        Crystal bowls & visualisation for the New Year with Katie Connolly
-        Silent Meditation
-        Sunrise Sound Shower with Avishai
-        QiGong with Shirsha Marie
-        Yoga with Claire Evans
-        Tibetan Prayer Flag creation

Unfortunately due to wet weather the event had to be moved to the Community Centre, the weather obviously largely affected the predicted numbers for the event. First Sun NYD embraced what tourists and locals expect of Byron. Healthiness, spirituality and a new age vision of the world. In better weather conditions the BCC believe the attendance will grow considerably and attract not only the local community but those from out of town, creating positive impacts for local business.

3. A youth event

Outcome:

The Youth Event was amalgamated into the Soul Street event in. The youth engagement component of the Soul Street program targeted the 11-25 demographic by programming age appropriate acts (listed below) and proved to be an effective way to cater for this important part of the family demographic.

Youth activities included:

- Tommy Franklin holding on-mass dancing classes and conga lines

- Silent disco with 3 separate 3 DJs channels

- laneway activation to create ‘mock’ nightclub with spectral light dancers

- Art Classes

- Buskers playing Triple Js top 100 songs on every corner

- Street beatboxer/rapper sessions

- Pitts Family Circus

4. An event for 18 – 40+ (outside the town centre)

Outcome: Falls Festival Partnership

Falls Festival and Council continued to collaborate and strengthen their partnership in 2014. Falls Festival continued their support of the NYE events contributing $17,500 in sponsorship to Soul Street and volunteering on the Safe Summer in the Bay Committee. It is believed that Falls Festival did contribute to a positive overall result in providing an alternative destination for people to attend over the NYE period.

5. Policing support

A number of activities were undertaken to support police in their efforts over the New Year period:

· Lighting was improved in Denning Park (east of the surf club) with the installation of a additional ‘event’ light (similar to existing ones on the west side of the surf club)

· Byron Greeters provided volunteers with ‘eyes’ on the ground to assist in notifying police of any potential trouble spots

· Alcohol Free Zones and alcohol prohibition regulations were established to support police with alcohol confiscation.

· Several meetings were held with Police to formulate plans (in addition to police participating in the Safe Summer in the Bay PRG).

· A complete waste management plan was developed, including five alcohol confiscation bins to meet the police requirements (type of bins, locations and pick ups), including clear signage on the bins (refer image below)

· Bay St and the top of Middleton St were closed to parking on police request to reduce people having easy access to alcohol from their cars.

In addition, Police pledged to establish an ‘emergency services’ hub (including the police bus and ambulance) on Bay St adjacent to Denning Park east of the surf club. Police had well formulated plans for the period and shared those with the Safe Summer in the Bay PRG.

Outcome:

· No arrests were made on New Year’s Eve

· The police bus wasn’t available and ambulance did not attend. Police did park a Police vehicle in the ‘emergency services’ hub location but it was not present beyond 10pm on 31 December.

· Police provide feedback at the Safe Summer in the Bay debrief meeting which is copied in to the report below under ‘stakeholder feedback’.

6. Alcohol minimisation campaign

To assist with the calming messages around New Year, extensive effort was made to connect with key businesses and business groups in Byron Bay prior to the peak summer period to extend the ‘alcohol minimisation’ message as much as possible, using the resources developed in 2013 – which includes a hip hop video written and produced locally and posters. A draft ‘code of conduct’ was provided to businesses with suggestions about encouraging positive behaviour (using ‘Byron – Don’t Spoil Us, We’ll Spoil You’) and raising awareness about some of the community’s core values around behaviour and rules about alcohol (eg no drinking on the streets allowed).

Outcome:

The following is a list of achievements around the alcohol minimisation campaign:

· Met with Byron United, Byron Bay Liquor Accord, Backpackers Organisation of Australia (Byron Bay Chapter), Australian Resident Accommodation Manager’s Association (ARAMA – Byron Bay Chapter), SAE College and the two English Language Schools.

· In addition, information was distributed via the two visitor centres, other Shire Chambers of Commerce and the Holiday Let Organisation.

· Police (school liaison officer) incorporated the video and key alcohol minimisation messages into their school liaison sessions they regularly undertake with Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 at local schools. The Richmond Area Command area also agreed to do this (covering Lismore, Ballina etc). Police also agreed to deliver the messages as part of their involvement in Responsible Service of Alcohol training with Year 12’s.

· Reminders to share the video on facebook and other social media platforms were circulated close to New Year.

· Broadcasting the advertisements made from the video (30 seconds and 15 seconds) as Community Service Announcements was successfully negotiated with Prime 7 and NBN television and BayFM (radio).

· Paid advertising with Flush Media provided posters in 25 venues throughout Byron Bay, Ballina and Lismore. In addition, the full-length video and/or the 30 second community service announcement was shown before every film at The Pighouse Flicks throughout December and January.

· Additional signage was provided to support the regulatory ‘alcohol free zone’ signage throughout the Byron Bay CBD, including some Variable Message Boards. Messages included: ‘alcohol confiscated in CBD’ and ‘no fireworks’.

· Key messages around alcohol were included in the media/ PR campaign (refer below).

7. Team of volunteers

The volunteer policy was adopted in December 2014 and a large recruitment campaign was enacted. The recruitment drive included meetings with the following institutions: TAFE, TURSA, Lions, Rotary, Byron United, NORTEC, Volunteer Resource Centre and Envite. Presentations were made at Mullumbimby and Byron Bay High Schools and other high schools were sent information and followed up. In addition, a branded recruitment table was set up at several Byron Farmer’s Markets, the Mullumbimby and Bangalow Show’s and the Volunteer Expo held by the Byron Community Centre in September. Three ‘information night’s’ were held in partnership with the Byron Visitor Centre to talk with potential volunteers.

Outcome:

The volunteer database now consists of approximately 50 people with interest spread across a number of programs, with 30 specifically interested in the Byron Greeters Program. Unfortunately only 7 volunteers were available to work during the New Year period. This has been a lesson learned from the past two years now – volunteers are extremely difficult to recruit to work during this peak summer period. In addition to the Park and Ride Greeters working New Year’s Eve, two Greeters worked during the Soul St NYE event undertaking survey work, being ‘eyes on the ground’ and helping the general public with their enquiries and promotion of the ‘Don’t Spoil Us, We’ll Spoil You’ message.

An information/ induction night was held on the Thursday 18^th December at the BRSCC to train volunteers for Park and Ride and NYE and included presentations from council staff and Police. A volunteer thankyou function will be held on 10 February 2015.

8. Coordinated sponsorship/fundraising program

This strategy had two focus areas; i) raising funds to support the delivery of the Soul Street event and meet a shortfall of $20,000 within the event budget and ii) attracting sponsorship from local businesses and corporate stakeholders toward the overall cost of the NYE program (with a target of $50,000 set).

The Safe Summer in Bay Committee and the Byron Community Centre actively pursued local businesses and industry sector groups (eg; liquor accord, Chamber of Commerce) for financial support towards the NYE Soul Street event.

A grant application to Destination NSW for event assistance was developed to attract funds towards the First Sun event.

The Economic Development & Tourism team developed a broader partnerships program called ‘Making Things Happen’ with the aim to provide a platform for attracting financial and in-kind partnerships towards a range of Council initiatives to provide community outcomes. This is a longer term strategic program and is integrated across a range of initiatives including Park & Ride, laneway activation projects, youth employment creation, Byron Greeters and volunteer programs.

Outcome:

The Safe Summer in the Bay Committee and the Byron Community Centre attracted $12,074 from a range of local businesses and $5,000 from Byron Bay Liquor Accord. An additional $17,500 was also contributed by Falls Festival organisers towards the Soul Street Event.

Unfortunately the Destination NSW grant application was not successful for First Sun however future attempts will be undertaken.

A prospectus style document and presentation was developed for Making Things Happen and a number of corporate stakeholders have shown interest in partnering with Council and the Community. Local businesses and corporate organisations were approached including; Bunning’s, RACQ/NRMA and Lend Lease. At a local business level we can confirm ‘In the Pink’, a main street business, has contributed $2,000 to the program and the NYE 2014 Plan, with follow up meetings and correspondence with potential corporate supporters continuing.

9. Establish a Project Reference Group (PRG)

Council established the Safe Summer in the Bay Project Reference Group (14-300) at the 12 June 2014 ordinary meeting. The members included the following representatives: two councillors (Richardson & Wanchap with Dey & Ibrahim as alternates), Police, Byron Bay Liquor Accord, Byron United, Arts Northern Rivers and Byron Community Centre. Two community representatives were included for the PRG, however there were no nominations received (this was reported to Council 18 September 2014 ordinary meeting (14-433)).

Outcome

The PRG met on the following dates:

· 22 August

· 26 September

· 24 October

· 14 November, and

· 4 December

· 4 February 2015 (debrief meeting)

The minutes of all meetings were reported to Council, with the exception of the 4 December meeting which failed to reach quorum. The minutes of the 4 February 2015 debrief meeting are attached to this report.

In an attempt to broaden the arts and cultural showcasing of Byron Shire during the peak holiday season, a ‘call for expressions of interest to cross-promote events being managed by third parties’ was advertised, however there were no expressions of interest received.

10. Council NYE Program

a. Provide a point of contact for event managers and other stakeholders

Outcome

In 2014 the Economic Development team provided the Byron Community Centre (BCC) with increased support across a wide range of areas such as; event management, council liaison, DA management and Media and Communications. Two new positions in the Economic Development and Tourism team, both with extensive event experience, allowed Council staff to provide on-going and targeted support to the BCC.

Assistance to the Byron Community Centre (BCC) was provided in writing the DA for the event, putting together all the documents required for submission and assessment, and the DA fees were waived by Council. A 5-year DA was submitted and approved.

Letters of Council’s plans regarding traffic, Park and Ride and SEPA were provided to all emergency services, all local and interstate coach/ transport operators. Two flyers about plans around the New Year were developed and provided to all Byron Bay CBD businesses (volunteers delivered by hand) and also used in the media/ PR campaign.

All of the above support has resulted in a strengthened relationship with the BCC and had a direct positive impact on the success of the 2014 events. Council looks forward to continuing to build on this relationship in 2015. A copy of the BCC Acquittal Report can be seen in the attachments to this report.

In addition, the Community Development team managed the overarching areas of NYE, liaised with key stakeholder organisations represented on the PRG committee and specifically the Police, emergency services, road closures, and during the implementation of the alcohol minimisation campaign. Many requests for information were received from the community by phone, email, with visits to Council offices and during meetings or functions where Council staff were in attendance.

b. Communications and media

The communication strategy for New Years Eve had three communication objectives:

A. To discourage ‘party revellers’ who are not attending a ticketed event.

B. To inform locals and visiting holiday makers of family friendly events.

C. Keep internal and external stakeholders informed of the Safe Summer in the Bay program.

Concurrently, there was also the need to communicate about the Special Event Park Areas (SEPA) and Park and Ride. As a result, to help minimise communication costs and increase the reach of key messages, where possible the costs and buying power was spread over the three key issues and consequently savings were achieved.

Prior to the commencement of the communication plan, it was identified that there was potentially two conflicting messages to target two audience groups which had the potential to create confusion.

External to Byron Shire Don’t come / No fireworks / Strong police presence and zero tolerance on street drinking

Internal to Byron Shire Family friendly event Soul Street NYE in Jonson Street and First Sun event.

As a result, messages within promotional tools were separated depending on ‘where’ they would be read or heard.

Communication avenues included:

· Internal and external stakeholder briefings

· Media releases

· E-news mailouts

· Byron Shire Council website

· Stalls at Farmers’ Markets

· Local newspaper advertising (additional comments below)

· Radio advertising and interviews (additional comments below)

· Social media (see Facebook comments below)

· Public Notice advertising

· Updates to businesses and residents within Byron Bay town centre

Local newspaper advertising:

· Byron Shire News - 4 x half page adverts in December featuring recruitment for Greeters, Special Event Parking, Park and Ride and New Years Eve.

· Byron Shire Echo – 2 full page adverts in last two weeks of December

Radio advertising

· Bay FM – Primary message family friendly Soul Street, First Sun, No Fireworks and behave responsibly.

