Tag Archives: Asset Based Community development

272 – What is the big deal about the Wigan Deal?

Posted on by

1200 words (13 minutes reading time) by Lancing Farrell

In his post on the Victorian local government enquiry, Colin Weatherby mentioned the Wigan Deal as an example of how councils can avoid the politics of sacrifice – i.e. being forced to give up what you have today – and instead move to the politics of transition – i.e. finding better ways in the future. It seems like a no brainer to me and I am sure every elected representative would agree that this would be better politics. Unfortunately, they are not necessarily getting to make the decision – or, if they are, they are being given limited options by their bureaucracy about the decision they can make.

Strategic versus operational decisions

As an aside, this has been a point of contention in Victoria where the Local Government Act restricts councillors to making ‘strategic decisions’, while the CEO and staff make ‘operational decisions’. The definition of each type of decision seems to be quite flexible. For anyone wanting to see how this plays out, watch the Mornington peninsula Shire Council meeting on the 28 May 2024 at the 4 hour and 25 minute mark. Fascinating.

In contrast, the Wigan Deal was created and implemented with the commitment and direction of both elected representatives and the organisational leaders.

Continue reading →

271 – Victorian government enquiry into local government

Posted on by

1000 words (11 minutes reading time) by Colin Weatherby

The Victorian state government’s Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee has started an enquiry in to the funding and service delivery of local government in the state, which will look at:

  • The effects of cost shifting from the state and federal governments to local councils in an examination of vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances.
  • Whether local councils are adequately delivering on their core service delivery objectives.
  • The overall revenue structure of local government.
  • Whether the existing revenue structure is sustainable and appropriate or if alternative models of funding would be more sustainable and appropriate.
  • Any other related matters.

This is a timely review and comes at the same time that the national government is also holding an enquiry into the financial sustainability of local government. It seems that the other levels of government have become concerned about whether councils are able to meet community needs and expectations now and in the future.

Unsurprisingly, the Local Government Finance Professionals (FinPro) have made a submission to the Victorian enquiry . They make a number of interesting points in their submission.

Continue reading →