9488 2004 Annual Report Cover - City of Playford · This Annual Report reflects the progress ... of thinking and the Playford Plan an ... Enhancement of the landscape

AnnualReport2003/2004

C I T Y O F

Diversity“… the City of Playford has muchto offer residents, investors andpeople seeking leisure, recreation,education, employment and social activities ”

01

THE CITY OF PLAYFORD

The City of Playford, formed in 1997, is a diverse community, and is home

to more than 70,000 people. The City of Playford has many positive aspects,

including its well-established industry base, strong community spirit, wide

open spaces, cultural diversity and affordable housing. The City is also the

base for the production of the Holden motor vehicle, and a wide range of

other manufacturing businesses, as well as being a leader in horticulture with

the Virginia horticultural industry boasting some of the best produce on the

market. The City of Playford is also proud to be the home of the successful

Central District Football Club (Bulldogs).

Named in honour of Sir Thomas Playford, South Australia’s Premier between

1938-1965, the City of Playford has much to offer residents, investors and

people seeking leisure, recreation, education, employment and social activities.

Council’s vision is to continue to drive the ongoing revitalisation of the City

and the northern region of Adelaide. This Annual Report reflects the progress

made by the City of Playford and its partners in 2003/2004 towards achieving

this vision.

ContentsCreating An Even Better Playford ........................... 2

An Award Winning City ............. 3

Elected Members ....................... 4

Management Group ...................5

Playford – A preferred place to live ............................... 6

State of the City......................... 7

Organisational Statement of Success – Vision for 2013....... 9

Playford’s Strategic PlanningArchitecture ............................. 10

The New Playford Civic Centre ............................. 12

The Year in Review – Economic Prosperity ................. 14

The Year in Review –Environmental Care ..................22

The Year in Review – Community Wellbeing ............. 29

The Year in Review – Corporate ................................ 36

Council & Corporate Governance Review...................40

Rating Policy Statement 2003/2004 ...............48

Annual Financial Statements .....54

02

“We have achieved a lot during the year and this Annual Report details this”

Our Annual Report is our principal

way of being accountable to

our community.

We have achieved a lot during the

year and this Annual Report details

this. None of it could have been

achieved if it was not for the

contribution of our community and

the people who work for us. Perhaps

the most telling result is that our

community scored us at 72 (75 last

year) out of 100 in terms of how we

service them. When we asked them

how satisfied they were living in our

City 86% (90%) said they were

either very satisfied or satisfied.

84% (86%) would recommend

it to others as a place to live.

The greatest challenge faced by our

City and for that matter the Nation

and State is to get organisations

and individuals to work together for

the betterment of the community.

The Playford Partnership is a way

of thinking and the Playford Plan an

instrument which will assist but the

key ingredient is the will and desire

of the partners to work together.

We look forward to strengthening

our partnerships and reporting

on our progress this time next year.

Marilyn BakerMayor

Tim Jackson Chief Executive Officer

CREATING AN EVEN BETTER PLAYFORD

03

AN AWARD WINNING CITY

One of the highlights of the pastfinancial year was the internationalrecognition achieved by the City ofPlayford at the prestigious 2003‘International Awards for LiveableCommunities (formerly known asthe ‘Nations in Bloom’ competition),held in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.These awards aim to improve thequality of life through the creationof liveable communities and theexchange of good practice relatingto the management of theenvironment. The City of Playfordwon the prestigious “Planning forthe Future” Award ahead of over 24 other entrants from 15 countriesfrom across the globe, includingcities like Chicago & Seattle in theUSA, Quanzho & Suzhou in China,Tshwane in South Africa andEnkoping in Sweden.

“Planning for the Future” recognisesour strong governance models andthe structures and plans Playford has put in place to respond to themany challenges faced by ourdiverse community, particularlythrough supporting a variety ofstrategies which focus on ensuringeconomic prosperity, improvingcommunity wellbeing andenhancing environmental care.

Mayor Marilyn Baker and GroupManager Parks and Recreation,Kevin Lowe, represented the City at the finals and provided a highlyregarded overview of the challenges

facing the City of Playford and howthe Council and the community is responding to key issues.

As part of the process, both theMayor and Kevin were required to judge other cities on theirpresentations which gave themvaluable insight into thesecommunities, how they operatedand the challenges they faced.

The City of Playford was alsoawarded a silver medal inrecognition of overall achievementsin the years since amalgamation. In this time, the City of Playford hasinstigated new services, improvedfinancial sustainability and hasbecome recognised for ensuring the best outcomes for a sustainablecommunity whilst protecting ourenvironmental resources.

This achievement was the result ofbeing judged against the criteria of:

■ Enhancement of the landscape ■ Heritage Management■ Promoting Environmentally

Sensitive Practices■ Community Involvement■ Planning for the Future

Whilst we were achieving at a highlevel in most areas, in particular“Planning for the Future” and“Enhancement of the Landscape”which recognised our extensivegreening programs involving counciland volunteers, we still have quite a lot of work to do in relation

to “Heritage Management” ascompared to other communitiesacross the globe.

Organisers of the InternationalAwards for Liveable Communities2003 Apeldoorn, The Netherlandssaid that this year’s competitionproduced the highest examples ofinternational best practice and thetightest competition in the sevenyears of the competition.

As well as recognising the progressmade by the City of Playford in recent years, these awards also enabled Council to gain an understanding of othercommunities’ experiences, as well as providing an opportunity to shareideas and forge relationships withother councils internationally.

With the wide media coverage theawards received nationally andinternationally, Council has beencontacted by a number of Councilsinterstate and overseas to see whatwe do and to assist them with theirsubmissions and presentation forthis year’s awards in Canada.

04

“We look forward to strengthening our partnershipsand reporting on our progress this time next year”

ELECTED MEMBERS

Cr Julie Norris

Cr Nick Cava

Cr Andrew Craig

Cr Coral Gooley

Cr Dennis Ryan

Cr Geoff Boundy

Cr Kerree Hamilton

Cr Joe Federico

Cr Dino Musolino

Cr Shirley Wissell

Cr Max O’Rielly

Cr Iris Shaw

Cr Glenn Docherty Cr Duncan MacMillan

Cr Don LevittDeputy Mayor

Ward 2

Ward 3

Ward 4

Ward 5

Ward 6

Mayor Marilyn Baker

Ward 1

05

MANAGEMENT GROUP

Cate Atkinson General Manager

Leigh HallGeneral Manager

Peter OyeGroup Manager,Assets & ManagedFacilities

Michelle BonniciGroup Manager,Social Planning &Development

Andrew LindsayGroup Manager, People Relations, Events & Childcare

Matthew PearsGroup Manager, City Development

Ken DanielDirector, PlayfordPartnership

Kevin Lowe Group Manager, Parks & Recreation

Tim JacksonChief ExecutiveOfficer

Mark TemmeGroup Manager, Civil Operations

Rodin GenoffEconomic Strategist

Kiki MagroGroup Manager,Corporate Services

Jane TrotterGroup Manager,Corporate Strategy & Finance

06

“… a high level of satisfaction in what the City of Playford offers its residents”

The City of Playford continues to rankhighly as a place to live and a placethat respondents would recommendothers live, with the overall image ofthe Council increasing in ratings from2003 to 2004.

