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00:00:00 Councillor Finzel: Good afternoon, my apologies, to the Services and Organisations Committee meeting Tuesday the 11th of February 2025. I'd like to acknowledge the Elders and Kabi Kabi people, past, present and emerging. And I'd like to express my appreciation of the inherent knowledge and cultural understanding and connection to our waters, land and sea. So thank you everybody and welcome today, noting we have all councillors in attendance and in the gallery we have councillor Tom Wegener. We have apologies from Frank the Mayor, who is our very important business overseas. Is that all we've got? Fantastic, thank you. So now we've done attendance and apologies, I'm seeking a confirmation of the minutes. Do we have someone to move that? I'll move it. Thank you, that's moved by councillor Phillips and seconded by councillor Wilson.
00:01:00 Thank you for that. I will take that to the vote. All in favour? Yes, that's unanimous. Thank you. We have no presentations, no deputations. And we have before us reports for consideration for the committee. We have item number 7.1 the contract renewal. Provision of contingent staff labour hire. And we've got council staff report written by Diana Stewart who is going to give a brief overview. Speaker 5: Thank you, councillors. This report that is presented to you today is in relation to awarding a procurement contract to ensure the provision of contingent staff labour hire. So by way of background, Council engages, as you know, our labour hire workforce as part of its overall resourcing model to fill our resourcing needs.
00:02:00 And in particular, it allows us the flexibility to scale our workforce quickly and access specialised skills when we need it to manage fluctuating demands. It's important to note that our labour hire workforce is a critical component in supporting Council to deliver services to our community. So within this resourcing model, we have a current contract with Common Shura, our labour hire provider, that is due to expire on the 28th of February of this year. This contractual arrangement has been established under our local government, local buy arrangement scheme. Prior to engaging with the Common Shura, our sourcing of contingent workforce was ineffective as teams spent substantial time trying to engage labour hire staff with individual recruitment firms directly.
00:03:00 So essentially what we had was a decentralised engagement model that was inefficient. Since moving to a vendor-neutral managed service provider such as Common Shura, we have achieved great efficiencies and speed in sourcing, engaging and onboarding work. We have also been able to increase the number of workers in response to Council's specific needs. Essentially, the service provider does a large part of the administrative work for Council in managing the various recruitment firms on offer and offering us suitable candidates for our consideration. So whilst our labour hire workforce is not extensive in size, performance data from 2021 to 2024 shows a steady uptake of contingent workers across Council, primarily focused in technical, and specialised roles, with a total order value spend for that period of approximately $2.28 million. So within this context, a procurement panel was recently established,
00:04:00 assembled consisting of staff from People and Culture Branch, Governance Branch and Procurement Team, which reviewed Common Shura's new proposal to Council and concluded that it was deemed to satisfy the sound contracting principles by being a value for money proposal, coupled with a strong performance, experience, and ability to continue to offer us innovative and collaborative labour hire solutions. We also note that Common Shura are a leading vendor-neutral service program provider with extensive reach into our Sunshine Coast labour market. And equally, Council's experience with them has been very positive, with the provider offering us a friendly, efficient, and expeditious customer experience. So overall, the panel considered various risks and opportunities in this process, and deemed that by continuing to engage Common Shura for a further period,
00:05:00 it would allow Council to explore long-term other potential supplier options in a planned manner, should it choose to, that aligns to its future long-term resourcing goals. So I hope that gives you a summary. Councillor Finzel: Thank you, Diana. That was a well-written report and summary. Thank you. Do we have any questions from any of the Councillors with regards to the report? Councillor Wilson: Not from me. Councillor Finzel: Not from me. Thank you. Not from me. Thank you. CEO, is there any comment you'd like to make around the report? Speaker 1: This is a stock standard way of keeping our business ticking over in the most efficient manner, so it's very useful to us in the way we do our business. Thank you, then. Councillor Finzel: So we'll put the motion forward to note the report by the Governance Manager, award the contract to Common Shura, delegate the CEO the power to negotiate, finalise, execute and do all the things necessary to invest the contract on behalf of Council, and delegate to the Chief CEO to extend the contract for a period of up to three years
00:06:00 from the date of 1 May 2027 at Council's discretion. Do we have a mover? Thank you. That's Councillor Winsell. Wilson. Seconded by Jessica Phillips. My apologies. We'll take that to the vote. That's all in favour. That's unanimous. Thank you. And thank you to the staff. And thanks, Steve. Thank you, everyone. Take care. Bye. Thank you. Item 8.1, Noosa Holidays Parks Update. We welcome the staff to the table and seek a review of the report, which I might add was very comprehensive and gave some good reading. So thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you, Councillors. I won't take any of Robyn's thunder.