· SeaFM (Gold Coast) – Primary message - tough parking, crack down on street drinking and violence, no camping and no fireworks. Secondary message – if you are coming use Park and Ride.

· ZZZ2LM – Primary message - tough parking, crack down on street drinking and violence, no camping and no fireworks. Secondary message – if you are coming use Park and Ride.

New Year’s Eve – paid Facebook advertising

Objective – to reach as many people as possible from Brisbane to Casino.

Primary message - tough parking, crack down on street drinking and violence, no camping and no fireworks. Secondary message – if you are coming use Park and Ride.

As can be seen by the figures above, Facebook advertising had strong reach and frequency and for the cost, should be considered a key inclusion for 2015 to help target the potential New Year’s Eve ‘night trippers’.

Results from the New Year’s Eve visitor survey showed that 48% had heard about Soul Street via local newspapers, 22% word of mouth and 17% social media.

c. Traffic, compliance, waste and infrastructure services management

The following work was undertaken and measures put in place:

· A risk management plan was devised and refined by negotiation with Council’s insurers.

· Compliance teams were briefed and deployed according to highest need areas. No buskers in Apex Park was enforced to assist in the dispersal of crowds.

· Additional surf life saving services are now incorporated into Council’s contract for Surf Life Saving.

· Lighting – all existing street lighting was checked to ensure it was working, event lights were in place and turned on near Apex Park and (5) ‘daymakers’ were ordered for key dark spots.

· Both Railway Park and Apex Park were prepared for the peak season in terms of grass trimming, pruning and a dirt carpark at the back of the shops on Jonson St was prepared.

· A comprehensive Waste Management Plan was prepared in conjunction with the Police and the event organisers resulting in additional bin placement throughout the event areas, alcohol confiscation bins and an extra pick up during New Year’s Eve.

· Additional toilets were in place – 10 in Apex Park and 20 located near the Railway Park public amenities. Additional toilet cleaning was scheduled during the peak event times.

· A traffic management plan was prepared and implemented including: closure of parking in Bay St and the top of Middleton St, Jonson St closed from 1pm 31/12/14 to 7am 1/1/15, stallholder parking provided in Lawson St South carpark with stop/go controllers at the entrance, and temporarily moving the taxi rank to further down Jonson St for the duration of the road closure.

· Extensive clean up was undertaken in the early hours of 1 January despite the heavy rain.

Stakeholder Feedback

Please note the Safe Summer in the Bay committee and stakeholder feedback provided in the minutes of the debrief meeting held on 4 February 2015 as attached. Some of the recommendations from committee members include:

· Close Jonson St to parking near the Community Centre and Railway Park at 12noon, with the rest of the street closure remaining at 1pm.

· Include event organisers in staff and/or committee meetings, especially later in the year.

· Consider possible transport issues in getting people out of town after 10pm.

· Improve communication around the DA process and compliance.

· Start early with a strategy to program to fit with possible art grant funding.

· Falls Festival shuttle buses should be encouraged to use a different bus stop than the Main Bus Stop during New Year’s Eve; and to have their shuttle buses go on to Suffolk Park with pick up provided in town to assist with the dispersal of people late at night.

· Develop the volunteers program further to ensure there are enough volunteers to assist on the night.

· Start sponsorship and fundraising much earlier this year with a view to have budgets confirmed by August/ September.

· Sponsorship and fundraising needs a further discussion by the committee.

· The committee has the right people on it and should continue.

· Communications and media worked well this year.

· There are some small improvements in the delivery of infrastructure which can be implemented at the staff level.

Additional feedback is provided below:

Byron Bay Hospital

North Coast Area Health Service have advised the following data for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day presentations to the emergency department at Byron Bay Hospital:

Comparison numbers are as follows

Year	New Year’s Eve (31/12)	New Year’s Day (1/1)
2012/13	61	103
2013/14	54	85
2014/15	64	89

Police – as reported to the Safe Summer in the Bay PRG:

· Amount of alcohol confiscated was down this year

· For next year, the alcohol prohibition laws have changed and can’t confiscate closed alcohol on the streets any more (only in parks and reserves).

· No parking in Bay St worked well, although would like to extend this next year to Main Beach car park.

· Thought the media campaign was excellent and seemed to have some impact on the numbers being down.

· Whilst there were no arrests, there were 5 detained for alcohol intoxication, 1 detained for failing to ‘move on’ and 1 for malicious damage.

· Across the state New Year’s Eve was a quiet night.

· The emergency hub didn’t happen. Ambulance decided to stay at their station rather than place themselves in town and the big Police bus was required in Sydney.

· Apex Park was empty at 2.30am.

· Belongil Fields was an issue again with overcrowding.

· Police started confiscating alcohol from 1pm and there were many police rostered on the beat throughout the night.

Byron Bay Taxi’s – felt that it was still difficult to find out where the taxi rank had moved to on New Year’s Eve and have requested improved signage for next year, although there was no reported downturn in business on the night.

RMS – no comments or feedback received from the field (reported by RMS contact).

Byron United reported in their newsletter -

Byron United has just run a member survey to get feedback on the summer season for Byron businesses. This gives us an up to date snapshot from real people running a broad spectrum of businesses in Byron today.

Over 80% of those surveyed reported that business was marginally up or just as good as last year.

Congestion into Byron is always a big issue and this season was no different - this was the biggest complaint. Park and Ride, although a great idea, without a dedicated bus lane from Ewingsdale Road, most of those surveyed said their customers didn't use it. A few suggestions were; the introduction of long stay paid parking at Butler Street Reserve, the reinstating of 30 odd lost carparks in the CBD, changing the location where pedestrians cross between the two roundabouts on Lawson street to a single midway location along Jonson St including a mid safety island.

Soul Street, Byron's family friendly event proved to be a success with many families coming out to enjoy the festivities. Businesses gave positive feedback that the event succeeded in attracting family tourists rather than the younger party crowds and although a large portion of Jonson Street was closed it didn't impact negatively on their businesses.

Rangers and Staff

· A solution to the bins overflowing at the end of the night is to have several replacement bins as back up and use these when to replace those bins that are full. This option would be cheaper and easier to organise than having Solo Waste come during the event to empty bins. Note Solo Waste could only do a waste pick up at the latest time of 7pm, which was too early in the night to have much impact on the waste at the event later in the night.

· The waste volume was less than 2013 and significantly less than in 2012 as reported in Council’s media release distributed early January: “While the load coming into the station from across the Shire came in at 7.5 tonnes, overall the town was much cleaner. “A representative from Council’s waste collection contractor advised that this year has been the best that he has seen in the last 20 years in the Byron Shire. 7.5 tonnes sounds like a lot, but when you consider that on New Year 2011/12 there was 15.5 tonnes and it was 48 hours before it was clean, you can see that’s less than half the total waste.

· Clean up of the rubbish in town was much quicker and if next year is similar, both less staff and less hours will be required.

· Council issued $161,397 in fines for a range of offences including illegal parking, illegal camping, obstruction, and consuming alcohol in prohibited areas. This includes a reduction in parking fines due to the shorter duration of the Special Event Parking Area, i.e. fewer days of operation.

· Camping figures appeared to be down this year.

· Temporary lights were provided at key points around Byron Bay CBD, however staff recommend a permanent light is provided over the pedestrian crossing over the railway line between Butler St and Jonson St.

· To assist with the celebratory atmosphere of Soul St, and indeed the whole ‘safe summer’ season, festooning or creative lighting could be placed around town for the summer period. Perhaps there is scope for a separate project to ‘Light Up Byron Bay’ working with businesses and schools to dress up the town.

· With the Jonson St road closure, there was again slow traffic moving through the Byron Bay CBD (although no-where near the chaos of 2013). Pedestrian management remains a key issue through the busy Christmas/ New Year period.

Financial Implications

Council adopted the budget for New Year’s Eve along with the Plan for New Year in Byron Bay 2014 (14-300). The budget vs actual is shown in the table below, as known at month end January 2015.

Strategy #	Item	Council Dept	Budget	Actual	Variance
1 2 4	Soul St NYE Youth Event First Sun NYD	Economic Development & Tourism	$25,000	$25,000	0
5	Policing Support	Included under Strategy 10	Nil	Nil	0
6	Alcohol minimisation campaign	Community Development	$5,000	$3,365	($1,635)
7	Team of Volunteers (Development & Coordination, Byron Greeters)	Economic Development & Tourism	$5,000	$4,682	($318)
8	Sponsorship/ fundraising	Economic Development & Tourism	Nil	Nil
9	Project Reference Group	Community Development	Nil	$798	+$798 Advertising costs – call for nominations to PRG, call for event organisers & call for third party events for cross-promotion
10	Council Support a) Stakeholder management b) Communications and media c) Traffic, compliance, waste and infrastructure provision	Community Development General Manager Infrastructure Services	Nil $15,000 $46,000	Nil $8,382 $46,234	($6,618) +$234
Totals			$96,000	$88,461	Savings: $7,539

At a local business level Council acknowledges a contribution from ‘In the Pink’, a main street business in Byron Bay, of $2,000 to the program.

It is recommended that Council in the preparation and development of the 2015/16 Budget and Long Term Financial Plan, consider the provision of a budget of $400,000 over the next four years ($100,000 per year) to coincide with the DA approval for Soul Street operations by the Byron Community Centre. The additional funding requested will as a minimum cover the regulatory and assessment charges required by Council and the approval of the event.

The Forecast budget allocation for next four years:

Strategy #	Item	Council Dept	Budget
1 3	Soul St NYE, incl Youth Activities First Sun NYD	Economic Development & Tourism	$25,000
4	Policing Support	Included under Strategy 10	Nil
5	Alcohol minimisation campaign	Community Development	$5,000
6	Volunteers and student program	Economic Development & Tourism	$5,000
7	Sponsorship/ fundraising	Economic Development & Tourism	$5,000
8	Project Reference Group	Community Development	Nil
9	Council Support a) Stakeholder management b) Communications and media c) Traffic, compliance, waste and infrastructure provision	Community Development General Manager Infrastructure Services	Nil $15,000 $45,000
Totals			$100,000

The above table represents the forecast yearly budget for the 4 year period – there will be a need to assess the outcomes of the strategies annually so the allocation to each strategy may vary from year to year.

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

Plan for New Year in Byron Bay 2014 (adopted by Council 14-300)

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.5 - Attachment 4

Text Box:

UNCONFIRMED
REPORT OF THE SAFE SUMMER IN THE BAY PROJECT REFERENCE GROUP MEETING

Date of Meeting:		Wednesday 4 February 2015
Time Commenced:		2.04pm
PRESENT:	Councillors:		Cr Simon Richardson, Cr Duncan Dey
	Community Representatives:		There are no community representatives.
	Invited Representatives: Guests		Paul Spooner (Byron Community Centre), Greg Jago (Police), Peter Wood (Arts Northern Rivers), Hannah Spalding (Byron Bay Liquor Accord), Michael O’Grady & Adrian Nelson (Byron United) Mouche Phillips & Tess Cullen (Byron Community Centre)
	Staff:		Greg Ironfield (Manager Community Development), Joanne McMurtry (Community Policy Officer), Claire McGarry (Events and Grants Support Officer), Donna Johnston (Media Liaison Officer), Jane Laverty (Economic Development & Tourism Coordinator), Marisa Snow (Project Officer ED & Tourism).

1. APOLOGIES:	There were no apologies received.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS:	Paul Spooner (Byron Community Centre) reinforced previous declaration that he was in attendance as Community Centre Manager not Councillor, and that the Byron Community Centre were selected through the EOI to run the operations of Soul Street NYE and First Sun NYD.

3. CONFIRMATION OF A QUORUM:	There are 7 members appointed to this group (not including staff). Quorum numbers are met.
4. confirmation of minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2014 were adopted. (Richardson/ Spooner)
5. DEBRIEF/ FEEDBACK ON STRATEGIES

The Mayor thanked the committee for overseeing a very successful New Year’s Eve. Comments and feedback was provided by all present in an ‘around the table’ fashion and have been provided below under the relevant strategy.