The global measure for satisfactionwith the City of Playford decreasedslightly from 2003’s score of 75/100,to 72/100, however, this is still ahigh level of satisfaction in what theCity of Playford offers its residents.

PLAYFORD – A PREFERRED PLACE TO LIVE

Global measure of satisfaction

Percentage of respondents satisfied or very satisfied

7269 72 75

0102030405060708090

100

2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Perc

enta

ge

87 91 86

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2002 2003 2004

Year

Perc

enta

ge

Community satisfaction with the image of the Council

2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2003/04 2004/05Actual Actual Actual Target Target

Satisfaction rating 6.3 6.6 6.9 6.6 7.0

07

STATE OF THE CITY

Operating Result before Capital Income ($m)

(9.2)

(8.0)

(6.5)

(4.9)(4.2)

(3.6)(2.8)

10.09.08.07.06.05.04.03.02.01.00.0

1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04

Op

erat

ing

Res

ult

($m

)

Change in Net Wealth Since Amalgamation ($m)

$231$230$232$233

$248

$243

$249

$220

$225

$230

$235

$240

$245

$250

$255

1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04

Net

Wea

lth

($m

)

Capital Value of the City ($m)

26.9%

1.8% 2.5%7.8%

21.7%

17.0%

2,000

2,400

2,800

3,200

3,600

4,000

4,400

4,800

5,200

1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05

Rating Year

Cap

ital

Val

ue

($m

) Note: Percentages shown indicatethe change in capital value from one year to the next.

% Increase in Total Rate Revenue

2.5%

6.2%

7.4%

6.1% 5.9% 5.6%

7.1%

4.3%3.6%

3.0%4.0%4.0%4.0%*

0.5%*0.5%

1.5%

2.5%

3.5%

4.5%

5.5%

6.5%

7.5%

8.5%

1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05

Perc

enta

ge

(%)

Total IncreaseIncrease excluding growth & equalisation

*estimated for 1998/1999 & 1999/00

Council Comparisons Average % Rate Increasesfor Residential Properties

0.0%1.0%2.0%3.0%4.0%5.0%6.0%7.0%8.0%

Mitc

ham

Charles

Sturt

Walk

ervil

le

Wes

t Torre

ns

Unley

Campbell

town

Mar

ion

Tea T

ree G

ully

Salis

bury

Holdfa

st Bay

Burnsid

e

Playf

ord

Onkapar

inga

Rat

e In

crea

se (

%)

Source: The Advertiser (proposed Rating increases 2004/2005)

08

“… based around five pillars of success”

The City of Playford’s statement of success outlines Council’s sharedvision for the future and is basedaround five pillars of success. It describes how the organisationwill look in 2013 if Council achievesits key organisational objectives. The vision articulates the characterof Council’s internal operations in the context of achieving thePlayford Plan’s goals of EconomicProsperity, Environmental Care and Community Wellbeing.

1.0 OrganisationalCultureCity of Playford is recognised as adynamic and visionary organisation,which, through strong leadership,has developed a supportiveorganisational culture that valueslearning and responds proactivelyand positively to change.

2.0 Customer FocusCity of Playford is a customerfocused organisation that bothlistens and works in partnership with the community and enterpriseto achieve sustainable communitygoals and deliver a balanced level of quality customer service.

3.0Communicationand DecisionMakingCommunication and decisionmaking processes at the City ofPlayford are open and inclusiveresulting in a two way flow ofinformation which is both accurateand accessible to all staff.

4.0 Financial and Risk ManagementSound financial and risk managementfacilitates the achievement of theCity’s economic, community andenvironmental goals while ensuringlong term sustainability.

5.0 PartnershipsThe City of Playford initiates andmaintains strong and influentialpartnerships with key stakeholdersin local, regional and internationalforums and has a collaborativeapproach to planning and servicedelivery in the region.

ORGANISATIONAL STATEMENT OF SUCCESS– VISION FOR 2013

09

PLAYFORD’S STRATEGIC PLANNING ARCHITECTURE

The Strategic Management PlanningArchitecture has been developed todemonstrate the level of integrationCouncil seeks to achieve betweenPlanning, Funding andImplementation (Service Delivery).

The Planning Architectureincludes:

■ The Playford Plan and associatedspecial purpose plans, whichoutlines how the Vision for the City is to be achieved.

■ The Corporate Management Plan which outlines how theadministration will provide thecorporate infrastructure andsystems necessary to supportservice delivery to the community.

■ Funding for the Council Plans’strategies through the Ten YearFinancial Plan and ResourceAllocation. The Ten Year FinancialPlan determines the level offunding that can be provided in

the long term to new projectsand to service delivery, whileensuring the City remains in afinancially sustainable positionwhere it can fund all of itsongoing capital infrastructurerenewal needs. ResourceAllocation seeks to shift resourcesaway from services that providelower benefits to the communityto services which are much morebeneficial. The City of Playford iscurrently preparing a ResourceAllocation Model for theimplementation of this process.

The Planning Architectureensures:

■ All projects and services arisingout of the above Plans aretranslated into the City Plan,Council’s key internalmanagement document outliningthe work Council needs toundertake in the next three years.The City Plan includes the Annual

Performance Statement, theAnnual Budget and the Capitaland Operating Projects whichCouncil has planned for the next three years. The AnnualPerformance Statement outlinesthe key performance measuresand targets in relation to keyoutcomes to be achieved for the City.

■ The City Plan allocatesresponsibility for the achievementof performance targets to theOrganisational Teams acrossCouncil. As such, the City Planbecomes the basis for all teamsto prepare detailed plans forimplementation of specificprojects and activities. This is vitalto ensure ongoing improvementsin service delivery to thecommunity and the provision of new capital and other worksfor the future development of the City.

Guidedevelopmentof CorporateManagementPlan

Fundedprojects

Moreresources

Playford Plan10 years& special purpose plans covering:Economic ProsperityEnvironmental CareCommunity WellbeingSection 30 Review

Corporate Management Plan3 yearsCouncil Management and Administration

FinancialPlan10 years

City Plan3 yearsAnnual PerformanceStatementAnnual BudgetProjectsService ProfilesTen Year Financial Plan

Funded strategies

Review external services

Review internal services

Funded strategies

Operational Plans1 yearTeam Accountabilities

ResourceAllocation

Planning

External

Internal

Funding Implementation

C O M M U N I T YO U T C O M E

10

“… the Playford Civic Centre has exceeded all expectations with local residents and usersimpressed with their new community facility”

The $12.6 million Playford CivicCentre has been the largest singleproject in the history of the City ofPlayford. The Centre was officiallyopened on Saturday March 27,2004, with more than 3,000 peoplecelebrating its completion. The event was a great communitycelebration which allowed everyoneto experience performances andactivities within all areas of thecomplex, including the revampedShedley Theatre. Communityfeedback on the day was extremelypositive, with visitors impressed bythe entire centre and its services. In addition, many guestscommented on the spaciousnessand technology of the new library,while others enjoyed the ShedleyTheatre’s new-look, in particular its comfortable new seats. .

Since opening to the public on April 5, 2004, the Playford CivicCentre has exceeded all expectationswith local residents and usersimpressed with their new communityfacility. Even more pleasing has beenthe high level of utilisation of thefacility by the community.

