THREE STRIKES (Shire of York Annual Report 2014-15 Financial Year)

Western Australia has ‘Three Strikes’ Mandatory Sentencing Laws which basically mean, if you commit three criminal offences, you can go straight to jail, no matter what. 

Currently the Western Australian economy is in a parlous, degenerative state because of too great a reliance on the ‘Mining Boom’, now in rapid decline through a major downturn in Chinese economic growth.

This indicates that the second half of the ‘2015-16 Financial Year’ will see a marked reduction in State Government expenditure, including loans and grants (such as Royalties for Regions funding) , provided to WA’s Local Government Areas.

There is also the concern of a pending parliamentary upheaval with the Minister for Local Government, Tony Simpson, likely to be replaced in March. (The Premier has little choice but to do so as no government policy for major Local Government Area change has been successfully implemented since Simpson took office.)

Mr. Barnett’s publically stated opinion on ‘Local Government’, in general, is that it has some highly overpaid employees, its staffing levels are too high compared to the services actually delivered, it is pillaging the pockets of its ratepayers, its financial recording activities are considered incompetent by the Auditor General and some of these activities are giving the highly expensive Corruption and Crime Commission a reason to exist.

If a ‘Three Strikes’ policy was linked to the overall performance of Local Governments’ in Western Australia there would be an alarming number of councils in serious trouble.

Information provided in the Shire of York’s ‘Annual Report for the Year Ending June 30, 2015’ seems to verify some of the Premier’s adverse perceptions.

Two of the Shire of York’s Local Government Public Service Officers earned annual cash salary that placed them in the top 4 per cent of Australia’s wages and salary earners. This does not include the 30 per cent (at least) individual on-costs consisting of annual and long service leave, Superannuation entitlements, use of motor vehicles, use of corporate credit cards- and possible rental assistance.

This suggests that one of these officers’ total salary packages was around $225,000, the other, $250,000.

If you add the two other staff members whose salary cash component was in excess of $100,000, you will find just four staff members cost York ratepayers in the vicinity of $800,000, in 2014-15.

It is claimed that these officers were entitled to be paid within these salary bands. (Normally such salaries are based on a high level of performance linked to substantive Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and compulsory levels of acquired tertiary qualifications, experience and achievement.)

Within the Shire of York offices there were also four designated Customer Services Officers and four Administration Support Officers, among the 26 administrative staff evaluated by the Shire as being a major part of its $3,478,180 ‘employee costs’. (The total number of staff employed throughout the 2014-15 reporting period was 42, with 11 resignations (and/ or terminations) and 5 new staff were hired.)

Materials and Contracts add another $2,988,116 as additional employee related on-costs. That is if ‘materials’ means what is used by Shire employees to deliver required services, and ‘contracts’ includes the hiring of third-parties to deliver services that Shire employees are unable to provide. 

In the last Financial Year, the senior Public Service Officers of the Shire of York delivered incoming revenue of $9,154,328 from a total expenditure of $9,532,115, a negative variance of $377,787.

It is claimed that there is a surplus of $1,998.492, fortified by a Government Financial Assistance Grant of $742,000. This will mean a reduction in such funding for the 2016-17 Financial Year, thereby diminishing  the amount of restorative roadworks and deferring a Tourist Walk Trail upgrade, indefinitely.

The loan for the purchase of the Old Convent School building and surrounds of $625,000, excluding  interest repayments, appears to be scheduled for this Financial Year with the potential to further reduce any form of State Government assistance to the Shire in 2015-16 and beyond.

As an example of Key Performance Areas (KPA’s) that are supposed to be instigated,  stimulated and supported  through Shire planning and development service, the value of building works within the Shire of York has fallen by 35 per cent since the 2012-13 Financial Year.

The tourism promotion and marketing of York, to assist in increasing tourism numbers, was $10,000 provided for regional area promotion of the Avon valley and $8,144 for local events with the potential to attract tourists. (A sum of $30,000 was held in trust on behalf of ‘The York Jazz Festival’ that no longer exists.)

So is the Shire of York Administration, especially its Senior Public Service Officers, currently meeting the reasonable expectations of the York community regarding its socio-economic aspirations and improvement in lifestyle? (That is- are they meeting what should be the KPI’s in all KPA’s?)

One method of evaluation is Situation, Task, Action, Result or (STAR).

The current Situation is that:-

1. In the Shire’s last reporting period, there was a shortfall of $377,787 between
    expenditure and revenue raised.

2. Approximately 26.5 per cent of the nominated surplus is a Government Financial
     Assistance Grant.

3. Around 70 per cent of all expenditure is employee- related, including all salary costs,
    materials (including plant and equipment), contracts and utilities

4. The value of building works has declined by a total of 35 per cent over three consecutive
    annual reporting periods.

5. In 2014-15, just 0.19 per cent of an annual expenditure of $9.532.115 was allocated to the
    marketing and promotion of York for any purpose, tourism or otherwise.

The Task is for ratepayers is to accept or reject this economic performance, bearing in mind that the variance in revenue to expenditure in the last Financial Year can be referred to as a minor form of insolvency.

 The Action is for the Shire of York Council to demand, from its Administration, that there is an annual growth rate, which at least matches the inflation rate, in all necessary, economic KPA’s- or York’s local economy will be in a recession.

The Result will depend on the Shire of York Council’s ability to ensure that the Shire of York Administration can meet benchmark KPI’s in all KPA’s.

A number of people in the York community insist that the past has to be forgotten so a brighter future can be realized.

What is here is the economic situation at present. So now you can work out the future!

David Taylor
York Ratepayer.