Strategies 1, 2 and 4 – Soul St NYE, Youth Event and First Sun NYD

· Soul St the change in site plan worked well (with the stage on the road instead of in the park) and the programming was great.

· Mayor was inundated with positive comments from the community.

· Street festoon lighting and street dressing – event organisers would have liked more but due to budgetary constraints were not able to include.

· Set up time was tight for Soul St with street closing at 1pm and many parked cars well overstaying the 1 hour parking limit. Couldn’t set up some parts of the event until the cars were moved. Perhaps close the street at 12noon and perhaps stage the street closure with parking closed first.

· Would have been good as an event organiser to be included in the infrastructure meetings with council staff from November onwards.

· There is no power available at the northern end of the road closure area in Jonson St which makes it very difficult to program activities that end of the street.

· Buskers that were programmed at the northern end of the event were very popular.

· Surprisingly, young families stayed late (some toddlers and young children were noted dancing to the rapper on at 10.30pm).

· Silent disco was very popular, as was the ‘Spectral Boogie’ (neon lights in the Surf Alley laneway with dance music) which was provided as a youth activity

· At about 11.30pm there was an obvious flow of people walking up to the beach front, and then a flow back down Jonson St (through the event) at about 12.30pm.

· The event finish time of approximately 1.30am worked well, keeping people that were still on the streets happily listening to music.

· Was some concern with ‘sound bleed’ between the two stages in Soul St, but the only evident sound bleed was from The Rails and the main stage for a short part of the early evening (this may have been during The Rails sound check).

· There is a possible transport issue with Park and Ride finishing at 10pm and concern raised that there were a lot of people in town after that time and how were they going to get home?

· Parking worked well for stallholders (although 2 were given parking tickets – which is being followed up by staff).

· There was some miscommunication around the DA for Soul St NYE which had already been identified by staff and a solution is being devised.

· There is room to grown the youth activities.

· First Sun unfortunately was totally rained out. Although 50 people turned up and were moved to the Community Centre for an indoor meditation etc.

· Consider undertaking a street art installation next year – this may assist attracting grant funds for the event and will provide more participation activities.

Strategy 3 – Falls Festival

· Falls shuttle buses made the main bus stop extremely busy early in the night of Soul St NYE, with buses having to do three-point-turns from the bus stop back out onto Marvel St. The bus ‘spotter’ and the bus drivers were very unhappy about this as there were many pedestrians walking in the middle of the road (that was closed) through the buses doing the turns.

· Perhaps next year Falls buses bringing patrons back after Falls could do a pick up in town and continue on to Suffolk Park, providing a transport option to get people out of town in the early hours of the morning.

· Falls Festival is considered a crucial part of the overall strategy.

Strategy 5 – Policing

· There was some concern raised about the lack of police on Soul St between 10 - 11.30pm.

· Most noted the good work of the police with alcohol confiscation this year – notably an improvement on past years.

· Police reported:

o Amount of alcohol confiscated was down this year

o For next year, the alcohol prohibition laws have changed and can’t confiscate closed alcohol on the streets any more (only in parks and reserves).

o No parking in Bay St worked well, although would like to extend this next year to Main Beach car park.

o Thought the media campaign was excellent and seemed to have some impact on the numbers being down.

o Whilst there were no arrests, there were 5 detained for alcohol intoxication, 1 detained for failing to ‘move on’ and 1 for malicious damage.

o Across the state New Year’s Eve was a quiet night.

o The emergency hub didn’t happen. Ambulance decided to stay at their station rather than place themselves in town and the big Police bus was required in Sydney.

o Apex Park was empty at 2.30am.

o Belongil Fields was an issue again with overcrowding.

o Police started confiscating alcohol from 1pm and there were many police rostered on the beat throughout the night.

Strategy 6 – Alcohol minimisation campaign

· No specific comments were received about this campaign however all felt the media mix was ‘right’ this year.

Strategy 7 – Volunteers (Byron Greeters)

· Unfortunately it was very difficult to obtain commitment from volunteers to work the week of Park and Ride and for New Year’s Eve. Whilst we have over thirty volunteers on the database of Byron Greeters, less than 10 were able to volunteer during this peak time.

· There may be an opportunity to partner with both Southern Cross University and TAFE to obtain students for these projects by providing key experience and a pathway to employment.

Strategy 8 – Sponsorship/ fundraising

· Event organisers stated that the main issue around organising the events was the lack of budget, and not having budgets confirmed early enough to book acts. It was very time consuming chasing sponsorship and it is something that needs to be thought through carefully for next year.

· Definitely need to strategise the funding and sponsorship side of the equation much earlier this year. Perhaps consider an third event during the year to raise money for Soul St and First Sun.

· There is a possibility of applying for arts based grants but need a program that will fit the funding guidelines. Need to start working on this NOW.

· It appears that the Safe Summer in the Bay strategies would fit with the NSW Attorney General’s Dept goals.

· Perhaps also a consideration of a Special Rate on businesses.

· Perhaps using Butler Street Reserve for paid parking throughout summer could raise some funds to go towards these types of activities.

· It needs to be noted that any funds raised for Safe Summer in the Bay were to go towards offsetting Council costs for New Year’s Eve. The event organisers were responsible for raising their own funds towards the events.

· Perhaps consider a well-run raffle as a fundraiser.

Strategy 9 – Safe Summer in the Bay PRG

· The last two years have shown that we have the right people involved and sitting around the table.

· It was identified several times that an earlier start to planning was needed and this year provides the opportunity for that.

· The Liquor Accord members reported a quiet New Year’s Eve.

· Would like to keep the same committee members for this year, with perhaps a couple of creative industry representatives.

· Need to start meeting earlier this year.

Strategy 10b – Communications and media

· The double messaging was tricky (eg no alcohol, parking restrictions and no fireworks, vs welcoming locals to the town centre for a celebration) but seemed to work this year.

· The paid facebook advertising was very effective (1.8 million hits going to over 300,000 households)

· The Gold Coast and ZZZ advertising was very effective.

· Word of mouth about the events showed an increase.

· Mostly very positive media post the events.

Strategy 10c – Infrastructure

· Waste collection needs to be tweaked as some bins in Soul St were noticeably overflowing around 8 -9pm.

· Need to ascertain the best place to leave the full bins at the end of the night, ready for pick up early in the morning.

· Council was thanked for installing extra powerpoints at both the Clock Tower in Byron St and in Railway Park, however more is needed. Power is an absolute necessity in public spaces if events are to be run and this is something that has not been strategically thought through before (and hopefully can be included in the Masterplanning process – including festive lighting for events).

Hannah Spalding and Paul Spooner left at 4pm.

8. date and time of next meeting:		TBC
Time Meeting Closed:	4.30pm

Date Report Confirmed:

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.7 - Attachment 1

Table of Contents

1. Preamble. 2

2. Objectives. 2

3. Timeframe for Group. 2

4. Membership. 2

5. Chairperson. 2

6. Quorum.. 2

7. Confidentiality. 3

8. Convenor/Facilitator 3

9. Voting. 3

10. Majority Decision. 3

11. Convening Meetings. 3

12. Reporting. 3

13. Meetings Open to the Public. 3

14. Invited Guests. 3

15. Audio Taping of Meetings. 4

16. Vacation of Office. 4

17. Publicity. 4

18. Records of meetings (agenda and reports) 4

19. Section 377 Delegation. 4

20. Miscellaneous. 5

1.1.
Preamble

The Public Art Assessment Panel (PAAP) is a group of people formed to make decisions about Public Art projects in Byron Shire. A new panel will be chosen for each project and will be determined by the nature and requirements of the project. The panel will consist of Councillors, Council staff, members from the art community, interested community representatives and specialists/industry professionals or contractors.

2.2. Objectives

The purpose of the PAAP is to review and provide objective independent recommendations to Council in relation to Public Art Projects including aesthetic issues, value for money, safety, possibility of theft, maintenance required etc and to ensure the Public Art Guidelines and Assessment Criteria have been applied consistently and equitably for all applications.

3.3. Timeframe for Group

The PAAP will be elected for the term of Council.

4.4. Membership

Membership is to include 8 members:

·· 2 Councillors

·· 3 members invited from:

oo Bundjalung of Byron Bay Aboriginal Corporation (Arakwal)

oo Arts Northern Rivers

oo Practising Artists Network

· 4 community representatives as follows:

oo 2 community artists

oo 2 community representative

·· Applicable Council staff*, including Community Policy Officer

* Staff members participating on the working group do not have any voting entitlements.

Each member of the Public Art Assessment Panel will have a corresponding alternate. Members will be appointed by the Strategic Planning Committee or Council. (Resolution 10-830). Membership amended (resolution 13-196).

5.5. Chairperson

The chairperson will be elected from the Councillors in the PAAP.

6.6. Quorum

A quorum is to constitute at least half the number of members, i.e. 4 members.

* Staff members are not counted as part of a quorum.

7.7. Confidentiality

Members of the PAAP, in those circumstances where confidential matters are subject to deliberation, must maintain confidentiality.

8.8. Convenor/Facilitator

The Convenor/Facilitator of the PAAP in most cases will be the staff member unless otherwise decided by the Council or the Strategic Planning Committee.

9.9. Voting

Each member of the Group (with the exception of the staff members) is to have one vote. If the vote is tied on any particular matter it will be referred to the Strategic Planning Committee for determination.

~~10.~~10. Majority Decision

A majority decision must be reached. A majority decision comprises a majority of the invited representative members present. Voting on any item is subject to the requirements of a quorum being met at the meeting.

~~11.~~11. Convening Meetings

The PAAP will meet bimonthly, or more often as a project requires, to make decisions and develop strategies to ensure successful completion of the project.

~~12.~~12. Reporting

The PAAP reports to Council or the Strategic Planning Committee.

~~13.~~13. Meetings Open to the Public

The meetings will not be open to the public.

~~14.~~14. Invited Guests

The PAAP Convenor may request to seek further expertise and/or community consultation as agreed to by the Group and if necessary arrange attendance of a person providing the expertise at a PAAP meeting, for example a Council member with expertise in Community Services, Tourism, Community Infrastructure, Finances or Environment and Land Use. Any request for information to be at no cost to Council unless a budget is allocated by Council and the expenditure has been authorised in writing by staff with requisite delegations.

~~15.~~15. Audio Taping of Meetings

This will not be required unless otherwise decided by the Council or the Strategic Planning Committee.

~~16.~~16. Vacation of Office

Any PAAP member wishing to resign from the group shall do so in writing.

Invited Members: If an invited member of the Group who represents an organisation resigns, an invitation to the organisation for an alternate delegate will be requested. If no alternate delegate is nominated by the organisation then that position will become redundant.

Community Members: If a community member resigns and if more than half of the timeframe to complete the PAAP’s objectives still exists and an alternate delegate has been resolved by Council then that person appointed by Council as an alternate delegate will then be appointed as the new community member. If no alternate delegate has been appointed by Council or the alternate delegate declines to accept the vacant position then that position will become redundant.

~~17.~~17. Publicity

PAAP members unless authorised by Council are not to promote or advertise the group’s activities.

~~18.~~18. Records of meetings (agenda and reports)

a)a) The Convenor/Facilitator of the Group will prepare the Agenda, Progress Reports and Action lists of the Group’s meetings formatted in accordance with Council’s templates.

b)b) The reports of the Group’s meetings are to be reported to Council or the Strategic Planning Committee when required.

c)c) If the time frame allocated to complete the objective(s) is 6 months or more the Group is to provide a progress report quarterly to Council or the Strategic Planning Committee on its progress.

d)d) At the end of the Group’s term a final status report will be presented to Council or the Strategic Planning Committee on the outcomes of the objective.

~~19.~~19. Section 377 Delegation

The PAAP does not have any delegated functions pursuant to section 377 of the Local Government Act (1993) and does not have the power to direct staff.

~~20.~~20. Miscellaneous

Insurance: All group members are covered by the public liability policy of Council insofar as they are acting in their capacity as a group member, within the scope of the PAAP’s Terms of Reference and in accordance with the Code of Conduct and statutory obligations. This insurance does not preclude the working group from due diligence and all Council policies must be adhered to.