Despite several significant variationsto the project, delivery wascompleted within 0.5% of budget.The end result was the culminationof many years of planning anddebate to ensure the people ofPlayford have easy, appropriate andinexpensive access to the very bestcommunity facilities and services.

Playford is a lively and prosperousregion. In many ways this Centre is a symbol of our faith in the futureand our goals of fostering economicprosperity, environmental care andcommunity wellbeing.

THE NEW PLAYFORD CIVIC CENTRE

Civic Centre LibraryQuick Stats■ 73,001 items loaned –

up approximately 35%■ 975 new members registered

– up 15%■ 5,745 people have used the

Internet PCs – up 70%■ 7,250 new items have been

added to the catalogue■ Over 700 children attended

library school holiday programs

11

THE NEW PLAYFORD CIVIC CENTRE

Inside the Civic Centre

The Shedley Theatre

After extensive communityconsultation and redevelopment, the much loved Shedley Theatre hasbeen revamped to meet the modernneeds of our community. It nowboasts deluxe seating for 390 peopleand has been redesigned to cater for live theatre productions, movies,dance and music performances,seminars, school events,presentations and concerts.

Functions

The Playford Function Centre is a vibrant and versatile area ideal for weddings, family celebrations,product launches, conferences,corporate events, meetings, trainingprograms and seminars. Capableofcatering for up to 600 people, it is ideal for major public events suchas the annual Elizabeth Craft and Gift Fair and also for smaller privatefunctions. State of the art soundsystems, presentation technology anda well-equipped bar and commercialkitchen ensure that is the only facilityof its kind in the region.

Library

The new Civic Centre Library ismuch more than a place to readnewspapers and borrow books. It is a gateway to a new world of learning, information andentertainment. Whether you wantto surf the Internet for information,access business research anddatabases, borrow DVD’s and CD’sor learn more about your family

history, the new library is equippedto meet your needs.

The kids haven’t been forgotteneither. A special area has been setaside for children to accesscomputers and education software.There is also a storytelling mat and acomfortable reading area for childrento encourage their imaginations withstories and local legends.

One of the highlights in 2003/2004was the Books Alive/Big Book ClubFunction at the library, which wasattended by more than 300 peopleand filmed for the Channel 7“Adelaide Weekender” television show.

Customer Service Centre

In many ways the Customer ServiceCentre is the face of the City ofPlayford. It is the place many peoplevisit to pay rates and to makeenquiries about council decisionsand activities. This new facility hasbeen designed to acceleratetransaction efficiency and improveaccess to information and advice.

Environmental Care

Every care has been taken to ensurethe new Centre incorporates the bestenvironmental practices available.Rain water from the roof is stored in large underground tanks, treatedand reused for toilet flushing. It is significant to note that sincemid-May, no mains water has beenrequired for toilet flushing, resultingin a saving of more than 103,000litres of this precious resource. Air conditioning and heating withinthe facility is designed to minimiseenergy use, and solar energy is usedto supplement the hot water service.

Many of the materials used in thebuilding have been recycled. Forexample, the existing road surfaceshave been reused to make the carparks and Grenville Boulevard, whilethe timber flooring from the oldOctagon Theatre has been restoredand reused throughout the GreatHall and the Shedley Theatre.

Economic Prosperity

The Centre is a living symbol of theCouncil’s goal of economic prosperity.It has been designed to offer the community a space to meet, as well as promoting local industryand achievements, offering areas fortraining, learning and developmentand access to the latest technologyand information. The state-of-the-artlibrary offers a wide range ofbusiness services, including access tobusiness and community databases.Businesses are also encouraged touse the function facilities for tradeshows and entertaining.

Community Wellbeing

From the outset, the goal of thisCentre was to provide the people of Playford with easy and inexpensiveaccess to state-of-the-art functionfacilities, meeting rooms, theatresand customer services. These arefacilities required in any moderncommunity to foster social andeconomic development. Fewcouncils can boast such facilities,which are also unique to theNorthern region. All groups withinthe community from sporting andsocial clubs to schools, individualsand families are encouraged to useand enjoy the facilities.

“A City with a strong economywhich maximises employmentopportunities and wealth creation”

12

Economic Prosperity

13

GOAL 1 – ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Objective 1.1A diverse range of growingbusinesses in the City and thenorthern region providinglocal employmentopportunities.

The Innovation Network

Many companies are increasinglyturning to the City of Playford forinnovative business solutions thatresult in new jobs and investment.The city alone can’t provide jobs for everyone, but the work beingundertaken by the Council isshowing how local leadership can make a difference.

For example, who would ever haveimagined that a former automotivecomponents factory in WommaRoad would become a $90 millionhigh tech hub designed to launchcompanies into global markets?Known as the Northern AdelaideInnovation Network, it was openedby the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, in March 2004 and contains morethan a dozen local and internationaladvanced manufacturing, designand training companies.

Already more than $20 million hasbeen invested in the Network,creating more than 200 jobs, led byautomation engineering companyPriority Engineering which last yearentered a joint venture agreementwith UK automotive productioncontrol systems firm CIMAC and the German firm IPF. The threecompanies are establishing their AsiaPacific headquarters at ElizabethWest as part of the Network.

As a result of this agreement a further $70 million is to beinvested in new high technologyincluding software,telecommunications, 3D visualisationand laser vision equipment.

Establishment of the Network is a tangible demonstration of the role local government can playin changing the way companies do business in South Australia. The public-private partnership thathas driven its establishment has putPlayford at the forefront nationally in developing commercially drivenbusiness clusters.

Charles Landry Premier’sThinkers in Residence Program

Playford was one of the projectpartners along with the PropertyCouncil of Australia, Adelaide CityCouncil, Adelaide Capital CityCommittee and the University of South Australia that participatedin the Charles Landry, Premier’sThinkers in Residence Program.Landry is an internationallyrenowned urban strategist. Through this program Playfordcontributed to the development ofkey issues such as needing to thinkabout Adelaide as one city, with onevision. A city that can harness theeconomic and industrial energy thatNorthern Adelaide contributes to theprosperity of Adelaide as a whole.Playford continues to be involved in several initiatives that have flowedon from this project.

Northern Adelaide Economic Alliance

The City of Playford has played astrong and supporting role in thedevelopment of the South Australiangovernment’s, Northern EconomicAlliance through the Office of theNorth. The Alliance brings togetherthe State Government, the councilsof Playford, Gawler and Salisburyand key stakeholders with the aimof improving service delivery tobusiness in the northern region.

Playford’s ManufacturingProsperity and Investing in the Future Conferences

The annual national ManufacturingProsperity Conference held at theAdelaide Convention Centreattracted over 270 delegates. At the conference Minister Lea Stevens representing the Premier announced the $90 millioninvestment at the InnovationNetwork and released the City ofPlayford’s major national report, and Innovation and KnowledgeEconomy, Industrial Regeneration inNorthern Adelaide, which includedcontributions from the OECD in Paris.

Like the Manufacturing Prosperityconference, the Investing in theFuture conference also made frontpage headlines in The Advertiser.Opened by Minister Jay Weatherilland speakers Charles Landry and Dr Frank Gelber, Chief Economist of BIS Shrapnel (one of Australia’sleading economic forecasters), the City of Playford outlined a visionof how local government of Playford is contributing to new ideas, and new approaches.

