Draft Annual Business Plan and Budget 2021-2022

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

Ratepayers would pay for these services as waste collection is not a service charge and the residents are still entitled to this service. Any additional services provided may be charged for, for example an extra waste bin.

Legislated mandatory exemptions are:

• Health Services
• Community Services
• Religious purposes
• Public Cemeteries
• Royal Zoological Society of SA
• Educational purposes

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question/comment. In response:

Council keeps separate accounts of money received and expended in the administration and enforcement of the provisions of the Dog and Cat Management Act relating to dogs and cats.  The fees for surrender of dogs and cats to the Animal Welfare League (AWL) are paid from these accounts.

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

The allocation and development of playgrounds around the City are driven by Council’s Playground Guide, which Council has resolved on and calls for playgrounds of different classifications to be within a certain distance from every single house. It is not always possible to monitor the use of playgrounds because the use may be after business hours. Upgrades or investments into playgrounds are driven from Council’s Asset Management Plans for playgrounds or from community requests that are then considered and endorsed by Council. Both of these avenues indicates that the playground assets are being used.

Council has three designated off-leash dog parks, two of which are fully fenced (Pet Park at Chestnut Reserve Golden Grove and Bentley Reserve Dog Playground Holden Hill). The other dog park, Tails Trails at Ashley Avenue Reserve Ridgehaven is not fenced, however the playground nearby is fenced.

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

The proposed dog pound was included in the 2020-21 Annual Business Plan so will not appear in the 2021-2022 plan. In in our Quarter 3 Budget Council Report that went to Council on 25 May 2021, the dog pound has been carried forward to the 2021-22 financial year.

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

The overall costs of landfill, recycling and organics are all budgeted for, based on volumes collected in the previous year. The landfill budget has been reduced slightly for 2021-2022, and therefore has not been the cause of any increase in the rates. Notable for the landfill waste is the Solid Waste Levy, charged per tonne and paid to State Government. This makes up approximately 75% of the landfill cost.

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

The library has seen a large uptake in digital loans, in fact our digital loans tripled in the last year. This is a reflection of the increased availability of digital content such as e-books and e-audiobooks. However, this increase has not been offset to the same level in physical loans, these still remain strong. The library has 116,000 items available for loan and lends approx. 600,000 – 700,000 physical items per year and DVD and CD loans contribute almost 155,000 loans per year. 

There are a number of barriers to accessing digital content. The cost of streaming and online services can be prohibitive to some members of the community, along with the increasing cost of internet and broadband access. A level of digital skills are required to be able to access digital content and this can be a barrier, especially for the older generation. Library collections provide free and equitable access to resources to all in the community. Library collections remain popular and are still the most popular reason that people visit the library according to our recent customer survey. 

The library has reduced staffing since the library refurbishment in 2019 and further reductions to staffing on weekends and evenings has occurred since the Covid closures in 2020. However, the library is much more than just providing books on shelves and loan statistics. Library staff provide a range of programs and services to the community. The library sees over 5,000 visits monthly and close to 300,000 visitors annually, and 40,000 customers participated in library programs over the last financial year. The library provides early years and adult programs, digital literacy support, home library services, volunteer opportunities, local history services, online resources, outreach programs and much more. 

Library volunteers provide over 100 hours each week. These hours include library shelving, early years programs, digital literacy, English literacy tutoring, family history and home library services. Volunteer hours enhance and supplement library core services, but they do not replace the requirement for library staffing.

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

Council takes public health and safety seriously and maintains public trees to ensure lighting, road signs and other infrastructure it manages performs so as to meet relevant standards and guidelines. 

All councils, including the City of Tea Tree Gully, has an obligation to meet Target 5 of the State Government 30 year Plan for Greater Adelaide. To learn more about Target 5 and the benefits of trees visit: https://livingadelaide.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/278265/Target-5.pdf 

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

For a vehicle we purchase, such as a Ford Ranger, we would buy the XL model which is the bottom of the range. Sometimes we would buy the 4x4 version even though it may not be an immediate requirement, but we’ve found that 4x4 versions hold their value better than 4x2 models so when the time comes to replace the vehicle we are able to recoup a greater percentage of our funds. We typically change over a vehicle every 5 years or 100,000kms, so as to stay within the manufacturer warranty period. In all other instances, we only purchase bottom of the range vehicles.

Kind regards, Sarah

Hi chrisbenray, thanks for your question. In response:

Under the provisions of the Dog and Cat Management Act (the Act) Council has a responsibility for management of dogs and cats. 

Subject to the Act, each council is required to administer and enforce the provisions relating to dogs and cats within its area and this includes making satisfactory arrangements for the detention of dogs seized under this Act. Once seized, dogs must either;

• be returned to a person who owns or is responsible for the control of the dog; or
• detained in a facility approved by the Dog and Cat Management Board for the purpose of detaining dogs.

If a dog is detained, the person causing it to be detained must;

• Cause a notice to be displayed at the office of the council for the area in which the dog was seized (or if the dog was seized outside municipal and district council areas, at the police station nearest to where the dog was seized) containing—

(i) a general description of the dog; and

(ii) the day and time it was seized; and

(iii) contact details of a person or body to whom further enquiries can be made; and

• if a person who owns or is responsible for the control of the dog is known to the person or is readily ascertainable—cause notice of the detention to be given, as soon as practicable, to the owner or other person in the manner and form required by the Board.

A notice must remain displayed for at least 72 hours. Detaining an animal in the Council facility enables the quicker return of the animal to its identified owner. 

Council also has an existing agreement with the AWL to engage their Rehoming Services, with the AWL charging Council a fee per animal for this service. This agreement is in place should an animal not be returned to its owner within 72 hours.

Kind regards, Sarah

Good morning Lee

Thank you for your question. 

During COVID the Council reduced costs where practicable to offset the reduction in income budgeted to be received from user and statutory charges for the year which reduced after recreation centres and other areas were closed. There were also increased compliance costs including sanitisation and cleaning which were incurred by the Council when COVID occurred which were all absorbed without a decrease to the Council’s surplus. Overall the cancellations which occurred did not result in savings for the Council as there were many other factors affecting the finances of the organisation during the 2020 year.

Kind regards, Jo