00:07:00 I'll just hand straight over to Robyn to take us through the detail of the report. Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you, Marg, and good afternoon, Councillors. This report provides you with an update on the Noosa Holiday Park Business Unit for the period from 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024. Noosa Council operates three caravan pin grounds and caravan parks across the region at Boring Point, Noosa North Shore and Noosa River. In summary, the program is performing as expected, meeting both revenue and surplus requirements year-to-date, including $2.46 million in revenue and an operational service of $545,000. Visitation numbers are tracking well, with almost 32 guests during the first six months of this financial year. This is in line with previous year's performance and is a positive indicator of utilisation of these facilities and market awareness of our campgrounds and holiday parks. This is important to ensure that we uphold the designated land use for these sites
00:08:00 and maintain their intended purpose for camping and caravan recreation. Additionally, forward bookings through to the end of financial year remain strong. There's over $3.9 million in forward revenue booked and forecasted to achieve the expected budget operational surplus. Thank you. I will also quickly draw your attention to a typing error in Section 2, Visitation. The second sentence, the start of the sentence, is in capital. Speaker 5: I apologise. Speaker 2: Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Councillor Wilson: So, any questions from the councillors at the table? No questions. It's a great report. Thanks for all the data. Thank you. And all the graphs. It's great. Councillor Phillips: No, I think he's saying the workshop or the briefing beforehand on it was very thorough and so is the report. So, I'll put that question in. Thank you. You're very confident in it being in your answer.
00:09:00 Thanks. Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Thank you, Councillor Wegener. Nothing from the gallery. Well, given that, thank you. I'm happy to move the item. Do we have a seconder? I'll second. Second by Councillor Phillips. Yes, thank you. It was a great report. Yes, as Councillor Phillips said, the workshop was very informative and everything has been backed up by data. It's very comprehensive. And I'm pleased to say that the projection forwards are hitting all the right targets and the community should be pleased that the service that we're delivering to the broader community and beyond is really well maintained and managed by yourself and the staff. And it's good to know that we've got the utilisation of the facilities to make sure that, you know, everyone has that opportunity to come and enjoy our beautiful region and stitch to the purpose of the land use, which is recreation and holiday through camping. So I think it ticks all the boxes.
00:10:00 And we're looking forward to the future as this area in our council continues to grow and meet the needs of our community and visitors alike. So thank you. Thank you, everyone. All right. I'll take it to the vote. Yes. All right. Okay, we'll take it to the vote. That's unanimous. All in favour? Thank you. Thank you to the staff for being here after that. Councillor Wilson: Thank you. Thanks. Councillor Finzel: So we're moving into the report noting 8.2, cemetery fees, GST determination. Thank you, Kerri. Welcome to the table. Thank you. Speaker 7: So this is a fairly brief report from time to time. The Taxation Office issues determinations. So apologies for that. Regarding whether or not GST is applicable to certain things. Last year they did a review into burial rights within public cemeteries or on public land.
00:11:00 And determined that this was a regulatory activity and therefore not subject to GST. So that's a change in their ruling. So therefore we need to follow through on that change. As our fees are published in Council's Fees and Charges, it needs to be adopted by Council so that we can then make the necessary change. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Councillor Wilson: Any questions? No questions again. Great report. Thank you. And it's good to see that our customers get a saving for a couple of these services. Speaker 7: Yes. Not many. Councillor Wilson: Thank you. Councillor Finzel: There was a risk around the GST if we didn't proceed through that process. What was that about? Speaker 7: The risk would be then that we are not compliant. So the ATO allows a period understanding that it takes time, particularly within government processes, to move through a process.
