Council’s committed to financial sustainability

Published on 12 February 2020

Cessnock City Council is committed to continuous improvement and ensuring the best value for money for rate payers, with a number of projects progressing well under the Financial Sustainability Initiative.

The long running initiative is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Council’s operations through identifying projects that focus on four key objectives; being to reduce costs, increase revenues, improve value-for-money and strengthen Council’s governance framework.

Since the start of the program in 2015 Council has made some huge savings.

Council’s Director of Works and Infrastructure, Justin Fitzpatrick-Barr said this initiative has brought about significant changes in the way we operate, allowing Council to achieve more within existing budget allocations.

“It’s about continuously examining the way we do things and looking for potential opportunities to bring about positive change. The results have been outstanding. “

“Through this initiative Council reduced its annual NSW State Waste Levy liability at the Cessnock Waste Management Centre by $2.4 million in the 2019 financial year. Council identified an opportunity to make operational changes that would increase recycling and divert material from landfill. This lowered the amount of waste going into landfill, all of which attracts the Waste Levy.”

“This project has been a huge success, not only has it lowered the NSW State Waste Levy cost, it has lowered the local impact on our environment and afforded valuable employment opportunities.”

Another highlight includes changing the way we manage our plant and fleet. After implementing findings following a review of an existing process Council has realised cost savings in the order of $310,000 per annum in relation to the hiring of heavy plant and equipment. This project has also provided two new full time positions within Council.

A number of projects are currently being progressed under this initiative and Council looks forward to sharing the results with the community.  The implementation of these projects is currently being managed and monitored through Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.