Sustainable Regions: Value Adding Adelaide Plains

The Sustainable Regions Programmeis a $100.5 million programme for eight regions around Australia.The Playford / Salisbury componentof the Sustainable RegionProgramme totals $12.5million.

In March 2004, the Prime Ministerannounced that the City of Playfordwas successful in accessing resourcesfrom the Sustainable RegionsProgramme. The project, ValueAdding Adelaide Plains, promotes theintegration of research with productdevelopment, to strategically directinvestment in production methods.

The outcome will be an expansion of market development opportunitiesand advances in new and sustainabletechnologies to develop new productsin the Adelaide Plains region.

$306,000 has been approved forStage 1 of a $1.2 million project.

Elizabeth Regional Centre Revitalisation

In May 2001, Council endorsed theElizabeth Regional Centre (ERC)Revitalisation Strategy whichestablished the vision of the ERCbeing “the place in the north wherea lot of people want to go for a lotof reasons”. The strategy proposed afour pronged approach:

■ A great place to go,

■ A great place to be,

■ A great place for business,

■ Active stakeholder management,which requires that Council andthe community take on theresponsibility for looking out for and acting in the best interestsof the Centre as a whole.

The past few years have seen a rapidimprovement in prospects for theCentre. In December 2003, Councilresolved to appoint a Place Managerto assume overall responsibility for

the Regional Centre and to furtherprogress the strategy. Some delayswere experienced, however, the PlaceManager was recently appointed andwill commence the project in the2004/2005 financial year. The PlaceManager will be responsible for:

■ The overall coordination andmanagement of the ElizabethRegional Centre includingcommunity, educational,sporting, commercial, retail andgovernment stakeholders;

■ Strategic direction, businessplanning, safety, security,operations, businessdevelopment, marketing andcommunication within the region;

■ The interface between Council,property owners, retailers,stakeholders and the community.

In addition, the Elizabeth RegionalCentre PAR was authorised by theMinister for Urban Development andPlanning on January 15, 2004 andoutlines the future direction forPlayford’s Regional Centre.

Supporting Industry and Retail Growth in the City of Playford

Throughout 2003/2004, the City of Playford worked closely with theLand Management Corporation,the City of Salisbury and the Officeof the North in planning for thefuture development of the ElizabethWest Industrial Area and EdinburghParks North. Council is keen tofurther strengthen these partnershipsin an effort to combine developmentsto benefit the Elizabeth RegionalCentre through attracting newinvestment in the area and providinggreater certainty for the future forexisting local businesses.

In addition, Stebonheath Road wasupgraded during the year to providea heavy transport link betweenElizabeth West and Edinburgh Parks.This upgrade allows for greater

accessibility for heavy vehicles and is beneficial to industry situatedin both major industrial areas.

Retail growth within Playford’s two key retail zones has beenphenomenal in the past twelvemonths. In 2003/2004, Councilfacilitated a rating agreement whichenabled Elizabeth City Centre Pty Ltdto commence redevelopment of itsCentre. In the first three years duringthe development, ECC will payPlayford $0.2m, $0.2M and $0.3mconsecutively, totalling $0.7m. This is designed to compensateCouncil for the significant disruptionto the community during thebuilding process and to protectCouncil should the valuation of theexisting buildings reduce during thisperiod. This agreement offers severalbenefits to the community and at the conclusion of the agreedphase-in period, the City of Playfordwill receive an additional $2 millionextra per annum in rating revenuewhich will enable the Council tobetter serve the community. The $142 million redevelopment will also provide approximately 2,500 jobs upon completion.

Munno Para Shopping City alsocontinues to grow and currentlyemploys around 1000 people. The Munno Para District Centre PAR Statement of Intent wasapproved by Council in April of 2004. This will set the desiredfuture direction of Playford’s DistrictCentre. Investigations are currentlyunderway into future developmentof the Centre.

Throughout the year, Council staffhave been involved in thesupervision and coordination of the civil works associated with theextensions of both the Elizabeth CityCentre and Munno Para ShoppingCentre, as well as the new CivicCentre development. Council wasinvolved in car parking, stormwaterdrainage, footpaths and landscapingassociated with the developments.

“A City with a strong economy which maximises employmentopportunities and wealth creation”

14

GOAL 1 – ECONOMIC PROSPERITY continued

15

Development 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004

Applications Value No. Value No. Value No.

Industrial $11,398,985 60 $6,888,212 50 $15,343,765 51Retail/Commercial $4,664,335 25 $108,700,456 38 $30,658,609 65

Number of business networks and alliances in place


BusinessNetworks& Alliances 1 4 5 4 5


16

Objective 1.2A community of employable people.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

The City of Playford continued to work closely with the StateGovernment Social Inclusion Unitand Futures Connect throughout2003/2004 to improve schoolretention rates and createemployment pathways for youngpeople within the Playford area.Strong relationships were alsoestablished with local primary and secondary schools resulting in an agreement to focus on health, food and nutrition,technology, the environment and sport and recreation.

Australians Working Together

The Australians Working Togetherprogram was undertaken during2003/2004. This program targetedlong-term unemployed peopleresiding in the north of Adelaidewho faced multiple, complex and individual barriers in gainingmainstream training andemployment. The program has facilitated:

■ Personal development thatensured participants could sustainemployability and employment;

■ Enhanced capabilities thatenabled participants to bettermanage themselves, makeinformed decisions and maintaintheir personal resilience;

■ Sufficient skill development to ensure participants wereemployable by the program’scompletion; and

■ Sufficient skill development to ensure participants were able to access further educationand training by the program’scompletion

The program focused on preparationfor employment or further study inretail, food processing and hospitality.

Robotics – University of South AustraliaPeer Mentoring Program

The Robotics Peer Mentoringprogram was undertaken during2003/2004 with four local seniorschools working in conjunction withHolden and the South AustralianState Government. The program has been well-received, withapproximately 50 students involved.

Opportunities for Indigenous Youth

The Sports Connect programcontinued in 2003/2004 with high-profile athletes, such as NathanBasset from the Adelaide Crows,acting as mentors and programleaders, and providing opportunitiesto indigenous students to furtherdevelop their sporting skills, as wellas achieving academic success.

The City of Playford works inpartnership with the Para West AdultWest Campus Indigenous SportsAcademy on the program and acts as a broker and funding provider.The City of Playford has committedto the leadership/mentoring programand has also released its own staff as mentors, as well as offering anongoing 12-month traineeship toone graduate each year.

Youth Building Playford SA

The Youth Building Playfordemployment program continued in 2003/2004. The program linksunemployed young people agedbetween 15-24 to pre-vocationaland employment opportunities inthe building industry. Participantshave the opportunity to learn a widerange of trade skills includingplastering, tiling, painting anddecorating, and carpentry.