00:12:00 So they allow that time. If we haven't implemented it within a couple of months, then we would be non-compliant. And we would then be up for a whole range of retrospective costs as well. But to be bringing it forward now in early February is perfectly fine. That's fantastic. Councillor Finzel: Good to know. Speaker 7: It was a difficult one in that it was announced in December. So very challenging for anyone to implement it over Christmas. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Thank you for the report. Who would like to move the motion? I'll move the motion. Okay. Do we have a seconder? I'll second. Happy to second by Councillor Wilson. And we'll take that to the vote. That's unanimous. All in favour? Thank you. Thank you.
00:13:00 Speaker 1: Okay. Councillor Finzel: We're moving on. Reports were noted by the committee. Item number 8.3. Capital program 2024-2025. Delivery status. Who's bringing that report? Speaker 2: Yes. Councillor Finzel: Before we proceed on, we have a conflict of interest. Councillor Phillips: Councillor Phillips. Even though it's for reporting, but in accordance with Chapter 5B of the Local Government Act 2009, I, Councillor Phillips, informed the meeting that I have a terrible conflict of interest in this matter in relation to an upcoming tender for Cooroy Gymnastics Club mentioned in the Capital Program update report. I've been hired as a consultant by the Cooroy Gymnastics Club to assist in resourcing of their coaching staff and I'm currently coaching the senior competitive program on an interim basis. I do not believe a reasonable person could have a perception of bias because the information
00:14:00 in the report is merely noting that a tender is upcoming in the future. Therefore, I will choose to remain in the meeting room. However, I will respect the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate in the decision. There's just one bit. It actually says the, it's the Cooroy Sports Complex. Maybe if we just want to make sure that's, which includes gymnastics upgrade and multi-purpose area. Okay. Or if we want to go straight from the wording on the report, Cooroy Sports Complex, gymnastics upgrade and multi-purpose area. Councillor Wilson: Cooroy Sports Complex. Councillor Phillips: Is that who you're hiring as a consultant by, though? Oh, sorry, no. Speaker 4: So, up there. Councillor Phillips: Cooroy Gymnastics Club, yeah, that bit, the tender for Cooroy Sports Complex. Gymnastics upgrade and multi-purpose area.
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00:15:00 Speaker 4: Which includes? Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Councillor Wilson: Sorry, should the, that declaration says that she will stay in the room and take part in the decision? There is no decision, no. If there's a decision on noting the report.
00:16:00 Speaker 3: I like recommendations. Councillor Wilson: I agree with that. Understood. Councillor Finzel: Okay. Okay. Are you happy with the wording, councillor? Councillor Wilson: Yes, thank you. Thank you. Any more questions? Do we have any questions? Speaker 1: No. Councillor Wilson: To move that councillor Phillips stay in the room, in accordance with section 150 ES of the Local Government Act 2009, having considered the council's conflict of interest as described, it's decided that councillor Phillips may participate and vote on this matter relating to the Cooroy Sports Complex and multi-purpose area, which includes the Cooroy Gymnastics Club, noting that there is no decision on that tender today. It's just being noted as something that will come to council in the future. At which point?
00:17:00 Councillor Finzel: Councillor Wilkins. Yes. Act accordingly. Thank you, councillor Wilson. And I'm happy to second that. Yes. Thank you. It's good that we're all adhering to our code of conduct and delivering to our community transparent and good governance around these issues. So thank you, councillor. We'll take it to the vote. That's unanimous. And, councillor, you can remain in the room. Thank you. And, no, councillor Phillips did not go to the vote. Thank you, everyone, for your patience. Welcome. Good afternoon to the staff. Thank you for bringing your overview of the report to the table. Speaker 6: Good afternoon, councillors. This report provides a status update of the capital works program as of 31 December 2024 and excludes disaster recovery projects. The approved capital budget provision for the 24-25 financial year is $53.8 million, inclusive of carry forwards of $22.4 million, noting that this has been amended to $46 million following Budget Review 2.