Code of Conduct: All group members to abide by Council’s adopted Code of Conduct at all times.

Pecuniary Interest: Pecuniary Interest may be defined as an interest that a person has in a matter, as a group member or employee of a company or other body, because of a reasonable likelihood or expectation of appreciable financial gain or loss to the person, or another person with whom the person is associated. Such other person includes the spouse or de-facto partner or relative of the group member.

Section 446 of the Local Government Act states that:

“a member of a council committee, other than a committee that is wholly advisory, must disclose pecuniary interests..”

Even though the Local Government Act provides an exemption to disclose pecuniary interests Council’s preference is for all members to declare pecuniary interests where applicable.

Privacy: All group members are to abide by Council’s Privacy Management Plan (see http://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/publications?P ) relating to their access to personal information.

Meeting Practice: If any other issue arises regarding meeting practice not covered under this constitution, it be referred to the General Manager or delegate or if required Council for a determination to be made.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.8

Report No. 13.8 Investments - January 2015

Directorate: Corporate and Community Services

Report Author: James Brickley, Manager Finance

File No: I2015/38

Theme: Corporate Management

Financial Services

Summary:

This report includes a list of investments and identifies Council’s overall cash position as at 31 January 2015 for Council’s information.

This report is prepared to comply with Regulation 212 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report listing Council’s investments and overall cash position as at 31 January 2015 be noted.

Report

In relation to the investment portfolio for January 2015, Council has continued to maintain a diversified portfolio of investments The average 90 day bank bill rate (BBSW) for the month of January was 2.70%. Council’s performance for the month of January is a weighted average of 3.35%. This performance is again higher than the assumed benchmark. This is largely due to the active ongoing management of the investment portfolio, maximising investment returns through secure term deposits. Council’s investment portfolio should continue to out-perform the benchmark as the capital protected investment earning 0% interest nears maturity.

There is now only one capital protected investment held by Council which is fully allocated to an underlying zero coupon bond. This investment is the Emu Note which will mature in October 2015.

The table below identifies the investments held by Council as at 31 January 2015:

Schedule of Investments held as at 31 January 2015

Purch Date	Principal ($)	Description	CP*	Rating	Maturity Date	Type	Interest Rate Per Annum	Current Value
26/09/05	1,500,000	EMU NOTES	CP	AAA-	25/10/15	MFD	0.00%*	1,461,150.00
20/06/12	500,000	HERITAGE BANK LTD BONDS	N	BBB+	20/06/17	B	7.25%	530,000.00
3/11/14	2,000,000	SUNCORP	P	A+	02/02/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
12/01/15	1,000,000	MACQUARIE BANK	P	A	13/04/15	TD	3.35%	1,000,000.00
08/12/14	2,000,000	NEWCASTLE PERMANENT	N	NR	09/03/15	TD	3.35%	2,000,000.00
26/08/14	2,000,000	ING BANK (AUSTRALIA)	N	A1	23/02/15	TD	3.56%	2,000,000.00
09/12/14	2,200,000	POLICE CREDIT UNION	P	NR	08/04/15	TD	3.43%	2,200,000.00
13/01/15	2,000,000	ME BANK	N	BBB	13/04/15	TD	3.35%	2,000,000.00
07/10/14	2,000,000	BANK OF QUEENSLAND	N	A2	11/02/15	TD	3.35%	2,000,000.00
09/12/14	1,000,000	ING BANK (AUSTRALIA)	N	A1	09/06/15	TD	3.55%	1,000,000.00
05/11/14	1,000,000	AMP BANK	N	A	03/02/15	TD	3.25%	1,000,000.00
08/10/14	2,000,000	BANK OF QUEENSLAND	N	A2	05/02/15	TD	3.60%	2,000,000.00
05/01/15	1,000,000	WIDE BAY AUSTRALIA LTD	N	NR	07/04/15	TD	3.40%	1,000,000.00
08/12/14	1,000,000	WIDE BAY AUSTRALIA LTD	N	NR	09/03/15	TD	3.45%	1,000,000.00
10/12/14	2,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	10/03/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
10/11/14	2,000,000	COMMINVEST	N	AA-	10/05/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
08/12/14	2,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	09/03/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
01/12/14	2,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	03/03/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
02/09/14	2,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	02/03/15	TD	3.55%	2,000,000.00
15/12/14	2,000,000	ME BANK	N	BBB	15/03/15	TD	3.35%	2,000,000.00
09/12/14	2,000,000	BANKWEST	N	A1+	09/03/15	TD	3.45%	2,000,000.00
08/01/15	1,000,000	BANKWEST	N	A1+	08/04/15	TD	3.50%	1,000,000.00
12/11/14	1,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	12/02/15	TD	3.40%	1,000,000.00
14/11/14	1,000,000	ING BANK (AUSTRALIA)	N	A2	14/11/14	TD	3.52%	1,000,000.00
14/11/14	2,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	12/02/15	TD	3.42%	2,000,000.00
14/11/14	1,000,000	PEOPLES CHOICE CREDIT UNION	N	BBB+	12/02/15	TD	3.43%	1,000,000.00
14/11/14	1,000,000	NEWCASTLE PERMANENT	N	NR	12/02/15	TD	3.40%	1,000,000.00
14/11/14	1,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	12/02/15	TD	3.40%	1,000,000.00
14/11/14	2,000,000	NAB	N	AA-	23/02/15	TD	3.42%	2,000,000.00
01/12/14	2,000,000	PEOPLES CHOICE CREDIT UNION	N	BBB+	03/03/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
01/12/14	2,000,000	ING BANK (AUSTRALIA)	N	A2	03/06/15	TD	3.56%	2,000,000.00
02/12/14	2,000,000	CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA	N	BBB+	31/08/15	TD	3.55%	2,000,000.00
08/12/14	2,000,000	BANKWEST	N	A1+	06/02/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
09/12/14	2,000,000	SUNCORP	P	A+	08/04/15	TD	3.45%	2,000,000.00
05/01/15	2,000,000	BANKWEST	N	A1+	06/03/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
08/01/15	2,000,000	WIDE BAY AUSTRALIA LTD	BBB	NR	08/04/15	TD	3.40%	2,000,000.00
28/01/15	2,000,000	ME BANK	N	BBB	28/04/15	TD	3.35%	2,000,000.00
30/01/15	2,000,000	BANK OF QUEENSLAND	N	A2	29/05/15	TD	3.35%	2,000,000.00
N/A	1,998,058	CBA BUSINESS ONLINE SAVER	N	A	N/A	CALL	2.75%	1,998,057.54
Total	65,198,058					AVG	3.36%	65,189,207.54

It should be noted that at the time of writing this report, Council had not received a valuation for the EMU Note for January 2015. This investment is highlighted in bold in the table above with the valuation reflective from 31 December 2014, this being the most recent current valuation received by Council.

Note 1.	CP = Capital protection on maturity
	N = No Capital Protection
	Y = Fully covered by Government Guarantee
	P = Partial Government Guarantee of $250,000 (Financial Claims Scheme)

Note 2.	Type	Description

	MFD	Managed Fund	Principal varies based on fund unit. Price valuation, interest payable varies depending upon fund performance.
	TD	Term Deposit	Principal does not vary during investment term. Interest payable is fixed at the rate invested for the investment term.
	CALL	Call Account	Principal varies due to cash flow demands from deposits/withdrawals, interest is payable on the daily balance at the cash rate +0.50%

Note 3. Floating rate notes and Term Deposits can be traded on a day-to-day basis, and therefore Council is not obliged to hold the investments to the maturity dates. Managed funds operate in a similar manner to a normal bank account with amounts deposited or withdrawn on a daily basis. There is no maturity date for this type of investment.

*Note 4. The coupon on these investments is zero due to the Capital Protection mechanism working. This occurs when the investment falls below a certain level. This coupon may be paid again in the future as the market recovers.

For the month of January 2015, as indicated in the table below, there is a dissection of the investment portfolio by investment type. It illustrates the current value of investments is remains the same as December, demonstrating a cumulative unrealised loss of $8,850.00.

Dissection of Council Investment Portfolio as at 31 January 2015

Principal Value ($)	Investment Linked to:-	Current Market Value ($)	Cumulative Unrealised Gain/(Loss) ($)
61,200,000.00	Term Deposits	61,200,000.00	0.00
1,998,057.54	Business On-Line Saver (At Call)	1,998,057.54	0.00
1,500,000.00	Managed Funds	1,461,150.00	(38,850.00)
500,000.00	Bonds	530,000.00	30,000.00
65,198,057.54		65,189,207.54	(8,850.00)

The current value of an investment compared to the principal value (face value or original purchase price) provides an indication of the performance of the investment without reference to the coupon (interest) rate. The current value represents the value received if an investment was sold or traded in the current market, in addition to the interest received.

The table below provides a reconciliation of investment purchases and maturities for the period 31 December 2014 to 31 January 2015 on a current market value basis.

Movement in Investment Portfolio – 31 December 2014 to 31 January 2015

Item	Current Market Value (at end of month)
Opening Balance at 31 December 2014	66,384,750.16
Add: New Investments Purchased	13,000,000.00
Add: Call Account Additions	0.00
Add: Interest from Call Account	4,457.38
Less: Investments Matured	13,700,000.00
Less: Call Account Redemption	500,000.00
Add: Fair Value Movement for period	0.00
Closing Balance at 31 December 2014	65,189,207.54

Investments Maturities and Returns – 31 December 2014 to 31 January 2015

Principal Value ($)	Description	Type	Maturity Date	Number of Days Invested	Interest Rate Per Annum	Interest Paid on Maturity
1,000,000.00	Wide Bay Australia Ltd	TD	05/01/2015	96	3.30%	8,679.45
2,000,000.00	Rabobank	TD	05/01/2015	124	3.45%	23,441.10
1,000,000.00	ME Bank	TD	07/01/2015	91	3.40%	8,476.71
2,000,000.00	Rabobank	TD	08/01/2015	120	3.45%	22,684.93
1,000,000.00	Bankwest	TD	08/01/2015	90	3.40%	8,383.56
1,000,000.00	Macquarie Bank	TD	11/01//2015	90	3.30%	8,136.99
2,000,000.00	ME Bank	TD	12/01/2015	125	3.35%	23,079.46
2,000,000.00	Peoples Choice Credit Union	TD	27/01/215	120	3.55%	23,342.47
1,700,000.00	Police Credit Union	TD	28/01/2015	92	3.59%	15,382.90
13,700,000.00						141,607.57

The overall ‘cash position’ of Council is not only measured by what funds Council has invested but also by what funds Council has retained in its consolidated fund or bank account as well for operational purposes. In this regard, for the month of January 2015 the table below identifies the overall cash position of Council as follows:

Dissection of Council Cash Position as at 31 January 2015

Item	Principal Value ($)	Current Market Value ($)	Cumulative Unrealised Gain/(Loss) ($)
Investments Portfolio
Term Deposits	61,200,000.00	61,200,000.00	0.00
Business On-Line Saver (At Call)	1,998,057.54	1,998,057.54	0.00
Managed Funds	1,500,000.00	1,461,150.00	(38,850.00)
Bonds	500,000.00	530,000.00	30,000.00
Total Investment Portfolio	65,198,057.54	65,189,207.54	(8,850.00)

Cash at Bank
Consolidated Fund	1,797,501.45	1,797,501.45	0.00
Total Cash at Bank	1,797,501.45	1,797,501.45	0.00

Total Cash Position	66,995,558.99	66,986,708.99	(8,850.00)

Financial Implications

Council uses a diversified mix of investments to achieve short, medium and long-term results. Council’s historical strategy is to use credit/equity markets for exposure to long term growth. It should be noted that Council’s exposure to credit/equity products is capital protected when held to maturity, which ensures no matter what the market value of the product is at maturity, Council is insured against any capital loss. The investment strategy associated with long term growth is now prohibited under the current Ministerial Investment Order utilising credit/equity markets to seek investment products. However, the ‘grandfathering’ provisions of the Ministerial Investment Order provides Council can retain investments now prohibited until they mature. It should be noted that Council currently holds only one of these investments, the EMU notes. This investment will trend towards it’s full principal value as it approaches maturity.