Australians WorkingTogether Quick Stats47 participants commenced the program with the followingoutcomes:

■ 38 complete a Certificate I in Preparatory Education

■ 9 completed a Certificate II in Retail

■ 7 completed a Certificate I in Meat Studies

■ 1 completed a Certificate II in Hospitality

■ 17 completed a rangecompetencies that could lead to further study or employmentin retail, food processing or hospitality

■ 11 gained full or part timeemployment in the industriestargeted

■ 5 went onto further studies

■ 7 withdrew

School-Based Apprenticeships

The City of Playford has broadened the scope of schoolsfor the School-Based Apprenticeship Program and nowemploys students from Smithfield State High School,Craigmore High School, Fremont-Elizabeth City HighSchool, St Columba College and Trinity College. The apprentices work at the City of Playford one day per week and are involved in work teams across theorganisation including Parks & Recreation, Asset Strategy, Corporate Services and People, Events and Childcare Services.

The City of Playford model for school-basedapprenticeships is recognised as best practice externallyby other government agencies and schools. Council isalso committed to promoting the model to other SouthAustralian councils.

Carclew Performing Arts Project

The Carclew Performing Arts Project was designed andfunded by Council during 2003/2004. This programfocuses on youth at risk of dropping out of school.

REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

Northern Sound System

A regional partnership between the Cities of Salisburyand Playford was developed in 2003/2004 to establishthe Northern Sound System Project. The Reference Groupreceived funding through Sustainable Regions tocommence a feasibility study of the Northern SoundSystem, a program to establish dual music and artscampuses at Playford and Salisbury.

Rage Cage

The Rage Cage is a partnership project establishedbetween Regency TAFE Elizabeth and the City of Playfordto build a recreational facility. The project has engaged 20 young people to build the rage cage, while at thesame time, they learn skills in building and construction.Upon completion, the rage cage will be installed atDauntsey Reserve. This project has resulted in positiveoutcomes in terms of training, employment andcommunity development.


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Number of School Based Apprentices

2002/03 2003/04 2003/04 2004/05Actual Actual Target Target

Number of students 8 11 10 15

Number of local long term unemployed persons in labour market programs


Number 105 260 75 100

Number of new businesses involved in Pathways to Employment Programs

2003/04 2003/04 2004/05Actual Target Target

Number 12 9 10

Due to timing of expansion of programs involving businesses dependent on schools has caused further programs to be delayed until the second half of 2004

Objective 1.3 Assets which contribute tothe prosperity of the City.

Improved Roads and Footpaths

A further four kilometres of ruralroads were upgraded and sealed in rural/horticultural areas in2003/2004. This is part of a long-term program to support thehorticultural industry by reducingthe negative impact of dust ontransport packaging and processingand the costs associated with dustsensitive produce being exported to local and overseas markets.

A land purchase associated with the upgrading of dangerousintersections in the Virginia area was also completed to allow theconstruction of staggered “T”intersections during 2004/2005. In addition, street upgrading ofkerbing, drainage and pavementsalso occurred in 2004/2005.

In 2003/2004, Council’s annualfootpath construction andrehabilitation program continued to address the challenge ofproviding footpaths in the newlyformed sub-divisions, as well asrehabilitating the 600 kilometres of existing concrete footpathsthroughout the city. A footpath trialwas also initiated by Council toinvestigate ways of reducing thesignificant costs associated withmaintaining this importantinfrastructure asset.

New and UpgradedStormwater Drainage Systems

Significant progress was madetoward the provision of increasedstormwater flood protection in the rural townships of Angle Valeand Virginia.

The design of stormwaterinfrastructure for the Angle ValeTownship was completed in2003/2004, while the first stage ofimplementing Virginia stormwaterdrainage along Park Road alsocommenced. Significant upgradingof a 1.6 kilometre length of SmithCreek was completed, with thefinalisation of the section betweenPeachey Road and Coventry Road.This $2 million project now offerstotal flood protection to residents aswell as providing a significant LinearPark connecting Stebonheath Lakethrough to Old Smithfield Township.


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City Assets 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004

Number of kilometres of sealed roads 611 621 628Number of kilometres of unsealed roads 143 132 125Number of kilometres of footpaths 593.5 610 612.5Number of kilometres of open and roadside drains 120 120 120Number of kilometres of underground pipe drainage 173 178 181.5Number of side entry pits of stormwater 5222 5308 5413Number of bus shelters 136 143 144Number of bus stops 383 383 383Number of kilometres of fire breaks 98 98 98

Condition / utilisation rating of roads and footpaths


Roads (out of 10) 6.1 6.3 5.9 6.5 6.5Footpaths (out of 10) 5.0 5.6 5.7 5.8 6.0

Street Signage and NumberingResidents rated the standard ofstreet signage and numberingin the Playford area 6.4 out of 10, a decrease from last year’s score of 6.9 out of 10.

Road MaintenanceRespondents rated Council’smaintenance of main roadsa score of 6.9 out of 10, an improvement from last year’sscore of 6.5 out of 10.

Maintenance of side roadswas scored at 5.9 out of 10, an improvement from last year’sscore of 5.7 out of 10.

“A City with a well planned blendof built and natural environment”

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EnvironmentalCare

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GOAL 2 – ENVIRONMENTAL CARE

Objective 2.1Harmony between the builtand natural environment.

Waste Management

As a member of the NorthernAdelaide Waste ManagementAuthority (NAWMA) group ofCouncils, the City of Playford is well prepared for the scheduledclosure of the Wingfield Landfill in December 2004. In June, 2004,the expansion plans for ElizabethWest were exhibited by NAWMA atthe Towards Zero Waste Conferenceand both the Elizabeth WestMaterial Recovery Facility and theUleybury landfill sites were includedon the conference’s technical tourprogram with two busloads ofdelegates visiting both sites.

The first stage of the developmentof the Uleybury Balefill site is ontime and within budget. The balefillsite incorporates an outdoor viewingstation and will become a practicalextension of the education centre.The baling site at Elizabeth Westreceived development approval in 2003/2004, with the expandedfacility set to provide state-of-the-artwaste management principles.

Hard Waste

In October 2003, Council undertooka hard waste collection for morethan 2,200 residents in the ElizabethDowns area. More than 160,000 kgof unwanted material was collected,with 47.5% of this recycled ratherthan going to landfill.

Chemical Waste

A Chemical Waste collection daywas not scheduled for 2003/2004,however, the City of Playford wassuccessful in achieving funding from Zero Waste SA for a regionalHousehold Hazardous WasteRecovery program to be conductedin November 2005.

Waste Oil Disposal Station

A waste oil disposal station wasinstalled at the Andrews RoadTransfer Station for residents to use free of charge. The stationaccepts any petroleum based waste oil products.

Recycling Program

The City of Playford was awarded$154,000 for its best practicerecycling program which exceededparameters set by the NationalPackaging Covenant.

A Vision for Playford Parks

The State Government of SouthAustralia has developed an openspace framework – Parklands 2036 –which sets the direction for thefuture development andpreservation of Adelaide’sMetropolitan Open Space System. It is an ambitious, visionary plan thataims to provide an interconnectednetwork of natural areas,conservation lands, workingagricultural landscapes and othergreen spaces. The City of Playfordhas embraced this plan for thenorthern region and has consultedwith the State Government and theAdelaide Botanic Gardens aboutoptions for the future and is nowdeveloping a Playford Parks 2036Vision. This plan is seen as anexcellent platform to add otherlayers, not just parks and open spacebut also other infrastructure andfacilities such as Sporting Hubs, with a 30 year focus.