00:18:00 The actual expenditure achieved to 31 December is $13.6 million, with $7.2 remaining in commitments. And there are currently 134 projects on the capital works program in varying stages of delivery. Council has a current forecast of grant funding revenue of $14.2 million, with Council's contribution to these projects being $8.4 million. The design services team are currently managing 16 projects and providing design services to 18 projects and continue to provide design and survey support to over 60 projects in the 21st century. These projects have a combined design and construction value exceeding $14 million. The infrastructure planning services team are currently supporting key master planning initiatives and multiple sub-projects.
00:19:00 The estimated value in 24-25 is $1 million, with an estimated future project investment value in the range of $75 million plus. The infrastructure planning, design and delivery branch is undergoing a major restructuring process. And has recently been impacted by some resignations of key staff. And mitigation strategies are being implemented to reduce the impacts. The resource constraints continue to hamper the delivery of projects. Enhancements in systems, tools, processes are continuously being rolled out across IPDD. Particularly in the area of project controls, reporting and forecasting. Innovative strategies for project delivery are continuing to be rolled out across IPDD. Continuously being explored, such as optimising the size of procurement packages and utilising external resources to supplement resource constraints. It is recommended that Council note the report by the Director of Infrastructure Services to the Services and Organisation Committee on 11 February 2025,
00:20:00 providing an update of the delivery of the 24-25 capital works program to December 31, 2024. Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Wow, there's a lot in that then. There's a lot of information to get out. I think there's a lot of work being done by a very small dedicated team. Thank you for the report and for your verbal overview this morning. Question to the CEO. Resignations in that department, it seems like a bit of a workload. How are we looking towards managing those impacts as we move forward? Speaker 1: Very good question. Councillor Finzel: Very good question. Speaker 1: We are working through it. We're actually looking at a model where we're outsourcing a number of our projects as well. So that's the change that's happening. Because it is difficult to secure new staff and secure them quickly, it's incumbent on us to keep the program working.
00:21:00 And we have been exploring this anyway in terms of where we can outsource where it's more economic or more time sensitive. Then we'll outsource. Others will keep it internal and do as we need to do. But we have lost a couple of key people. But we've also gained some key people and we've got some very good people in here who are working diligently to get all this work done. So, you know, top of the order. We can continue to do it. But it is a struggle. There's no question about that. We're not shying away from the fact that it's tough out there. And it's not just in council but all businesses are doing it tough in terms of the construction industry because there's a lot of demand on people's time and effort. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. What about staff morale? How has the change taken on you? How have you been up there with psychological impacts? Speaker 1: We have to ask the staff. But I think that, you know, it is difficult when you lose people that you respect and have been integral to the programs for various reasons.
00:22:00 We've had people moving on. And, yeah, it just takes time to readjust. But, again, there are people that are stepping up and taking on more responsibility and doing a great job. Councillor Finzel: Fantastic. Okay. So we've got HR involved for psychosocial risks in the workplace. Speaker 1: Absolutely. Fantastic. Okay. Councillor Finzel: We've got to make sure that we can help this great team because they do deliver a lot of work. And they'll work hard to punch above their weight to deliver this extensive infrastructure program. Speaker 1: Yeah. So there's no question there will be some, and we report this every month, that we have work that has to be rolled over just because we can't get to it or it just takes further time to deliver. But we're also very conscious that, you know, the longer you leave it and if you don't do it properly, then the costs go up as well. Yeah. So we've got to manage all those things under the same banner.