Council’s investment strategy is currently to invest for the short term (generally 90 days on new investments) to take advantage of investment opportunities often offered in the market over and above the 90day bank bill rate whilst ensuring sufficient liquidity to meet cash flow requirements. This provides the ability to take advantage of interest rate movements in the market as short term rates are currently not dissimilar to longer term rates (2 to 5 years).

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

In accordance with Regulation 212 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005, the Responsible Accounting Officer of Council must provide Council with a monthly report detailing all monies Council has invested under section 625 of the Local Government Act 1993.

The Report must be presented at the next Ordinary Meeting of Council after the end of the month being reported. In this regard, the current Council Meeting cycle does not always allow this to occur, especially when investment valuations required for the preparation of the report, are often received after the deadline for the submission of reports for the meeting. Endeavours will be made to ensure the required report will be provided to Council and this will for some months require reporting for one or more months.

Council’s investments are carried out in accordance with section 625(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 and Council’s Investment Policy. The Local Government Act 1993 allows Council to invest money as per the Ministers Order – Forms of Investment, last published in the Government Gazette on 11 February 2011.

Council’s Investment Policy includes the objective of maximising earnings from authorised investments and ensuring the security of Council Funds.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Corporate and Community Services 13.9

Report No. 13.9 Budget Review - 1 October 2014 to 31 December 2014

Directorate: Corporate and Community Services

Report Author: James Brickley, Manager Finance

File No: I2015/41

Theme: Corporate Management

Financial Services

`Summary:

This report is prepared to comply with Regulation 203 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 and to inform Council and the Community of Council’s estimated financial position for the 2014/2015 financial year, reviewed as at 31 December 2014.

This report contains an overview of the proposed budget variations for the General Fund, Water Fund and Sewerage Fund. The specific details of these proposed variations are included in Attachments 1 and 2 for Council’s consideration and authorisation.

Attachment 3 contains the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework (IP&R) Quarterly Budget Review Statement (QBRS) as outlined by the Division of Local Government in circular 10-32.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That Council authorise the itemised budget variations as shown in Attachment 2 (#E2015/8370) which includes the following results in the 31 December 2014 Quarterly Review of the 2014/2015 Budget:

(a) General Fund - $0 adjustment in the accumulated surplus

(b) Water Fund - $1,562,900 increase in reserves

(c) Sewerage Fund - $656,100 increase in reserves

2. That That Council adopt the revised General Fund Accumulated Surplus/(Working Funds) surplus of $1,956,550 for the 2014/2015 financial year as at 31 December 2014.

Attachments:

1 Budget Variations for the General, Water and Sewer Funds, E2015/8368 , page 100

2 Itemised Listing of Budget Variations for the General, Water and Sewerage Funds, E2015/8370 , page 180

3 New Integrated Planning and Reporting framework (IP&R) required Quarterly Budget Review Statement, E2015/8369 , page 185

Report

Council adopted the 2014/2015 budget on 12 June 2014 via Resolution 14-285. It also considered and adopted the budget carryovers from the 2013/2014 financial year, to be incorporated into the 2014/2015 budget, at its Ordinary Meeting held 28 August 2014 via Resolution 14-389. Since that date, Council has reviewed the budget taking into consideration the 2013/2014 Financial Statement results and progress through the first half of the 2014/2015 financial year. This report considers the December 2014 Quarter Budget Review.

The details of the budget review for the Consolidated, General, Water and Sewer Funds are included in Attachment 1, with an itemised listing in Attachment 2. This aims to show the consolidated budget position of Council, as well as a breakdown by Fund and Principal Activity. The document in Attachment 1 is also effectively a publication outlining a review of the budget and is intended to provide Councillors with more detailed information to assist with decision making regarding Council’s finances.

Contained in the document at Attachment 1 is the following reporting hierarchy:

Consolidated Budget Cash Result

General Fund Cash Result Water Fund Cash Result Sewer Cash Result

Principal Activity Principal Activity Principal Activity

Operating Income Operating Expenditure Capital income Capital Expenditure

The pages within Attachment 1 are presented (from left to right) by showing the original budget as adopted by Council on 12 June 2014 plus the adopted carryover budgets from 2013/2014 followed by the resolutions between July and September, the September review, resolutions between October and December and the revote (or adjustment for this review) and then the revised position projected for 30 June 2015 as at 31 December 2014.

On the far right of the Principal, there is a column titled “Note”. If this is populated by a number, it means that there has been an adjustment in the quarterly review. This number then corresponds to the notes at the end of Attachment 1 which provides an explanation of the variation.

There is also information detailing restricted assets (reserves) to show Councils estimated balances as at 30 June 2015 for all Council’s reserves.

A summary of Capital Works is also included by Fund and Principal Activity.

Office of Local Government Budget Review Guidelines:-

The Office of Local Government on 10 December 2010 issued the new Quarterly Budget Review Guidelines via Circular 10-32, with the reporting requirements to apply from 1 July 2011. This report includes a Quarterly Budget Review Statement (refer Attachment 3) prepared by Council in accordance with the guidelines.

The Quarterly Budget Review Guidelines set a minimum standard of disclosure, with these standards being included in the Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting as mandatory requirements for Council’s to address.

Since the introduction of the new planning and reporting framework for NSW Local Government, it is now a requirement for Councils to provide the following components when submitting a Quarterly Budget Review Statement (QBRS):-

· A signed statement by the Responsible Accounting Officer on Councils financial position at the end of the year based on the information in the QBRS

· Budget review income and expenses statement in one of the following formats:

o Consolidated

o By fund (e.g General, Water, Sewer)

o By function, activity, program etc to align with the management plan/operational plan

· Budget Review Capital Budget

· Budget Review Cash and Investments Position

· Budget Review Key performance indicators

· Budget Review Contracts and Other Expenses

The above components are included in Attachment 3:-

Income and Expenditure Budget Review Statement by Type – This shows Councils income and Expenditure by type. This has been split by Fund. Adjustments are shown, looking from left to right.

Capital Budget Review Statement – This statement identifies in summary Council’s capital works program on a consolidated basis and then split by Fund. It also identifies how the capital works program is funded. As this is the second quarterly review for the reporting period, the Statement may not necessarily indicate the total progress achieved on the delivery of the capital works program.

Cash and Investments Budget Review Statement – This statement reconciles Council’s restricted funds (reserves) against available cash and investments. Council has attempted to indicate an actual position as at 31 December 2014 of each reserve to show a total cash position of reserves with any difference between that position and total cash and investments held as available cash and investments. It should be recognised that the figure is at a point in time and may vary greatly in future quarterly reviews pending on cash flow movements.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) – At this stage, the KPI’s within this report are:-

o Debt Service Ratio - This assesses the impact of loan principal and interest repayments on the discretionary revenue of Council.

o Rates and Annual Charges Outstanding Ratio – This assesses the impact of uncollected rates and annual charges on Councils liquidity and the adequacy of recovery efforts

o Asset Renewals Ratio – This assesses the rate at which assets are being renewed relative to the rate at which they are depreciating.

These may be expanded in future to accommodate any additional KPIs that Council may adopt to use in the Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP.)

Contracts and Other Expenses - This report highlights any contracts Council entered into during the October to December quarter that are greater then $50,000.

CONSOLIDATED RESULT

The following table provides a summary of the overall Council budget on a consolidated basis inclusive of all Funds budget movements for the 2014/2015 financial year projected to 30 June 2015 but revised as at 31 December 2014.

2014/2015 Budget Review Statement as at 31 December 2014	Original Estimate (Including Carryovers) 1/7/2014	Adjustments to Dec 2014 including Resolutions*	Proposed Dec 2014 Review Revotes	Revised Estimate 30/6/2015 at 31/12/2014
Operating Revenue	76,364,300	1,948,600	220,800	78,533,700
Operating Expenditure	84,894,350	1,962,300	549,900	87,406,550
Operating Result – Surplus/Deficit	(8,530,050)	(13,700)	(329,100)	(8,872,850)
Add: Capital Revenue	3,972,700	296,000	595,300	4,864,000
Change in Net Assets	(4,557,350)	282,300	266,200	(4,008,850)
Add: Non Cash Expenses	15,890,000	0	0	15,890,000
Add: Non-Operating Funds Employed	1,800,000	470,000	0	2,270,000
Subtract: Funds Deployed for Non-Operating Purposes	(21,188,100)	(1,918,400)	1,307,200	21,799,300
Cash Surplus/(Deficit)	(8,055,450)	(1,166,100)	1,573,400	7,648,150
Restricted Funds – Increase / (Decrease)	(8,072,300)	(1,166,100)	1,573,400	(7,665,000)
Forecast Result for the Year – Surplus/(Deficit) – Working Funds	16,850	0	0	16,850

As the table above highlights, the forecast result for the year has not changed for the review period including Council resolutions. Results by General, Water and Sewerage Fund are provided below:

GENERAL FUND

In terms of the General Fund projected Accumulated Surplus (Working Funds) the following table provides a reconciliation to the estimated position as at 31 December 2014:

Opening Balance – 1 July 2014	$1,939,700
Plus original budget movement and carryovers	16,850
Council Resolutions July – September Quarter	0
September Review Adjustments – increase/(decrease)	0
Council Resolutions October – December Quarter	0
Recommendations within this Review – increase/(decrease)	0
Forecast Working Funds Result – Surplus/(Deficit) – 30 June 2015	16,850
Estimated Working Funds Closing Balance – 30 June 2015	$1,956,550

The General Fund financial position has not changed as a result of this budget review. The proposed budget changes that have impacted on this result have been highlighted in Attachment 1 and summarised further in this report below.

Council Resolutions

There were no Council resolutions during the October to December 2014 quarter that impacted the overall 2014/2015 budget result.

Budget Adjustments

The budget adjustments identified in Attachment 1 and 2 for the General Fund have been summarised by Budget Directorate in the following table:

Budget Directorate	Revenue Increase/ (Decrease) $	Expenditure Increase/ (Decrease) $	Accumulated Surplus (Working Funds) Increase/ (Decrease) $
General Managers Office	21,300	50,600	(29,300)
Organisational Development	0	0	0
Corporate & Community Services	168,400	141,900	26,500
Infrastructure Services	642,800	701,200	(58,400)
Sustainable Environment & Economy	643,300	582,100	61,200
Total Budget Movements	1,475,800	1,475,800	0

Budget Adjustment Comments

Within each of the Budget Directorates of the General Fund, are a series of budget adjustments identified in detail at Attachment 1 and 2. More detailed notes on these are provided in Attachment 1, but in summary the major additional items included are summarised below by Division and are included in the overall budget adjustments table above:

General Manager

In the General Managers program additional expenditure of $30,000 is required to engage a consultant to assist Council in it’s Fit For the Future submission.

In the Economic Development program additional expenditure is required to purchase ID software products to assist providing demographic, social and economic data that will enable better strategy planning.

Corporate and Community Services

In the Administrative Services – Councillors Budget Program there is a reduction in expenditure due to savings against Councils’ NOROC membership, Far North Coast County Council contribution, Regional committee for Mosquito Management contribution and the Companion Animals contribution.

In the Information Services Program additional budgets for capital works are required. The Automated Agenda and Minutes (InfoCouncil) has gone slightly over budget and requires $44,800 due to Council specifc requirements and approval for stage 2.

In the Property Program the major budget adjustments are the recognition in the budget of the grant for the Bangalow Showground Trust ($36,700) and an additional $20,000 for pre-construction works on the 70-90 Station Street sub-division.

In the Compliance and Infringement Processing Programs, additional revenue is budgeted for fees received for swimming pool inspections and revenue for resource sharing of Council’s licence plate recognition equipment with Lismore City Council.

In the Community Development Program, revenue budget has been adjusted to account for a $20,400 grant for an Aboriginal Arts & Cultural project. Operating Expenditure has also increased for the grant expenditure.

In the Library Services Program, the local priorities grant of $30,600 was received, along with income to be received for the mobile coffee cart in the Library foyer.

