From the Mayor's Desk - 12 April 2022

Running a tight ship: a cost-effective Council and the importance of financial sustainability

It’s been another busy fortnight for the Goondiwindi Region, with two of our big-ticket tourism events welcoming hundreds of visitors to the region in the last two weekends alone. More on that shortly, but first of all I would like to expand a little on one of the key topics I touched upon in last fortnight’s column: financial sustainability in local government.

You may recall that I spoke about a recent meeting with the Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC), the Queensland Government's central financing authority. After several further meetings over the past fortnight with different agencies and community groups, I want to reiterate just how much of a priority the sustainability of this Council continues to be.

In 2021, Goondiwindi Regional Council was recognised by the Queensland Audit Office as one of just a few councils in the state considered financially sustainable in all areas of operating surplus, financial liabilities and asset sustainability. That same report found that 70 per cent of Queensland councils spent more than they earned in 2020, with approximately one third found to be at high risk of being financially UNsustainable.

That the Goondiwindi Region is one of Queensland’s most financially sustainable local governments is no accident: it is simply due to good financial management. Especially for a regional council that does not have the same resources as more populous areas, or the same income streams from industries like mining, our continued sustainability is a credit to the careful and considered stewardship over many years. Now, while we are in a better position than most, we are not immune to rising costs or increasing community expectations.

It is worth pointing out that one of the key reasons our Council is able to deliver an incredibly efficient and cost-effective service compared to other local governments in Queensland is that we run an incredibly lean operation: just ~50 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) indoor staff serve our population of around 10,800 residents, representing only about 33% of Council’s workforce. Our small number of administration staff play a critical role in servicing our ratepayers’ needs, they assess and support applicants with critical planning decisions and of course bring our library and cultural services to the community. About twice as many Council staff - 67% - are in outdoor roles, giving us one of the highest ratios of outdoor staffing in the state and demonstrating Council’s strong priority to core business – like roads, parks and gardens, and water and sewerage services.

This becomes even more important when you consider the 2,484 km of roads that our Council staff maintain. During the Queensland State Recovery Coordinator, Major General Jake Ellwood’s recent visit to the region to assess the impacts of the 2021-22 flood events, I took the opportunity to push for the importance of rebuilding critical infrastructure to a more robust standard in the Goondiwindi Region, to mitigate the impact that such flood events cause to our roads and communities.

Back to events, and I’d like to congratulate the committees of both the Hell of the West (HOTW) and the Goondiwindi Picnic Races on a wonderful few weekends of sport and social connection. I was extremely honoured to be able to present the open men’s category for HOTW, which is now proudly in its 31st year and probably one of the very few events in the state - if not the country - that has successfully been able to go ahead in each of 2020, 2021 and 2022, despite COVID restrictions. With visitors and athletes joining us from near and far, these events are a wonderful opportunity to show us off as Regional Australia at its Best.

This brings me to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken part in the consultation process regarding the potential future relocation of the Goondiwindi Visitor Information Centre (VIC). I was able to attend four of the five consultation sessions and it was great to catch up with residents and volunteers and hear people’s thoughts during the in-person consultation sessions, which included special workshops with members of the RSL and the Goondiwindi Visitor Information Centre volunteers, as well as volunteers from our magnificent Customs House. An independent consultant will now collate residents’ feedback to present to Council to inform any future decision-making on the matter.

Finally, with ANZAC day approaching this fortnight, keep an eye out for information about all ceremonies and commemorations planned across the region closer to the time. I look forward to seeing many of you there.