Q. What services does Blue Mountains City Council provide?
SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY
Burials and Ashes Placement
Child Care
Community Development
Community Safety
Cultural Development
Economic Development
Emergency Management
Environmental Health and Regulatory Compliance
Environmental Management
Land Use Management
Library and Information
Sport and Recreation
Stormwater
Tourism
Town Centre Amenity
Traffic Management
Transport and Public Access (including Roads)
Waste
CORPORATE SERVICES SUPPORTING DELIVERY OF SERVICES TO COMMUNITY
Asset Planning and Management
Contract Management
Central Warehousing and Purchasing
Council Buildings, Facilities and Property
Customer Service
Financial Management
Fleet
Governance
Human Resource Management
Information Management
Printing
Strategic Planning for the City
Strategic Planning for the Organisation
Q. How much money does Council have to spend and where does it come from?
In preparing its Management Plans, the Council develops detailed annual budgets that fund the provision of services for the coming financial year. The Council also prepares a 4-year projected budget. The Council is proposing a balanced budget for 2009-2010 with estimated revenue of $107 million matched by estimated expenditure of $107 million. Within this balanced budget, $1 million has been allocated for the renewal and maintenance of the Council’s built assets in the Capital Works Program.
The Council's 2009-2010 revenue sources are as follows:
Rates $47 million
Regulatory Fees $1.9 million
Discretionary Fees $11.8 million
Interest Income $87K
Othe Revenue $3.9 million
Profit on Sale of Assets $348K
Operating Grant $10.7 million
Operating Contributions $1.1 million
Capital Works Funding $22.8 million
Sale of Plant $2.8 million
Transfer from Reserve $2.9 million
For more information refer to page 18 of the Draft 2009-2010 Management Plan.
Q. What is the Environment Levy for and what is it spent on?
The Council voted on 12 July 2005, as part of setting the rates, to introduce the Environment Levy which now gives the Council an approximate additional $1 million per year to spend specifically on environmental protection and natural resource management projects within the Blue Mountains local government area.
More detailed information on the Environment Levy Program can be found on page 75 of the Draft 2009-2010 Management Plan.
Q. What assets does Council own?
The total depreciated replacement value of Council’s assets is $429,559,000 (Annual Report 2008, Note 9a, Infrastructure, Property, Plant & Equipment, page 65). A key service Blue Mountains City Council provides for the City is the provision, renewal and maintenance of several million dollars worth of built assets. The assets have been categorised into asset classes and types which are listed in the following table.
The Nine Asset Classes & Types:
1) Roads & Transport
•Roads
•Bridges
•Roadside General
•Carparks
•Paved Footpaths
•Traffic Facilities, Signs & Linemarking
2)Stormwater Drainage
•Drainage Channels, Pipelines, Kerb & Gutter
•Quality Improvement Devices
3) Recreation Facilities
•Parks
•Sportsgrounds
•Playing Courts
•Skateparks
•Fitness & Aquatic Centres
4) Landfills & Waste Facilities
5) Community Buildings & Facilities
•Toilet Blocks
•Community Buildings & Halls
•Libraries
6) Operational & Commercial Facilities
•RFS/SES Buildings
•Administration & Depot Buildings
•Commercial Buildings & Facilities
7) Passive Recreation Facilities
•Walking Trails & lookouts
•Picnic Areas & Reserves
8) Natural Assets
•Natural Assets – Vegetation & Waterways
•Fire Trails
•Significant Trees
9) Cemeteries & Monuments
•Cemeteries
•Monuments