Infrastructure Services

There are proposed substantial changes to the Infrastructure Services Directorate budget in the following budget program areas:

1. Depot and Fleet Operations

2. Local Roads and Drainage

3. Open Space and Recreation

4. Byron Reghional Sport and Cultural Complex

5. Water Supplies

6. Sewerage Services

Specific details of the proposed budget variations are identified at the back of Attachment 1 from Notes 16 to 25 and Notes 30 to 31. A summary of all proposed budget revotes for Infrastructure Services is also included by program in Attachment 2. As an overall summary comment the following major proposed budget variations are identified:

1. In the Infrastructure Services Supervision and Administration budget program there are antcipated savings of $210,500 that is proposed to be reallocated to pot hole patching $130,500, $10,000 for traffic counts, $40,000 for street sweeping, and $30,000 for parks maintenance.

2. There is an additional $871,800 proposed capital expenditure for replacement of plant/vehicle in the 2014/2015 financial year funded from the Plant Reserve. This expenditure is to cover the replacement program for 2014/2015 and replacements that did not occur during the 2013/2014 financial year.

3. Capital expenditure in the Local Roads and Drainage Budget is proposed to be reduced by $455,900 in total after reassessment of the current works program and the ability for some projects to be completed this financial year. For example the Coolamon Scenic Drive Mullumbimby to Ocean Shores project is proposed to be reduced by $180,000 and the Broken Head Road Suffolk Park project reduced by $250,000 as both projects require land acquisition matters to be finalised before construction can commence.

4. In the Open Space and Recreation Program an additional $122,500 is proposed for maintenance , $105,000 is proposed to fund options and assessments associated with Tyagarah Airfield in accordance with resolution 14-657. There is also an adjustment to reduce capital revenue budgeted for grant funding associated with Belongil rockwall ($455,000).

5. Capital expenditure in the Waste Management area is proposed to be increased by $160,000 which includes upgrade of public place bin enclosures $50,000 and $110,000 for the installation of radio frequency identification tags (RFIS) into existing mobile garbage bins to better reconcile garbage services billed to bins provided and monitoring the collection contractor.

6. Capital expenditure for the Byron Regional Sport and Cultural Complex is proposed to increase by $150,000 to fund a solar power generation and hot water system.

7. Capital expenditure in Water Supplies is proposed to be reduced by $1,537,400 based on assessment of the current program. Adjustments include $1,000,000 for the Mullumbimby Trunk Main replacement that will not be completed in 2014/2015 and $370,000 for Coopers Shoot Reservior upgrade which will not be completed due to a delay in a land transfer. There are other adjustments identified in Note 30 at the back of Attachment 1.

8. Capital expenditure in Sewerage Services is proposed to be reduced by $160,400 after reassessment of the current works program. It is also proposed to fund an additional $22,000 in loan principal repayments in the Sewerage Fund after the pre-payment and finalisation of four outstanding loans in the Sewerage Fund after a review of the Sewerage loan portfolio. This is consistent with a goal of the Financial Sustainability Project Plan (FSPP).

Sustainable Environment and Economy

Additional revenue is occurring in the Development Assessment and Certification and Customer Service Program due to increased development activity.

In the Land and Natural Environment Program, the budget is to be amended to cater for three new Applicant Funded DCP's/LEP's. Note 28 in the Budget Variation Explanations section at Attachment 1 provides more information.

WATER FUND

After completion of the 2013/2014 Financial Statements the Accumulated Surplus (Working Fund) balance for the Water Fund, as at 30 June 2014, is $1,958,400 with capital works reserves of $2,500,200. It also held $9,988,200 in section 64 developer contributions at that time.

The estimated Water Fund reserve balances as at 30 June 2015, and forecast for the first half of 2014/15, is derived as follows:

Capital Works Reserve

Opening Reserve Balance at 1 July 2014	$2,500,200
Plus original budget reserve movement	(246,300)
Less reserve funded carryovers from 2013/2014	(305,800)
Resolutions July - September Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
September Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	(121,200)
Resolutions October - December Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
December Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	50,500
Forecast Reserve Movement for 2014/2015 – Increase / (Decrease)	(622,800)
Estimated Reserve Balance at 30 June 2015	$1,877,400

Section 64 Developer Contributions

Opening Reserve Balance at 1 July 2014	$9,988,200
Plus original budget reserve movement	(1,230,700)
Less reserve funded carryovers from 2013/2014	(280,400)
Resolutions July - September Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
September Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	0
Resolutions October - December Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
December Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	1,512,400
Forecast Reserve Movement for 2013/2014 – Increase / (Decrease)	1,300
Estimated Reserve Balance at 30 June 2015	$9,989,500

Movements for Water Fund can be seen in Attachment 1, with a proposed estimated increase to reserves (including S64 Contributions) overall of $1,562,900 from the 31 December 2014 Quarter Budget Review.

SEWERAGE FUND

After completion of the 2013/2014 Financial Statements the Accumulated Surplus (Working Fund) balance for the Sewer Fund, as at 30 June 2014, was $1,791,900 with capital works reserves of $3,569,600 and plant reserve of $792,000. It also held $4,939,400 in section 64 developer contributions.

Capital Works Reserve

Opening Reserve Balance at 1 July 2014	$3,569,600
Plus original budget reserve movement	1,438,100
Less reserve funded carryovers from 2013/2014	(282,600)
Resolutions July - September Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
September Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	(146,200)
Resolutions October - December Quarter – increase / (decrease)	(19,100)
December Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	51,500
Forecast Reserve Movement for 2014/2015 – Increase / (Decrease)	1,041,700
Estimated Reserve Balance at 30 June 2015	$4,611,300

Plant Reserve

Opening Reserve Balance at 1 July 2014	$792,000
Plus original budget reserve movement	0
Less reserve funded carryovers from 2013/2014	0
Resolutions July - September Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
September Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	0
Resolutions October - December Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
December Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	0
Forecast Reserve Movement for 2014/2015 – Increase / (Decrease)	0
Estimated Reserve Balance at 30 June 2015	$792,000

Section 64 Developer Contributions

Opening Reserve Balance at 1 July 2014	$4,939,400
Plus original budget reserve movement	(993,100)
Less reserve funded carryovers from 2013/2014	(594,500)
Resolutions July - September Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
September Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	(125,000)
Resolutions October - December Quarter – increase / (decrease)	0
December Quarterly Review Adjustments – increase / (decrease)	604,600
Forecast Reserve Movement for 2014/2015 – Increase / (Decrease)	(1,108,000)
Estimated Reserve Balance at 30 June 2015	$3,831,400

Movements for the Sewerage Fund can be seen in Attachment 1, with a proposed estimated overall decrease to reserves (including S64 Contributions) of $656,100 from the 31 December 2014 Quarter Budget Review.

Legal Expenses

One of the major financial concerns for Council over previous years has been legal expenses. Not only does this item represent a large expenditure item funded by rate income, but is also susceptible to large fluctuations.

The table that follows indicates the allocated budget and actual legal expenditure within Council on a fund basis.

Total Legal Income & Expenditure as at 31 December 2014

Program	2014/2015 Budget ($)	Actual ($)	Percentage To Revised Budget
Income
Legal Expenses Recovered	9,300	9,750	105%
Total Income	9,300	9,750	105%

Expenditure
General Legal Expenses	274,100	96,650	35%
Total Expenditure General Fund	274,100	96,650	35%

The current status of the Legal Services Reserve is shown below:

Legal Reserve

Opening Reserve Balance at 1 July 2014	$779,100
Less Resolution 12-622	$(46,800)
Estimated Reserve Balance at as at 31 December 2014	$732,300

Fluctuations in legal expenditure can happen rapidly and for reasons not necessarily within Council’s control. Council has developed and is maintaining a legal reserve to enable Council to manage the potential fluctuations. A reserve balance of $600,000 is considered adequate for this purpose at this time.

Financial Implications

The 31 December 2014 Quarter Budget Review of the 2014/2015 Budget did not change the overall budget result. The estimated accumulated surplus (working funds) position attributable to the General Fund did not change either, with this remaining an estimated $1,956,550 at 30 June 2015.

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

In accordance with Clause 203 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 the Responsible Accounting Officer of a Council must:-

(1) Not later than 2 months after the end of each quarter (except the June quarter), the responsible accounting officer of a council must prepare and submit to the council a budget review statement that shows, by reference to the estimate of income and expenditure set out in the statement of the council’s revenue policy included in the operational plan for the relevant year, a revised estimate of the income and expenditure for that year.

(2) A budget review statement must include or be accompanied by:

(a) a report as to whether or not the responsible accounting officer believes that the statement indicates that the financial position of the council is satisfactory, having regard to the original estimate of income and expenditure, and

(b) if that position is unsatisfactory, recommendations for remedial action.

(3) A budget review statement must also include any information required by the Code to be included in such a statement.

Statement by Responsible Accounting Officer

This report indicates that the short term financial position of the Council is satisfactory for 2014/2015, having consideration of the original estimate of income and expenditure and budget revisions as per the 31 December 2014 Quarter Budget Review.

This opinion is based on the estimated General Fund Accumulated Surplus (Working Funds) position and that the current indicative budget surplus for 2014/2015 is maintained in this Budget Review. Notwithstanding this, Council will need to continue to carefully monitor the 2014/2015 budget over the remainder of the financial year.

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy 13.11

Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy

Report No. 13.11 Review of Section 64 Charges

Directorate: Sustainable Environment and Economy

Report Author: Christopher Soulsby, Development Contributions Officer

File No: I2015/35

Theme: Community Infrastructure

Water Supplies – Management

Summary:

This report seeks a resolution of Council to proceed with a review of the Strategic Business Plan, Total Asset Management Plan, Financial Plan and Development Servicing Plans of the Local Water Utility. The report is to inform Council of the parameters to be included in the review and to set out the guidelines and constraints to such a review.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That the General Manager initiate a review of the Local Water Utility’s:

a) Strategic Business Plan; and

b) Total Asset Management Plan; and

c) Financial Plan; and

d) Development Servicing Plans (DSPs)

2. That the review have consideration for:

a) NSW Best-Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Framework; and

b) the relevant ‘Developer Charges Guidelines for Water Supply, Sewerage and Stormwater’ as determined by the NSW Office of Water; and

c) the quantum of the charges set by the DSPs be benchmarked against adjoining Council areas and if the charges are significantly higher than the adjoining Council’s charges, that the options of cross subsidisation be considered for inclusion into the DSPs.

3. That staff further investigate the mechanisms and options for the transfer of ET entitlements between different parcels of land and that staff seek additional legal advice on this issue. If the legal advice indicates that transfer is permissible then:

a) staff develop a model governance system to keep track of the entitlements; and

b) staff investigate the level of demand amongst the business community for transferable entitlements; and

c) staff undertake a cost benefit analysis of the cost of administering a transfer system with the benefit to the business community.

Attachments:

1 Confidential - Legal Advice, S2013/1482

Report

The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s endorsement for a review of the developer charges (section 64 water and sewer charges) and to set out the process and parameters for that review.

It is not a simple matter to change the section 64 charges.

There needs to be a rigorous process undertaken that meets the requirements of the NSW Department of Primary Industries Office of Water.

Developer charges provide a source of funding for infrastructure. Where the costs of serving new urban development are in excess of the current and expected costs of servicing existing customers, then the additional costs should be recovered from new users in the form of a contribution. These contributions have been the source of some complaint in the business and development community.

This report will set out some options for easing the impacts on the costs of establishing new business in the Shire.

Background

Council has two Development Servicing Plans (DSP) one for water supply and one for sewer.

Rous County Council also has a DSP for the provision of bulk water.

These three DSPs set the charging regime for the provision of water and sewer infrastructure in the Shire. Developer charges relating to a DSP require a review within six years. The current DSPs were implemented on 1 July 2012 and the Executive Management Team of Council has given a clear direction that the two DSPs under the Council’s control require review.

Underlying the DSPs is a Strategic Business Plan and a thirty year capital works program called a ‘Total Asset Management Plan’ (TAMP). These have been prepared in accordance with the Best-Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Framework as set out by the NSW Office of Water.