00:23:00 So it's a tough business. But, again, the people we've got are doing a great job. Councillor Phillips: Yeah. Fantastic. Thank you. Any other questions? Questions, please. And that's probably going to be to Larry. Do we provide exit interviews for any of them? Absolutely. And have counsellors ever been provided, like, maybe a summary of some of the reasoning of the resources or them leaving? Speaker 1: Sure. I guess we do it more ad hoc than, in terms of the exit interviews, absolutely. Everybody does that. But in terms of reporting back to council, yeah, I think we probably do it more of an add-on method. So, yeah, I'm happy to actually bring some more of that to you, but that will come through our P&C department. Councillor Phillips: Yeah. I guess, because my follow-up question is around, like, long-term planning then, if we are seeing that staff are leaving for whatever reasons that come through, that if it is maybe workload or, then what I'd like to see is that when we're looking at strategic long-term
00:24:00 goals of the capital works program, that we're actually taking that into consideration rather than continually, like, continually maybe biting off more than what our team can deliver. Councillor Wilson: Yeah, that's exactly right. Councillor Phillips: And then we're under-delivering, and the community see that. So, that was more of a statement, but I think there's a question in there. Speaker 1: That's okay. I'll take it as a question, Cassie. We... Thank you. Look, there's no doubt we need to do that, and that's part of the budget process going forward, is that we have been taking advantage of the opportunities that have been there over the last number of years with various funding opportunities. It's time to actually look out and say, we've got to deliver the stuff that we've got on our plate, and stop looking for new things all the time, and that's very much what we're planning to do coming forward. Again, it's all about workforce planning as well, so getting the time to do that, and getting... Instead of just going, well, what have we got on our plate next year, it's what have
00:25:00 we got on our plate for the next five years and ten years, and that's what we've got to do. It's not just in this team, it's across the whole organisation. So, that's a piece of work that I've charged the PNC department to really put their heads down and work on. Again, it's been difficult because we've had movement, but also it's just we've got so much going on. We just need to find the time to do it. But that's absolutely the piece of work that needs to happen, and I think we do need to take our foot off the pedal a little bit in terms of some of the projects, because it's just... It's very demanding, but it also, if you don't do it properly, it costs you a lot more money than what you want to be paying. Councillor Wilson: And I think to add to that, we've got so many plans and strategies that we get different members of the community saying, you haven't completed these initiatives and this plan, and in the bigger picture of everything that we're trying to get through in the capital works, it's just feasibly not possible. Speaker 1: Exactly. You end up with the small people. Thank you, Rob, for your own back again there. Councillor Phillips: Any further questions?
00:26:00 No, I can't look at her not to make that a statement. It's okay. What are we doing? An observation would be maybe that we... It's great that we see so many grants come through, but an observation from my perspective would be that rather than focusing on chasing grants, which we have to co-contribute every time from rate payers, I'd like to see more around what we can actually deliver with our... Speaker 1: Absolutely. Councillor Phillips: We are far more... Councillor Finzel: Far more... Speaker 1: What was that? Prescriptive in terms of what we do chase now, and it'd be useful to see more of that. We used to be more of what's out there, let's just go after it. Now we're far more discerning. Councillor Finzel: Right. Thank you. Yeah. I think the days are the rivers of gold now. Speaker 1: Yeah. Councillor Finzel: Counting to an end, the flow, and we have to be far more efficient. Yeah. Speaker 1: And there's more work outside of this organisation, so the Olympics and the various big projects
00:27:00 around, the road projects, all putting demand on staff or resources in the region, so we've got to be cognisant of that as well. Councillor Phillips: And correct me if I'm wrong, but if... When we get grants, often that's for the delivery of the project and not the ongoing costs that I feel sometimes then cost count rate payers, because we haven't factored in lifelong maintenance of that. Yeah. So it's great that we get grants, but then I feel like maybe we've gone... Sure. A little bit too big, and I'd like to see maybe some tightening in around giving good Speaker 1: quality and... I think I think you're spot on there, Council, in terms of we do try to include that where possible, and we're getting better at it. We're smarter at asking those questions up front, whereas before it was like, well, let's just do it, we'll work that out later. Yeah. But it also comes with our asset management plans, so we're now far more aware of what that's going to cost us in the longer term, so we're getting better at it. Again, all councils that I know of are running this same gauntlet in terms of catch up and
