Council prepares an annual management plan that sets out Council's goals, objectives and performance indicators. This plan covers a period of at least three years and includes the annual budget with associated fees and charges.
The City Strategic Plan for Holroyd embodies the Council's Charter by which it sets out the Council's vision for the next four years and beyond. It focuses on the challenges facing the City in the years to come and how the Council plans to meet the challenges.
The City Operational Plan contains the principal activities that Council proposes to conduct along with the budget, objectives and performance targets, the means by which these targets will be achieved, and performance assessed. The City Operational Plan also contains the 2009/2010 Fees and Charges.
In 2007/2008 Council implemented a major long term infrastructure initiative titled the '20 Plus' Asset Management Program. The Plan provides a major funding source to help address the growing gap that has emerged between the funding required to effectively manage Council's considerable portfolio of infrastructure assets and available funding.
To help address the funding gap Council introduced in 2007/2008 a 'Special Infrastructure Rate' along with a Stormwater Levy. The 2008/2009 financial year will be the second year in which the two will be levied.
In 2008/2009 Council will generate approximately $2.2 million from the Special Infrastructure Rate and the Stormwater Levy. The funds raised will be spent in line with the '20 Plus' Asset Management Plan.
Every two months at the end of each quarter the General Manager reports to Council about how the performance targets set by Council's management plan are being met.
Section 402 of the Local Government Act provides that during each year, a Council must prepare a draft Management Plan with respect to the Councils activities for at least the next 3 years, and the Councils revenue policy for the next year.
Section 405 of the Local Government Act 1993 preserves the rights of residents to comment on the draft Management Plan before it is finally adopted by Council.
The Council must give public notice of its draft Management Plan after it is prepared with a period of public exhibition being not less than 28 days.
The public notice must specify that submissions may be made to the Council at any time during the period of public exhibition.
During the period of public exhibition, the Council must have for inspection at its office (and at such other places as it may determine) a map which shows those parts of its area to which each category and sub-category of the ordinary rate and each special rate included in the draft Management Plan applies.
The draft Management Plan must contain the following statements with respect to the Councils activities for the period to which it relates:
The statement of principal activities must include the following:
The draft Management Plan also incorporates the Council's draft Budget for the next twelve months.
The following statements must be included with respect to the Councils revenue policy for the next year:
The statement with respect to an ordinary or special rate proposed to be levied must include the following particulars:
- the amount in dollars of the base amount, and
- the percentage, in conformity with Section 500, of the total amount payable by the levying of the rate, or, in the case of the rate, the rate for the category or sub-category concerned of the ordinary rate, that the levying of the base amount will produce.
The statement with respect to each charge proposed to be levied must include the following particulars:
A draft Management Plan must include a statement containing a general estimate of the Councils income and expenditure for the second and subsequent years for which the draft Management Plan is prepared.
The statement of fees and the statement of the pricing policy need not include information which could confer a commercial advantage on a competitor of the Council.
In deciding on the final Management Plan to be adopted, the Council must take into consideration any submissions that have been made by residents concerning the draft Management Plan prepared and exhibited.