The NSW Government's Best-Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Framework requires local water utilities to prepare and implement a sound 30-year Strategic Business Plan (SBP) and Financial Plan (FP) for their urban water supply and sewerage businesses. The SBP is due for renewal every eight years and review every four years and Byron Council’s SBP is now due for renewal. The Manager of Utilities has commenced this review by initiating discussions with the consultants HydroScience to update the SBP.

The SBP enables Council to review and update its 30-year Total Asset Management Plan (TAMP). The purpose of the TAMP is to enable the provision of appropriate, affordable and cost effective water supply and sewerage services to meet community needs, while protecting public health and the environment. The review of the TAMP and the preparation of the SBP and FP need to be in accordance with the Strategic Business Planning Check List and the NSW Strategic Business Planning Guidelines.

The NSW Office of Water has issued Developer Charges Guidelines for Water Supply, Sewerage and Stormwater, December 2002 pursuant to section 306 (3)(C) of the Water Management Act 2000. There is also a draft set of guidelines prepared in 2012 by the Urban Water branch of the NSW Office of Water and placed on exhibition for public comment. These guidelines are yet to be adopted, but will likely be the guidelines required to be followed in the preparation of the DSPs.

Matters for Consideration in the Review

In addition to the requirements of NSW Government's Best-Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Framework the review should also consider the following matters:

1. the quantum of s64 charges. These are to be benchmarked to other north coast councils as far as is practicable so as to be competitive

2. nexus: revise the basis for s64 charges to align with current and projected infrastructure needs/capacity and any associated debt servicing commitments not funded from operational budgets

3. apportionment – provide a clear basis for the apportionment of responsibility for the payment of s64 charges

4. transferability – provide a basis for portability of a proportion of a previously paid s64 charge from one property to another

The following comment is made on the additional points to be incorporated into the review:

1 Benchmarking:

It is not an unreasonable approach to benchmark the cost of establishing new businesses or dwellings in Byron Shire against the adjoining LGAs. However the best practice framework and the Developer Charges Guidelines don’t take competitiveness into consideration for the purposes of setting the charge. Their main focus is that the Local Water Utility be run on a full cost recovery basis. They provide a funding source for infrastructure required for new, urban development and they provide signals regarding the cost of urban development and thus encourage less costly forms / areas of development. What the benchmarking will be useful for is to determine who is most impacted upon by the variance in charges between local government areas and to identify what mechanisms can be used to limit the scale of the impacts on different types of development.

The types of development that attracts developer charges can be broken down into two very broad categories, residential and business. The adopted ET policy and Water Directorate guidelines have a much finer level of detail for the calculation of demand for individual use, but for the purposes of this review consideration needs to be given to determining which broad sectors of the development industry are most affected.

Residential: A large proportion of the residential charges are levied at the subdivision stage prior to the release of the subdivision certificate. These charges are paid by the original developer and are then passed on to the purchaser of the land, but they are hidden in the total cost of the land. Because these charges are wrapped up in the price of the land and they only form a small proportion of the price of the land there has been little or no complaint about the charge on residential blocks of land. Developer charges are also levied on residential development where additional dwellings or lots are to be added to existing and these charges are eventually passed on in the purchase price of the dwelling. It is true that these charges have an impact upon housing affordability, however given that these charges only make up a small proportion of the developed land or dwelling cost it is reasonable to assume that there are much bigger factors in play that drive the market price of land. In this regard the developer charge for residential development is relatively price inelastic, that is the increase in price of the developer charge has minimal impact upon the demand for residential land.

Business: The second broad category of development that attracts levies is business. This is effectively all the non residential uses, both commercial and industrial. Anecdotally it is from the high water use businesses that complaints about the quantum of the charges have arisen. Council has not kept a record about the number and type of complaints from businesses relating to s64 charges. The nature of these complaints relates to:

a) timing of the payment

b) unexpected cost to the establishment of a new business

c) inability to transfer contributions from property to property

d) the value of the payment stays with the land and this impacts on the developer where the developer is leasing the land

The issue of the timing of the payment has been partially addressed by allowing payments to be made over a four year period in certain circumstances. The issue of unexpected cost to business can be addressed through better internal processes and provision of early advice to developers prior to lodgement of a development application.

Items c) and d) will be addressed below with reference to transferability.

The cost to the establishment of a business of the developer charges, expected or not, can have a significant impact on the decision to proceed with the business. In this regard, the developer charge for businesses is highly price elastic. That is, a change in price per ET will affect the purchaser’s behaviour and they will either choose not to proceed, or to look for a substitute. In this case, the substitute is potentially moving the business to another LGA with a cheaper charge.

There may be options available to Council to limit the impacts of these charges on businesses that are affected by the price elasticity of the charge. The main mechanism is cross subsidisation from the water and sewer rate. If the benchmarking of the charges shows a large discrepancy between the price per ET in the surrounding LGAs, then the option of cross subsidisation should be considered in the development of the DSP. Council may choose to cross subsidise only the business charge from all water rates, or Council may choose to cross subsidise all developer charges. The scope, application and impacts on the financial plan of the Water and Sewer funds needs to be carefully examined in the process of the review to determine the impacts of cross subsidisation.

2 Nexus: Revise the basis for s64 charges to align with current and projected infrastructure

This is an existing requirement of the TAMP and the Developer Charges Guidelines for Water Supply, Sewerage and Stormwater, December 2002. It is also a requirement of the draft 2012 Guidelines and will be undertaken in the review as a matter of course. This may require adjustments to the existing ET Policy

3 Apportionment

The 2012 draft guidelines provide for the cost of works (Capital Charge) to be apportioned between new demand and the existing population. Specifically the guidelines state:

“These guidelines do not cover cost recovery from existing development as such development is not required to pay a developer charge.”

The 2012 draft guidelines explain the calculation of developer charges as follows:

“The developer charges calculation is based on the net present value (NPV) approach. The fundamental principle of the NPV approach is that the investment in assets for serving a development area is fully recovered from the development. The investment is recovered through up-front charges (ie developer charges) and the present value (PV) of the annual bills to be paid by the development in excess of operation, maintenance and administration (OMA) costs.

The developer charge per equivalent tenement (ET – defined as a detached residential dwelling) is calculated as the PV of the capital expenditures over time required to service the development area (the "capital charge") less the PV of the expected net income over time from providing services to the development area (the "reduction amount").”

In terms of calculation of the capital charge, the existing assets (not reticulation) is accounted for in the following way by the guidelines:

“Existing assets

All existing assets serving a development area should be included in the capital charge, except for 1 and 2 below:

(1) If the capacity of an asset is unlikely to be fully utilised over the planning horizon for calculating developer charges (typically 30 years, but may be over 50 years for assets such as dams and outfalls), then the cost of the capacity for serving development beyond the planning horizon cannot be recovered through developer charges. Underutilisation may occur due to a change in land use. If an asset was constructed to serve earlier development and changes in land use have made surplus capacity available, then it is appropriate to exclude the asset from any subsequent contribution calculation. This will reduce the contributions payable for developments utilising these assets and encourage the use of underutilised assets.

(2) As a general rule, each time a new DSP is prepared, assets that will be more than 30 years old at the commencement of the DSP must be excluded from the capital charge. Exclusion of the asset does not apply to assets such as a dam or outfall in (1) above, which are subject to the documentation and approval requirements in the following paragraph. In addition, if an asset is excluded because it is more than 30 years old and the LWU’s strategic business plan proposes to renew the asset within 10 years, then the renewed asset should be included.”

The guidelines have a different approach to apportionment and the accounting for the replacement of existing assets than would be permissible under the terms of a section 94 plan, EP&A Act. In a section 94 plan the developer cannot be charged for any component of the replacement of an existing asset. This is not to say that either methodology is right or wrong, but is to note that there is a difference in the methodologies. It is clear that the guidelines allow for the replacement of existing assets to be factored into the capital charge.

With regard to the apportionment issue it is proposed that the review of the DSPs be conducted in accordance with the guidelines.

4. Transferability

An ongoing complaint from business is the inability to transfer Equivalent Tenement (ET) entitlements that have been paid for on one particular site to another.

This issue has been explored a number of times. Council has previously sought legal advice on the ability to transfer the entitlements. A copy of the advice is provided as a confidential attachment. The content of the advice is not disputed with regard to the specific questions asked and answered in the advice. Staff have however formulated a possible solution to enable the transfer of ET entitlements between different sites.

An entitlement arises on a site resulting from a development consent, continuing use, or existing use under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Since 2000, subsequent to the issue of a development consent the issue of a Certificate of Compliance under section 307 of the Water Management Act 2000 confirms that the requirements of the water authority have been met. Section 306 of the Water Management Act 2000 enables Council to impose requirements on the development. One of these requirements is the “to pay a specified amount to the water supply authority”, the developer charge.

The development consent is a right that stays with the land. A development consent can confer both the ability to construct works and buildings on the land, as well as a continued right to use the buildings and land for a specified purpose. The bundle of rights associated with a development consent stay with the land regardless of who originally applied for the consent or who leases the land. The 307 certificate of compliance is for development carried out, or proposed to be carried out, within the water supply authority’s area. The 307 certificate, whilst issued under a different Act to the development consent, also accrues additional rights to the land resulting from that development consent. The concept of transferability needs be considered in terms of removal of a right that has accrued to land under two different acts.

The first step to enable a right to be transferred is to remove the ability for the use of the land that benefits from the accrued rights to continue. That is, the right to use the land in the manner granted by the development consent must be removed. There is only one mechanism to enable this to occur and that is the surrender of the development consent. Section 104A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, as set out below, allows for the surrender of a consent:

104A Voluntary surrender of development consent

(1) A development consent may be surrendered, subject to and in accordance with the regulations, by any person entitled to act on the consent.

(2) A development consent may be surrendered under this section even if, on the making of an appeal under section 97 or 98, the consent has ceased to be, or does not become, effective as referred to in section 83 (2).

The regulations provide more detail on the form of the letter to be provided to Council to enact the surrender. Of particular importance is clause 97 (1) (e) that states “if the applicant is not the owner of the land, a statement signed by the owner of the land to the effect that the owner consents to the modification or surrender of the consent or right.” Thus it is only the owner of the land that may surrender a consent.

Once a development consent is surrendered, the use of the land may no longer be continued. The surrender does not invalidate the construction certificates previously issued to enable the construction of the building, nor would it make the building itself unlawful. It would however make the continued use of that building unlawful. In this way the use of the land has ceased and the demand on the water and sewer infrastructure has also ceased.

At this point in the process the right to use the land no longer exists. There are however other rights that have accrued to the land in the form of the payment of the developer charges. The payment of the charges has significantly increased the value of the land. These ET credits resulting from the payments would be taken into consideration in the assessment of the required payments under section 306 of the Water Management Act 2000 if and when a new development application was made for the use of the land. In the absence of a new development consent, there is a net decrease on the demand for water and sewer infrastructure and the credit waits with the land for a new use to occur.

The Water Management Act 2000 is silent on the ability to transfer ET credits from one site to another. Approvals issued under Part 3 of that Act may be surrendered. These approvals however have nothing to do with the 307 Certificate and it should not be taken as an indication that the surrender of a right enables its transfer.

The issue of the transfer of ET credits was raised by staff in the report to Council on the State Significant Development Application for the Byron Central Hospital and was also canvassed by the Department of Planning in their report to the Minister. The Department’s report stated:

“In relation to the section 64 contributions, the proposed development represents a 26 bed demand increase on the existing West Byron Treatment Works system from that which is currently serviced by Council at the existing Byron Bay Hospital. The Department is of the opinion that the applicant contributes to the additional demand generated by its development subject to the closure of the existing Byron Bay Hospital.”

The Department’s report does not go any higher than approaching the issue as net demand assessment subject to the surrender of the consent. It does not go into the legalities of the transfer of the ET credit. It does, however, indicate that the Department believes that transfer is possible.