Environmental Sustainability –Proportion of waste diverted from landfill


% 29.7 31.4 31.6 33 33

Waste ManagementResidents satisfaction withCouncil’s management of waste services remained highwith a score of 8.3 out of 10,similar to last year’s score of 8.4 out of 10.

2,088 cubic metres of illegallydumped rubbish was collectedfrom roadsides within the Playford area during 2003/04,costing a total of $47,250 inrubbish dumping fees (this costdoes not include staff wages and truck usage).

Target not achieved due to plateau of recycling within region and ‘user pay’ garden waste disposal system has not increased as anticipated.

Water Conservation within Playford

The City of Playford achievedsignificant water savings in2003/2004 as a result of acommitted effort to reduce usage of this scarce resource.

Taking into account waterrestrictions and permanent waterconservation measures, the City ofPlayford spent $574,000 on water in 2003/2004, which represents a saving on water across alldepartments of $118,000.

Irrigation at Mofflin Reserve wasupgraded during the year, resultingin improved efficiency and a moresustainable solution for the future.In addition, Council has replacedseveral manual irrigation systemsacross the City to automatic battery-operated timers, providingmore efficient use of water and less wastage.

Adam’s Creek and Edinburgh Park FloodMitigation Reuse Scheme

The City of Playford’s second excitingstormwater harvesting and reusescheme received a significant boostin 2003/2004, with the FederalGovernment committing $1.3 millionunder its Sustainable RegionsProgram. The preliminary design hasbeen completed and ground workswill commence in late 2004.

Cities for Climate Protection

The City of Playford has achievedMilestone 5 Plus in the Cities forClimate Protection Program. This has involved measuring our progressagainst the 20% reduction goalCouncil wants to achieve by 2010.Energy reduction initiatives includesolar photovoltaic cells on the newCivic Centre at Elizabeth and theconversion of six of Playford’s fieldvehicles to LPG.

Buckland Park PlanAmendment Report (PAR)

The Buckland Park and Environs PARwas authorised by the Minister forUrban Development and Planningon June 3, 2004. This PAR protectshorticultural land.

Objective 2.2 A community which is activelyengaged in caring for the builtand natural environment.

Promoting Biodiversity in Playford

In 2002/2003, Council produced the City of Playford BiodiversityCorridors Report. The principleobjective of this study was to usedetailed native vegetation data toidentify corridors to link importantremnant patches of nativevegetation. This aims to providestrategic direction to Councils on-ground works and otherrevegetation programs in the region.

In 2003/2004, Council commencedthe implementation of this strategywith the development of theWhitford Road Bushland ReservePlan. The Whitford Road Plan is a detailed site plan identifying themajor biodiversity and recreationopportunities for the area. This 34-hectare reserve, situated in Hillbank, is set to be upgraded as a passive recreation space forjoggers, walkers and the rest of the community. A bushfire strategyand revegetation plan was alsodeveloped as part of this project.

“A City with a well planned blend of built and natural environment”

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Financial Amount spent Year on Water

2001/02 $784,0002002/03 $777,0002003/04 $574,000

Service Provision 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004

Number of wasp nests attended 250 284 385Number of Septic Applications 55 62 103

Wasp EradicationResidents rated Council’s wasperadication service highly with a score of 8.7 out of 10, an improvement from last year’sscore of 8.4 out of 10.

Community Involvement in Greening Playford

The Playford Greening LandcareGroup assisted to plant 5400 plantsin Council reserves and propagated16,260 indigenous plants in theCouncil nursery in 2003/2004. This group consists of eight to fifteenregular volunteers who donateapproximately five hours of their timeper month. With fourteen plantingdays each year, the Playford GreeningLandcare Group is a fantasticexample of the Playford communitybecoming involved in environmentalimprovement initiatives.

The Buffers to Bushland programalso works closely with thecommunity and residents within the City of Playford. This programdistributed 10,014 plants to ruralresidents in 2003/2004.

Meanwhile, during 2003/2004preparation was made to plant morethan 5000 plants from 84 species in the Little Para River Seed Orchardduring 2004/2005. The majority of the planting will be undertakenby a Green Corps Program involvingnine volunteers over six months.

Participants will gain work skills, life skills and a Certificate II inConservation and LandManagement as a result of theirefforts. The team will work inconjunction with Council staff onsite-related projects including seedcollection, plant propagation, weedcontrol, bush regeneration, pathwayand trellis construction, planting andmulching. Weed mat will also be installed in the seed orchard for the efficient collection of seedfor selected species.

Thanks to the efforts of Council and volunteers, the Seed Orchard is now a landscaped garden with a bold and colourful design and is an extraordinary example of how native species can be used in modern residential gardening.Additional benefits includecommunity involvement in the environment, communityenvironmental education and the provision of a recreational areafor Playford residents to enjoy. It ispleasing to note the walking trailsaround the seed orchard are nowfrequently used by the community.

GOAL 2 – ENVIRONMENTAL CARE continued

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Number of indigenous plants planted by volunteers/Council staff thatwere distributed to landowners under the Buffer to Bushland Programand planted in City of Playford reserves


No. ofPlants 11,870 16,950 15,414 19,000 15,000

Due to a delay in June plantings, the 2003/04 target was achieved in July 2004.

The baseline of 502 species was provided by Dept of Environment & Heritage. The establishment of a new seed orchard will allow for further species to be added to those already propagated.

Number of species of indigenous plant grown / propagated as proportion of those available in the region


No. of species out Establishingof 502 in the region 96 the baseline 98

Educating the Community

In 2003/2004, the City of Playfordinitiated the Water ConservationEducation and Incentive Project. The project was launched at theElizabeth City Centre on November29, 2003 and attracted a crowd of more than 140 people. Thissuccessful launch also marked thestart of the City of Playford RainwaterTank Incentive Scheme. Since thistime, Council has had more than 50 successful applicants. The ‘GardenGreen: Water Wise’ guide was alsolaunched and provides a guide forenvironmentally sensitive gardeningwithin Playford. The guide has beenvery successful with more than 1000 distributed throughout thecommunity since the launch.

The City of Playford continued to support the environmentaleducation of its youth in 2003/2004,with 30 Year 10 students trained

to undertake home energy audits as part of the Cool Communitiesproject. This is a joint initiativebetween the City of Playford, theAustralian Greenhouse Office,Conservation Council of SA and St Columba College. The training is aimed at teaching students thebasics of energy management andgreenhouse issues while providingpractical skills in auditing their ownhomes. Information packs andvouchers for energy efficientproducts were made available forhouses that volunteer to be audited.

Funding for the Be StormwaterSmart project continued in2003/2004. This project supportslocal business and industry with free education and advice on how to avoid stormwater pollution fromdaily activities. The project alsoassists the building and constructionindustry by showcasing ideas for

pollution avoidance at building sites.A Clean Site Demonstration washeld at Craigmore in September,2003 to highlight this issue andattracted builders and sub-contractors from across Playford and the wider metropolitan region.

In conjunction with Energy SA andthe Anglicare EmpowermentProgram, four Playford Home Assiststaff and two volunteers receivedenergy audit training in 2003/2004.The program offers Home Assistconsumers an ‘in-home audit’ andsuggestions on saving energy costsand water conservation. All clientsreceive a free Retrofit kit, whichincludes a draft excluder, two energysaving light globes, and a watersaving shower head.

