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Council Meeting 9 May 2023 |
MEETING AGENDA – PRECIS SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS |
The following reports appear as late items as information required for the preparation of the reports was not available at the time of distribution of the Business Paper.
1 Mayoral Minutes
ITEM Page
C0523(1) Item 42 Mayoral Minute: Customer Service in Development Assessment 3
C0523(1) Item 43 Mayoral Minute: WestInvest funding for the Inner West 4
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Council Meeting 9 May 2023 |
Subject: Mayoral Minute: Customer Service in Development Assessment
From: The Mayor, Councillor Darcy Byrne
MOTION
1. That Council table a report at the June Ordinary Council meeting with a summary of the feedback received during the Planning Industry Professionals workshop. The report should include the following:
a) A catalogue of short, medium and long term service improvements that can be implemented to address the concerns and recommendations of the architectural and town planning sector; and
b) Key performance indicators and measurable data that can be used to identify how the organisation is performing in customer service and efficiency within development assessment
2. That Council receive a bi-monthly report, tabled at an Ordinary Council meeting, monitoring improvement in customer service within the development assessment system, based of the aforementioned key performance indicators and measurable data.
3. That Council hold a further workshop inviting planning industry professional who work within the Inner West to specifically discuss how the heritage assessment processes can be improved.
4. That Council undertake an expression of interest process to identify architects and town planners with deep experience in the Inner West who can contribute their expertise to the development of the new Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan.
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Background
On April 27 Council held a Planning Industry Professionals Workshop to discuss improvements to customer service within the development assessment system. The workshop was attended by a broad cross section of architects and town planners who work in the Inner West.
Nil.
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Council Meeting 9 May 2023 |
Subject: Mayoral Minute: WestInvest funding for the Inner West
From: The Mayor, Councillor Darcy Byrne
MOTION
1. That Council note that the Inner West was improperly prevented by the former Liberal / National NSW Government from applying for the $252 million Stronger Communities fund, as has been verified and condemned by the NSW Auditor General.
2. That Council note that despite having been by far the most
impacted community from Westconnex construction impacts and compulsory
property acquisitions that the Inner West was the only Council between the
CBD and the Blue Mountains to have been excluded from the $5 billion
WestInvest fund, which was created through revenue from the sale of
Westconnex. 3. That Council write to the new Premier, Chris Minns, and Treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, to notify them of the details of the gross mistreatment the Inner West community has been subjected to and to propose that the Inner West Council and community be made eligible to apply for the remaining funds available in WestInvest.
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Background
The recently defeated Liberal / National NSW Government systematically and improperly excluded the Inner West community from accessing grant funding.
Examples of this include:
$252 million Stronger Communities Fund
The maladministration of the Stronger Communities grants program which was created to support forcibly amalgamated Councils such as the Inner West. Following secret interventions by then Premier Gladys Berejiklian and then Deputy Premier John Barilaro, the Inner West Council was improperly prevented from applying for these funds, 95 per cent of which were then dispersed to Liberal National Party held electorates. This included $70 million that was provided to Hornsby Council, a Council that had not even been amalgamated.
The NSW Auditor General, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a Legislative Council Committee all found that this process was improper. The citizens of the Inner West were the primary victims of the impropriety. Had the Stronger Communities program funding been allocated evenly on a per capita basis to amalgamated councils the Inner West would have received $24 million.
$5 billion WestInvest Fund
Following the sale of Westconnex to Transurban the then Government created a $5 billion WestInvest fund. The only Council between the CBD and the Blue Mountains that was excluded from the fund was the Inner West Council, despite ours having been the community in which the vast majority of Westconnex construction took place and where have been major impacts across the past decade.
There are still substantial unexpended funds from the WestInvest program. Below is a summary of the allocations from the fund to date:
West Invest Local Government Funding Allocations
Council/LGA |
Population 2021 ABS |
Local Government Fund ($M) |
Funding
/ Population |
Blacktown |
403,000 |
$34,608,800 |
$85.88 |
Blue Mountains |
79,118 |
$22,600,000 |
$285.65 |
Burwood |
40,217 |
$20,790,791 |
$516.97 |
Camden |
120,028 |
$24,000,000 |
$199.95 |
Campbelltown |
176,519 |
$25,458,000 |
$144.22 |
Canterbury-Bankstown |
371,006 |
$34,000,000 |
$91.64 |
Cumberland |
237,129 |
$29,200,000 |
$123.14 |
Fairfield |
208,475 |
$28,000,000 |
$134.31 |
Hawkesbury |
67,207 |
$21,600,000 |
$321.40 |
Liverpool |
233,446 |
$28,000,000 |
$119.94 |
Parramatta |
256,729 |
$29,154,725 |
$113.56 |
Penrith |
217,664 |
$28,000,000 |
$128.64 |
Strathfield |
45,593 |
$21,800,000 |
$478.14 |
The Hills |
191,876 |
$27,000,000 |
$140.72 |
Wollondilly |
53,961 |
$21,300,000 |
$394.73 |
TOTALS |
2,701,968 |
$395,512,316 |