Council Transformation saves over $30 million
Date published: 25 September 2018
Townsville City Council’s Transformation program resulted in $31.3 million in savings for ratepayers last financial year.
The impressive fiscal result was $3.7 million more than predicted in the 2017-18 Budget – a 13 per cent increase in expected savings.
The Transformation program included 24 reforms recommended as part of the Nous organisational structure review, which aimed to slash red tape, improve financial sustainability and boost economic activation.
Some of the key achievements of the Transformation program include reducing the number of credit cards issued to Council staff by 60 per cent, implementing a new organisational performance reporting system and reducing the size of the light vehicle fleet by 60.
An additional reduction in procurement paperwork will save ratepayers more than $300,000 in the 2018-19 Budget.
Mayor Jenny Hill said the reforms had delivered huge savings for ratepayers and made Council simpler, faster and better to deal with for both businesses and residents.
“These savings have put Council on a strong financial footing and allowed us to reinvest more back in to frontline services and infrastructure,” Cr Hill said.
“The number of trainees and apprentices has surged from 8 to about 100 – an unprecedented number for the organisation.
“My team of Councillors has handed down Townsville’s biggest ever infrastructure spend in the 2018-19 Budget, to build for our future and create jobs for locals now.
“The Transformation program has put Council in a strong and sustainable financial position and ensured that we are engaging with the community like never before.”
Governance and Finance Committee Chair Cr Verena Coombe said the savings achieved through the Transformation process was impressive.
“These changes have saved ratepayers more than $30 million last financial year, which shows how needed these reforms were to ensure Council was structured in the most efficient way,” Cr Coombe said.
“Not only has the Transformation process ensured Council is more financially sustainable, it has allowed more money to be invested back into the community services and infrastructure projects right across our community.”
The progress report on the Transformation program was presented to today’s Full Council meeting.