“A City with a well planned blend of built and natural environment”

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Objective 2.3Assets which serve the needs of the community.

Long Term Accommodation Strategy

Council’s endorsement of the LongTerm Accommodation Strategy in2003/2004 set the framework forcompleting the final elements of theamalgamation process. A significantelement of this strategy is eliminatingthe duplication of staff officeaccommodation, which will deliversignificant operational efficienciesand improved asset utilisation. An Expression of Interest process forthe sale of the Smithfield Civic siterealised the potential for a substantialaged care accommodation facility,which will be a valuable new servicefor the Munno Para area.

Customer service was improved in 2003/2004 when “front line”staff moved to the Playford CivicCentre and Munno Para ShoppingCentre, providing more efficient and accessible locations for our community.

The construction of the Davoren ParkService Centre has been successful in

locating the majority of Council staffonto one site. The site has also beenused as a trial site for locally grownindigenous plants and water wisegardens, with all plants labelled forthe benefit of the community.

Street Tree Replacement Program

Street Tree Replacement occurredwithin several Playford suburbs during2003/2004. This program providesmany benefits to the community suchas improved aesthetics, noisereduction, reduced dust and pollution,and an increase in shady areas. The improved streetscapes alsogenerally increase the appeal and‘liveability’ of any area.

Community LandManagement Plans

Under the Local Government Act,Council is required to developCommunity Land ManagementPlans (CLMPs) for its 800-plusparcels of community land. Thesemanagement plans, which requirefull public consultation and ElectedMember endorsement, must becompleted by December 31, 2004.

Each parcel of land has beenevaluated and categorised into

one of the 15 categories of the“Reserves Hierarchy”. The CLMPthen identifies:

■ The location by description andaerial photograph;

■ Any tenancies on the land;■ The purpose of the land;■ The objectives for managing

the land;■ The proposals for managing

the land and any improvementsto the land;

■ Any known future developmentswhich may impact on the land;

■ Council by-laws and policieswhich affect the management of the land;

■ Government policies and plans;■ How Council will measure its

management of the land; and■ The management plan

review period.

By June 2004, the City of Playfordhad endorsed CLMPs for all land in reserve categories one to five,covering the City’s major parks andreserves. Council is on target tocomplete plans for all its communityland by the December deadline. Thiswill ensure the community’s assetsare well managed, with any futurechange of land use and managementrequiring community endorsement.

GOAL 2 – ENVIRONMENTAL CARE continued

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Aesthetic Appeal Index from the 2004 Community Satisfaction Survey


Rating(out of 10) 6.2 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.6

City Assets 2002/2003 2003/2004

Square metres of formal gardens 48,021 49,186Square metres of sports grounds 1,291,517 1,320,486Square metres of linear parks 1,068,545 1,016,164Square metres of general parks 1,418,260 1,382,485Square metres of bushland reserves 226,650 630,372Square metres of windbreaks andscreening reserves 2,829,293 3,022,912Square metres of waterways 2,563,475 2,863,153

“A Community which enjoys a good quality of life”

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CommunityWellbeing

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GOAL 3 – COMMUNITY WELLBEING

Development 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004

Applications Value No. Value No. Value No.

Residential $57,753,696 1,596 $73,788,574 1,756 $57,645,948 1,705

Objective 3.1An improvement in thepersonal safety and securityof the community.

Graffiti Coordination Program

The City of Playford’s Maintenance &Prevention Graffiti Program developedsignificant partnerships with localshopping centre management andshop owners, as well as volunteers,in 2003/2004, to establish a rapidremoval response following an initialclean-up of large areas of ‘historical’graffiti. In 2003/04, more than 25,000graffiti tags were removed withmore than 1,000 tags photographedand sent to police.

Crime Prevention

A regional Crime PreventionCommittee was established in2003/2004, with representationfrom the Office of the North, theTown of Gawler and Tea Tree Gully,Salisbury and Playford Councils. The Committee decided to focus on the issue of early intervention in the pathway of drug misuse byyoung people and a Project Officerwas employed to undertake researchon best practice methods and theissues each council area faces.

Objective 3.2Affordable and appropriateaccommodation available forresidents of the City througha balanced mix of private andpublic housing.

Playford North Regeneration Project

The Playford North RegenerationProject seeks to develop a whole of government strategy for thedevelopment and revitalisation of Playford and Playford North. The Playford North area includes the Peachey Belt (Smithfield Plainsand Davoren Park) and the adjacentundeveloped land. Council has beenactively working with StateGovernment agencies to determinethe most appropriate process to address the overall economic,social and environmental objectivesof the project. This is to ensure theproject results not only in physicalregeneration but also socialregeneration of the area. Council iscurrently awaiting State Governmentcommitment to further the projectvia a master planning approach.

Playford and the SA HousingTrust – Working Together

The City of Playford has continuedto work closely with the SA HousingTrust as part of our Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU). Under thisMOU, both Council and the HousingTrust have agreed to work togetherto maximise regeneration in areasacross Playford such as ElizabethPark, Elizabeth Downs and thesouthern area of Elizabeth. As a result, Council has beeninvolved in the upgrading ofstreetscapes and revitalisation ofparks and gardens around localHousing Trust properties. Alternativelandscaping has been used as partof this project, including compactedrubble, paver header courses andlandscape treatments around streettrees rather than traditionallandscaping. The use of thesealternative landscaping methodsresults in attractive streetscapes,requiring a lower-level ofmaintenance and less water.

Residential Plan AmendmentReport (PAR)

The Residential Design PAR wasauthorised by the Minster for UrbanDevelopment and Planning onJanuary 15, 2004. This PAR updatesresidential planning provisions.

Graffiti andVandalism ControlResidents rated Council’s control of graffiti and vandalismin the Playford area a score of 5.6out of 10, a decrease from lastyear’s score of 6.0 out of 10.

Crime Preventionand SafetyResidents rated how safe they feel in the City of Playford a scoreof 6.0 out of 10, a decrease fromlast year’s score of 6.2 out of 10.

Crime prevention was rated a score of 5.5 out of 10 fromresidents, a decrease from lastyear’s score of 5.8 out of 10.

Objective 3.3A city with a range ofsuitable leisure, recreationand sporting services andfacilities.

Skate Park

The first stage of the City of PlayfordSkate Park was completed during2003/2004. The next stage is theconstruction of a viewing deck whichwill commence in 2004/2005. Thepark was designed by KBR and localskater Peter Young, in consultationwith local youth to ensure it met theneeds of local skaters and BMX riders.The result is a unique, regional facilitythat offers recreational opportunitiesfor the youth of the City.

Aquadome Redevelopment

The Aquadome redevelopmentproject did not progress as plannedin 2003/2004. Unfortunately, thehigh capital cost associated withaquatic facilities has resulted in littleinterest from the State Governmentand the private sector to date.

Nevertheless, Council continues to pursue the development of asustainable aquatic facility for theresidents of Playford and recognisesthe popularity of the Aquadome,with 200,000 visitors using theCentre each year.

At the time of printing, severalexciting redevelopment proposalsare due from a private recreationcentre developer outlining futureideas for the Aquadome.

Beach Volleyball has come to Playford!