There are examples in NSW where water entitlements are transferred between land owners. These are water entitlements administered in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA). This is different to a water and sewer entitlement created by a development consent and it operates under different legislation, but it does provide a conceptual framework for an administrative system to keep track of entitlements. Murrumbidgee Irrigation Ltd (MI) manages water use in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA). Developers in the MIA are required to make a permanent transfer of a water allocation to the Town Water supply. Holders of water entitlements may also transfer water entitlements to other landowners. The MI document ‘A GUIDE TO PERMANENT TRANSFERS (PART D)’ found here:

http://www.mirrigation.com.au/ArticleDocuments/193/Customer_Guide_to_PERMANENT_Transfers_22%20Jan%202015.pdf.aspx

sets up a model for the transfer of entitlements.

The ability to transfer ET credits, subject to the surrender of a consent, may be possible and warrants further investigation. It will require a governance framework to set out the rules and mechanisms to transfer the credit. There will be an administrative cost to the system and there will need to be risk management processes set up around the system.

Council should be cognisant that the transfer of an ET entitlement will be of limited financial value to the business community. If the owner of the land allows the transfer of the entitlement, then the land that loses the entitlement has just had its value decreased by the value of the number of ETs transferred. The loss in value is offset by the increase in value to the land which receives the entitlement. If the owner of a business, that is not the owner of the land which holds the ET entitlement, wishes to transfer the entitlement then they would need the land owner’s consent. It is unlikely that the land owner will give their consent without financial compensation. It may be that the administrative costs of setting up a system to transfer ETs outweighs the limited benefits to business.

For Council to further investigate the ability to transfer ET entitlements the following matters need consideration:

a) an updated legal advice that considers the issue of transfer of the entitlement if the development consent is surrendered

b) a governance framework to keep track of the entitlements

c) a method of reporting to prospective purchasers what entitlements exist on the land

d) transferability should be limited to non residential uses

e) a cost benefit analysis of the governance system required to facilitate the transfer of ETs

Financial Implications

The review of the Strategic Business Plan and the DSP could have significant financial implications for the Water and Sewer Fund. The costs of preparation of the SBP and DSP are borne by two Funds and there is no cost to the General Fund of undertaking these reviews. A complete assessment of the financial implications would be done as part of the new Financial Plan for the Water Utility and this would be reported back to Council.

Statutory and Policy Compliance Implications

There are some significant policy changes being raised in this report. Compliance with the NSW Best-Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Framework is essential.

Given the importance of the policy changes and the oversight required, it is recommended that the General Manager be delegated to instruct staff to proceed with the review having consideration for:

i) Strategic Business Plan

ii) Total Asset Management Plan

iii) Financial Plan

iv) Development Servicing Plans

BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy 13.13

Report No. 13.13 Vegetation mapping review

Directorate: Sustainable Environment and Economy

Report Author: Angus Underwood, Team Leader Natural Environment

File No: I2015/28

Theme: Ecology

Land and Natural Environment

Summary:

Council’s vegetation mapping is currently being reviewed and updated for around 20,000 hectares of the coastal area of the Shire. The current review is significant in scope and nature and will improve the accuracy of the mapping and reflect changes in vegetation extent and composition over time. This report provides an overview of the process used to undertake the mapping, the data collected and results to date.

In order to provide an opportunity for landholders to review the mapping and make comments it is recommended that the mapping is placed on public exhibition. It is anticipated further site inspections will be carried out in response to submissions received during the exhibition that will further improve the accuracy and confidence in the mapping finalised.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That the Byron coast vegetation mapping 2015 be placed on public exhibition for a period of 28 days.

2. That staff initiate discussions with the Office of Environment and Heritage and Department of Planning and Environment seeking their support and financial assistance to finalise the review of the vegetation mapping for the remainder of the Shire.

Attachments:

1 Technical Information , E2015/8128 , page 221

2 Draft Frequently Asked Questions Vegetation Mapping 2015, E2015/8279 , page 230

Report

Council’s vegetation mapping is currently being reviewed and updated. The current review is significant in scope and nature and will improve the accuracy of the mapping and reflect changes in vegetation extent and composition over time. Vegetation mapping was initially carried out in 1999 as part of the Byron Flora and Fauna Study and a review of parts of the mapping was undertaken in 2007.

The aims of the current review include:

- Improve the accuracy of the mapping by using the most recent high resolution imagery and undertaking additional ground truthing.

- Re-classify vegetation types to ensure consistency with the NSW plant community type classification in the NSW Vegetation Information System.

Council engaged Landmark Ecological Services Pty Ltd to undertake the mapping update in April 2014.

Study area

The current review is restricted to the coastal lowland areas of the Shire taking in the areas around Broken Head, Skinners Shoot, Suffolk Park, Byron Bay, Ewingsdale, Myocum, Tyagarah, Mullumbimby, Brunswick Heads, Ocean Shores and Billinudgel (Figure 1).

This area has been prioritised as it includes the area with the highest level of development, contains large areas of vegetation listed as endangered ecological communities (Threatened Species Conservation Act 1999, Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999), and includes the area covered by the draft Koala Plan of Management. For these reasons it is important to have accurate information on which to base land use management decisions.

A vegetation mapping review across the remainder of the Shire is also required but is not currently

resourced. Council has previously sought funding under the Department of Planning and

Environment’s - Planning Reform Fund to review the vegetation mapping but has not been

successful. Finalising the review of the remainder of the Shire’s mapping is critical to enable the

holistic development of a Rural Lands Strategy for the Shire. It is therefore recommended that

Council initiate discussions with the Office of Environment and Heritage and Department of

Planning and Environment seeking their support and financial assistance to progress the review of the vegetation mapping for the remainder of the Shire as a matter of urgency.

Information sources

Vegetation is mapped using a combination of aerial photograph interpretation (API), reviewing existing information (e.g. vegetation survey data from various Council and state government projects), and on-ground site inspections. Landmark are amending the existing mapping using Geographic Information System (GIS) software to digitally map vegetation communities.

The most recent high resolution aerial photography available is being used from a range of sources including:

· Imagery supplied to Council from NSW Land and Property Information – includes imagery from May 2013, Sept 2012 and Sept 2009.

· Sixmaps – Land and Property Information website http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

· Nearmaps – high resolution imagery from 2014

In addition vegetation mapping and assessments produced through other Council projects and development applications have been considered in the mapping review.

Figure 1 – Vegetation mapping review study area

Data collection

In addition to identifying the vegetation types a range of technical data was recorded for each ‘polygon’ (ie unit of vegetation with same or similar attributes). This includes whether the area was plantation, the dominant tree species present, landscape condition, canopy cover, koala habitat score and observation type. Details of the data collection and other technical information is included in Attachment 1.

Field inspection

Following the initial digital mapping process via API ground truthing has being carried out by the consultants and Council staff. Ground truthing involves inspecting vegetation to confirm whether the initial API is correct, and to gather further information to assist in the vegetation classification process. Any errors in initial API mapping are recorded for amendment.

To facilitate ground truthing, a register of landholders was developed following promotions via local media and community newsletters. The register includes landholders supportive of allowing vegetation on their property to be ground truthed. In addition many properties involved in Council projects such as Land for Wildlife and Koala Connections have been assessed.

It is anticipated the public exhibition period will provide a further opportunity to undertake ground truthing in areas which have not yet been accessed.

Vegetation classification system

A new vegetation classification system has been adopted as part of the mapping review. Council will now be using the State Government’s Vegetation Information System (VIS) Classification database to ensure consistency with NSW standards. This system incorporates three levels; vegetation formations, vegetation classes and plant community types, as shown in the Figures below.

Example of classification hierarchy

Vegetation Formation

Forested Wetlands

Vegetation Class

Coastal Swamp Forest

Plant Community Type

(PCT)

Broad-leaved paperbark swamp sclerophyll forest with rainforest elements on coastal floodplains north of the Richmond River.

The plant community type (PCT) classification provides the most detailed description of vegetation and was developed by the state government to provide a standard approach to vegetation classification and mapping. All areas have been mapped to Vegetation Class level, and Plant Community Type will be used where sufficient information is available to allow classification to this level.

As part of the review existing vegetation classifications developed during the Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 across the entire Shire will be translated to the VIS classification.

Uses of the mapping

The vegetation mapping provides baseline data which Council can use for a range of purposes including:

· to inform the development/ review of the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy;

· to inform land use planning and zoning (including environmental zoning);

· to identify high conservation value vegetation such as endangered ecological communities, koala habitat, old growth forest and wetlands;

· for use by Landcare, community groups and landholders to inform management of vegetation and habitats, and conservation programs.

Results

The Stage 1 Project Area occupied a total area of 20,000 hectares, which included 2,274 hectares of National Parks land which was not included in the mapping process. Of the 17,729 hectares mapped 6,586.7 hectares (37.2%) is vegetated, including plantation and in addition open water occupied 134.0 hectares (Table 1).

National Parks (NP), Nature Reserves (NR), a State Conservation Areas (SCA) and an Aboriginal Area (AA) are located in the study area, but are out of the scope of mapping for the current project.

Table 1 Land use

Landuse	Area (ha)	% Mapping Area
NPs, NRs , SCA and AA (unmapped)	2,274.1
Vegetation (excl plantation)	5,615.4	31.7
Plantation	974.8	5.5
Open water	134.0	0.8
Total vegetation	6,724.2	37.2
TOTAL Stage 1 project area	20,004.0
TOTAL mapping area (excl NPs etc)	17,729.9

To date 38.8% of the mapped area has had some ground truthing completed (Observation type 1-3) or been verified by other sources (Observation type 5) (Table 2). Data is reported for mapped vegetation including plantations as well as open water polygons.

Table 2 Observation type

Observation type	No polygons	% no polygons	Area (ha)	% area
1 Walk through	449	7.0	683.0	10.2
2 Seen from edge of polygon	750	11.7	961.9	14.3
3 Distance assessment	604	9.4	765.4	11.4
4 No ground truthing	4,523	70.4	4,149.2	61.7
5 Verification from other sources	95	1.5	164.7	2.4
Grand Total	6421	100	6,724.2	100

Within the mapping area 8 vegetation formations, 17 vegetation classes and 73 plant community types (PCT’s) were identified. The vegetation list was derived from Vegetation Classification for the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Area of New South Wales 2012 and the principles set out in the NSW Vegetation Classification and Assessment (NSW VCA). As recommended by the Office of Environment and Heritage a number of draft PCT’s have been included to describe areas of vegetation that did not fit into the existing classification system.

Polygons which were not classified to PCT level included vegetation requiring more detailed site inspection or many instances of exotic, disturbed and early succession vegetation that could not be placed in a system designed for late successional native vegetation.

Details of the vegetation types identified during the mapping project broken down into formation, class and plant community types is provided in Attachment 1.

Public exhibition

The mapping is now at a stage that it is ready for public exhibition. Public exhibition will provide an opportunity for landholders to view the current mapping and notify Council if they believe that the mapping is not accurate. It provides a further opportunity to expand the level of ground truthing currently compl

Date Commenced:	24 July 2012	Time Frame to carry out objectives	As required
Date Group to be Disbanded	The Public Art Assessment Panel will be established on a project by project basis and be disbanded at the end of each project
Responsibility	Society and Culture
Review Timeframe

Doc No.	Date Amended	Details Comments eg Resolution No.
DM1256273		Referred to Public Art Policy Implementation PRG 21/08/12. Reported to Council 25/10/12 Res 12-800.
E2013/29662	13 May 2013	Membership slightly amended as per Res 13-196.

Principal Activity (Management Plan)	Community Services
Related Legislation	Local Government Act 1993 Section 451 Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009
Related Policies	Code of Conduct Policy 1.8
Related Procedures/ Protocols, Statements, documents	Public Art Guidelines and Criteria DM1246748 Public Art Register DM1129380 Public Art Policy DM1038499

DA No.	10.2014.361.1
Development	Alterations and additions to existing motel (SEPP 1 Objection)
Property:	LOT: 7 SEC: 8 DP: 758207, Alterations and additions to existing motel
Zoning	B2 Local Centre
Development Standard being varied:	Clause 40 - Height of buildings
Justification	• The overall roof height has been redesigned and lowered accordingly. • The bulk and scale is not inconsistent with the surrounding development. • The proposal will maintain the same upper floor level as constructed. • Improvements in solar access with a reduced height.
Extent of variation	<10%
Concurrence	No
Determined Date	22 October 2014