City of Melbourne Annual Report 2008-09
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City of Melbourne 2009/10 Annual Report
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KSA 1
KSA 2
KSA 3
KSA 4
KSA 5
Statement by councillors, CEO and Principle Accounting Officer on the Performance Statement
Independent audit report - Melbourne City Council
 
Performance against key strategic activities  

In accordance with Section 127 of the Local Government Act 1989 (Vic), the council must provide a description of key strategic activities (KSAs) to be funded in the Annual Plan and Budget. The City of Melbourne’s 2008–09 KSAs guide business development and prosperity, improve the amenity and accessibility of the city and ensure that our organisation continues to be efficient, effective and operated for the benefit of our community. The delivery of our KSAs contributes to our vision of a vibrant, thriving and sustainable Melbourne.

The following performance statement outlines the council's achievement against the five 2008–09 KSAs.


KSA 1
Performance measure and target Achievements Issues Percent complete
Implement the first year of Melbourne's Business and International Strategy, focusing on effective support to small business through the grants program, the coordination of activities with critical industry sectors and the successful delivery of Sister City events.

All actions from Melbourne's Business and International Strategy scheduled for completion during 2008–09 have been delivered.

Highlights included:

  • 21 grants totalling over $400,000 were provided to small business through the 2008–09 Small Business Grants program
  • industry sector support has included the development of the Melbourne Hospitality Strategy 2008–2012, reconstitution of the Melbourne Retail Advisory Board and ongoing delivery of the Melbourne Retail Strategy including the Docklands Retail Statement
  • A range of Sister City events were delivered, including the Tianjin Dancing Kite Festival and the Osaka Twilight Festival. A new funding model was developed to support future sister city events using the Event Partnership Program model.
   100%
KSA met
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KSA 2
Performance measure and target Achievements Issues Percent complete
Implement the first year of the strategic plan for the Office of Knowledge Capital (OKC).

The OKC was formally established on 1 July 2008 and the strategic plan was revised in December 2008.

First year achievements include:

  • completion of Stage 1 of the Victoria-California Climate Change Research Collaboration Framework project with the report delivered to Office of Climate Change in November 2008, and progressing implementation of Victoria -California research collaboration links in 2009.
  • delivery of the Connect-ED project including the Melbourne International Student Welcome Booth at Melbourne Airport in February 2009 and the distribution of a comprehensive International Student Welcome Pack.

Business planning and consultation with stakeholders and external groups in 2008–09 required a reshaping of the OKC portfolio with some impact on the deliverables outlined within the original strategic plan. These deliverables were either no longer relevant or required a longer term timeframe for full implementation.

Consequently a number of the deliverables for 2008–09 will be completed throughout the next three years.

85%
KSA not met due to reasons stated.
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KSA 3
Performance measure and target Achievements Issues Percent complete
Implementation of the Social and Affordable Housing Framework which will include working with stakeholders on the redevelopment of the Drill Hall, implementation of Common Ground supportive housing model and an affordable housing component within the Boyd High School site.

All Social and Affordable Housing Framework strategic aims were fulfilled in 2008–09.
At the national level, the council contributed to reviews of Commonwealth programs and hosted and attended meetings with capital cities experiencing similar social and affordable housing issues.
Briefings were held with State Government to address the issue of housing stress and examine best practice models from the UK.
Melbourne City Council endorsed a merger of Melbourne Affordable Housing with the Housing Choices Australia Group to allow greater capacity to deal with funding and national policy requirements.
Outcomes from working with stakeholders included:

  • approval of the Drill Hall site planning permit granted and contract of sale signed
  • community engagement with project partners for the development at the Common Ground site (660 Elizabeth Street) and transfer of the council-owned Corporation Laneway 1014 to the site’s owner, Yarra Community Housing
  • the successful negotiation of an affordable housing requirement (20 per cent) for any new residential development at the former Boyd High School site (Southbank).
 Whilst 2008–09 stakeholder engagement commitments are complete, ongoing work will be required with owner/developers for the construction of affordable housing developments at the Drill Hall, Common Ground and former Boyd High School sites up to the point where tenants occupy apartments. Occupancy of Elizabeth Street is expected from September 2010. 100%
KSA met
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KSA 4
Performance measure and target Achievements Issues Percent complete
Improve the sustainability of our parks through a revised events policy and sports policy as a result of current climate conditions.