00:28:00 trying to get through as much as they can because, again, the community demands are out there still. Wilson just said, it's the community wants more, and all these different things that we've got going on, and we as humans are trying to do as much as we can to cater for all of that. And ultimately, it comes back and vice versa. We've got to be a bit more discerning. Yes. Again, you'll see as we come through the budgets, it's something that will be brought to the table. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. And I think we have seen continuous improvement, you know, around this infrastructure, a lot of it into the structure. Absolutely. And the cost will be thought into the future. Yeah. So, yeah, we're just... It's a good opportunity, I think, to focus, you know, drill closer down to what's really happening here and strive for continuous improvement and efficiencies. Speaker 1: And a lot of our funding from the state and federal governments in the past hasn't included even the ability to shave off some from the management, project management point of view. We've had to try to deal with that ourselves, whereas now they're recognising that that's
00:29:00 not always possible either. So a lot of the funding that we get, not even the grants, but just the general funding for various things, we're able to build in that project management cost. So at least we're being able to utilise that to make it more efficient for us as a council to deliver. Councillor Finzel: And I think from there, where this gets raised a lot at the LGAQ conferences... Absolutely. ...as well as she's put up... Yeah. ...to the state around this idea of funding and grants. But then, you know, we deliver, but then who's going to manage the ongoing costs back to our rate payers? Exactly. Yep. So I think we're all pretty cognisant that this is on the table and these are the challenges that we're facing in these reports. Yep. So we're not alone, as Larry said. Absolutely. And we've got a great dedicated staff that's doing the best they can and delivering what they can with what they've got. Yep. So we really appreciate that. Speaker 1: And we see from these reports and we've got people who now have really got their eye on the ball in terms of the delivery and the scheduling and the timelines.
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00:30:00 So it's great to see. Speaker 3: And these discussions will probably be key in the budget process for next capital year. We're starting to look at the project initiations and having a look forward at next year's budget and how these grant projects impact on that. Just on your question about the exit interviews, another reporting mechanism would be the health and wellbeing survey that PNC have run. Yeah. We're just going through as a department now the results of ours and starting to listen further. The next step will be developing the strategies to improve. But a lot of what's come out of that is reflective of what we've done. And reflecting what was in those exit interviews as well. So just another reporting mechanism for that. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. That's great. Thank you. Any other questions? Speaker 6: No. Happy to move the motion. Councillor Finzel: Okay. Happy to second. Do you want to speak to that? Councillor Wilson: Yes. So we've kind of gone through lots of the challenges that we face at the moment.
00:31:00 But I think it's worth also celebrating the successes that we've got in this report. Good. We've got some beautiful photos here and it shows that we're completing projects all around the Shire. So we've got the Cooroy Cemetery fencing, the Koran shade umbrellas, the roof of the childcare centre in Tewantin, Suntan Beach lifeguard tower, another roof replacement, some plant and fleet for the local laws team to look after animals, Cooroy playground slide replacement, Noosaville fitness equipment upgrade, Noosa Heads and Noosa Woods BBQ renewals, Shire wide pathway programme in Cooroy and Noosaville, and a fantastic result at the Noosa Leisure Centre, the outdoor court upgrade and the basketball court there. Don't see your face on that line. Speaker 1: Yeah. Councillor Wilson: That's true. And container return point at the landfill in Tewantin.
00:32:00 So some great achievements. So despite all those challenges, it's good to see some of those projects completed that really do make an impact on our community and very, very noticeable out there. So thank you. And also just mentioning that I'm on the capital works executive and the very detailed reporting we get very much is fantastic there too of where we're at with everything and Councillor Phillips: where the visits are. Councillor Wilson: Thank you. I'd be sure to recommend this report. Thank you. Did we have a second act? Yes. Councillor Finzel: No, we'll take it to the vote. Did you want to talk to it? I don't need to talk to it. I think we've covered enough ground. And yes, happy to take it to the vote. That's unanimous. All in favour? Thank you. And thank you to the staff. Thank you. Thank you. So that brings us to the end of our meeting today. There was no confidential session and the meeting has closed at 2.03pm.
00:33:00 Thank you, Mr. CEO. Thank you, staff, councillors.