The revised events policy is yet to be finalised, however an Events in Parks report has been developed which will provide key information in the revision of the existing events policy. It is anticipated the events policy will be revised by December 2009.
In the interim, the council has implemented a number of measures to reduce the negative environmental impact from events in parks including:

  1. improvements to the site management of events
  2. use of protective coverings on turf to reduce damage from compaction
  3. development of cost apportionment and cost recovery mechanisms to ensure adequate recovery of reinstatement costs.

The City of Melbourne’s sports policy Active Melbourne was revised in August 2008 and a draft 2009–10 action plan developed.
One of the key areas of focus of Active Melbourne relates to place – the physical environment where people are active is a crucial factor in enabling activity.

The council is also ensuring that sustainable options are maximised in the physical environment including:

  • consultation with community sporting clubs on the installation of a limited number of synthetic sports fields in key sports precincts across the municipality
  • ongoing management of seasonal and casual sport throughout summer to maintain sustainability of sports fields for winter sport
  • the planting of warm season grasses at sporting fields to increase ground cover.
 Due to competing priorities the revised events policy will be considered by the Melbourne City Council in late 2009. 80%
KSA not met due to reasons stated.
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KSA 5
Performance measure and target Achievements Issues Percent complete
Deliver organisational improvements outlined in the Strategic Implementation Plan for Organisational Improvement 2008–09 All organisational improvement activities identified for completion by 30 June 2009 have been completed.   100%
KSA met
Statement by Councillors, Chief Executive and
Principal Accounting Officer on the Performance Statement
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In my opinion the accompanying performance statement has been prepared in accordance with the Local Government Act 1989.

Joe Groher signatre
Joe Groher (CPA)
Principal Accounting Officer

 

In the council’s opinion the accompanying compulsory performance statement presents fairly the performance of the Melbourne City Council for the year ended 30 June 2009. As at the date of signing, we are not aware of any circumstance, which would render any particulars in the performance statement to be misleading or inaccurate.

We were authorised by the council on 26 August 2009 to certify the financial report in its final form.
Robert Doyle signature
Brian Shanahan signature
Kathy Alexander signature
Robert Doyle
Lord Mayor
Brian Shanahan
Councillor
Dr Kathy Alexander
Chief Executive Officer
Melbourne 26 August 2009
 
Vago  
Independent auditor's report
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Auditor-General Victoria
To the Councillor's, Melbourne City Council

The Performance Statement

The accompanying performance statement for the year ended 30 June 2009 of Melbourne City Council which comprises the statement, the related notes and the Statement by Councillors, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Accounting Officer on the Performance Statement has been audited.

The Councillors’ Responsibility for the Performance Statement

The Councillors of Melbourne City Council are responsible for the preparation and the fair presentation of the performance statement in accordance with the Local Government Act 1989. This responsibility includes establishing and maintaining internal controls relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the performance statement that is free of material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibility

As required by the Local Government Act 1989, my responsibility is to express an opinion on the performance statement based on the audit, which has been conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. These Standards require compliance with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and that the audit be planned and performed to obtain reasonable assurance whether the performance statement is free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the performance statement. The audit procedures selected depend on judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the performance statement, whether due to fraud or error.

In making those risk assessments, consideration is given to internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the performance statement in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the overall presentation of the performance statement.

I believe that the audit evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my audit opinion.

Matters Relating to the Electronic Presentation of the Audited Performance Statement

This auditor’s report relates to the statement of performance published in both the annual report and on the website of Melbourne City Council for the year ended 30 June 2009. The Councillors are responsible for the integrity of the website. I have not been engaged to report on the integrity of the website. The auditor’s report refers only to the statements named above.

An opinion is not provided on any other information which may have been hyperlinked to or from these statements. If users of this report are concerned with the inherent risks arising from electronic data communications, they are advised to refer to the hard copy of the audited performance statement to confirm the information included in the audited performance statement presented on the Council’s website.

Independence

The Auditor-General’s independence is established by the Constitution Act 1975. The Auditor-General is not subject to direction by any person about the way in which his powers and responsibilities are to be exercised. In conducting the audit the Auditor-General, his staff and delegates complied with all applicable independence requirements of the Australian accounting profession.

Auditor’s Opinion

In my opinion, the performance statement of Melbourne City Council in respect of the 30 June 2009 financial year presents fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1989.

Auditor General signature

For D.D.R Pearson
Auditor-General

Melbourne 2 September 2009

 
© City of Melbourne 2009
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