In an effort to increase the range ofrecreational activities offered withinPlayford, a beach volleyball facilitywas developed at the Ramsay Parksite in 2003/2004, in conjunctionwith Volleyball SA and the PlayfordPatriots Soccer Club. A number ofawareness sessions were conductedwith local schools to encourage useof the facility, with Volleyball SArunning a beach volleyballcompetition in 2004/2005.

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIPWITH THE COMMUNITY

BMX Track

A new BMX track was designed in 2003/2004 in consultation withlocal BMX riders. The construction of the track will occur during the2004/2005 financial year. The trackwill offer local and regional youthanother venue for recreationalactivities. In addition, this project will support BMX riders within the Playford area who compete in national and state level extremesport competitions. It will enhancetheir sporting careers and provide an opportunity for them to take on a leadership role in supportingyounger riders. Construction of thetrack will mean local riders will nolonger have to travel to Salisbury orTea Tree Gully to practice their sport.

One Tree Hill Sporting Hub

Throughout 2003/2004, the City of Playford worked with clubs in the One Tree Hill area to upgradefacilities such as toilets and changerooms. The club was successful in gaining $61,000 worth of grantfunding. In addition, MacKillopReserve Tennis Courts wererefurbished as part of the localmaster planning of the area.

Community Oval Completed

A partnership between the City ofPlayford, Playford Primary Schooland Catherine McAuley PrimarySchool resulted in the completion of the Community Oval at Craigmore in 2003/2004. The oval provides a greatopportunity for both school andcommunity use, and the agreementto share maintenance costs is anexcellent example of localorganisations working together for the benefit of the community.

Elizabeth Regional SportsPrecinct

During 2003/2004, the City ofPlayford consulted with a number oflocal sporting clubs and stakeholdersto provide information about theredevelopment of the ElizabethRegional Sports Precinct as part ofthe Elizabeth Regional Centreupgrade. A precinct study for theERC and the development of the 10-year plan is now underway toprovide a framework to undertakecapital improvements. This studyaims to provide facilities andinfrastructure for the encouragementand support of youth in sportingactivities in partnership with thevarious stakeholders as well asproviding further opportunities for the mentoring and coaching of Playford’s youth.


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Aquadome andFitness CentreResidents rated Council’sAquadome Swimming andFitness Centre 7.1 out of 10, a slight increase from last year’s 7.0 out of 10.

Floodlighting at Angle Vale School

Floodlighting was installed at Angle Vale School during 2003/2004 to enable night-time training for local sporting clubs.

Library Services

Sustainable Regions Funding was obtained in 2003/2004 for the MobileLibrary. This will provide flexible and adaptive information literacy and relatedservices that can be customised according to the needs of pre-schools andprimary schools. It will complement existing school-based learning activitiesand curriculum, and will provide an interesting and exciting alternativelearning environment for students. The project will also promote the ongoinguse of libraries and will encourage and actively facilitate the participation of students in library programs, such as Book Week and reading programs.

GOAL 3 – COMMUNITY WELLBEING continued

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Child and Youth membership of Playford libraries


Number 7,435 8,769 7,635 9,040Percent 37% 44% 38% 45%

Number of players registered witha sporting club / association


EstablishingNumber 5,066 the baseline 5,100

Program 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04and Events Actual Target Target

Participation in the Integrated Recreation Program 896 882 856

Community satisfaction with involvement in Council decision making


Satisfaction Rating(Out of 10) 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.7

Objective 3.4A community whichparticipates in decisionmaking about the city.

City of Playford Web Page

The City of Playford website enablesthe public to obtain informationabout council services and facilitiesand contains copies of councilmeeting agendas and minutes. The public is encouraged to contactthe City of Playford via the website to make suggestions, comments or enquire about any of the council’sservices, policies and facilities.

During 2003/2004, Councilcommenced a Web Page QualityAssurance Program aimed atensuring information on the councilwebsite is regularly updated andthat new community information is published in a timely fashion. As part of this, a scheduled program of audits will be regularly undertaken.

Community Satisfaction with Involvement in Decision Making

Scores obtained through the City of Playford Customer SatisfactionSurvey remained relatively stable in the area of ‘communitysatisfaction with involvement in Council decision making’. Council continues to encourageresidents to become involved in their local community.


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Objective 3.5A strong sense of communitybelonging among peoplewho live, work and ownbusinesses in the City.

Celebrating Playford

Throughout the year, the City ofPlayford facilitated a number ofevents to engage the community and allow them to celebrate Playford,embrace local community spirit and share Playford’s achievements.

On Monday, January 26, 2004 atFremont Park, Mayor Marilyn Bakerwas proud to present the Playford‘Australia Day Awards’ to some ofour most deserving citizens duringthe 2004 Australia Day Celebrations.

The Citizen of the Year,Don Durbridge, is a true Playford icon and has been actively involved in community work for more than 30 years. Don is a local anti-graffiticampaigner and leads a group of volunteers known as the RapidGraffiti Removal Team who worktogether to reduce graffitithroughout the City. He alsoacknowledges the importance ofraising awareness of the problemscaused by graffiti and vandalism andhas organised school visits by policerepresentatives to highlight the needto protect our local area and helpeliminate graffiti to improve theimage of our City. Don has also beenactively involved in the Elizabeth LionsClub over many years and is VicePresident of Neighbourhood Watch387. He is very proud of his local areaand is dedicated to making the City a welcoming and attractive place.

Mayor Baker also presented theCommunity Event of the Year Awardto the One Tree Hill ProgressAssociation for bringing together theOne Tree Hill community to celebratethe Tour Down Under passingthrough their town in January, 2003.The Progress Association organised a community celebration to welcome

the cyclists to One Tree Hill and to promote the beautiful area to a wider audience. The dedication ofthe Association was rewarded whenOne Tree Hill won a commendationfor best dressed town during the2003 Tour Down Under.

In 2004, the Young Citizen of theYear Award was presented to a group of young students from St Columba College who enteredthe World Solar Cycle Challenge in October, 2003 competing againsta strong international field.

The Hickinbotham/St ColumbaCollege Team “Watto” used theirskills and abilities to work as a teamand came second in their class andseventh in the overall challenge.Proudly representing the City ofPlayford, the team showed dedicationto the challenge and were pleasedto raise awareness of the local area.

As well as celebrating our wonderfulachievers, the Australia DayCelebrations provided an opportunityfor the community to come togetherto celebrate our Country’s nationalday through local entertainmentprovided by the Playford City Bands.Another highlight of the day was themarket lane, which featured morethan 30 stalls and drew a big crowd.

Another popular local event held in2003/2004 was the annual PlayfordGift. This event is the lead-up race tothe Adelaide Bay Sheffield and washeld in early December, 2003. Therace provides residents with anopportunity to be part of a highprofile event within the local area.

Other local events during 2003/2004included the International Rugby 7’s,D-Day Charity Day and the launch ofthe new Playford Skate Park

Clean Up Australia Day

The City of Playford proudly supportsClean Up Australia Day and activelyparticipated on Sunday, March 7,2004 along with several members of the local community. Clean UpAustralia Day offers the a chance forall Australians to make a differenceto their local environment, as well as experiencing first hand thedamaging effects of rubbish in theenvironment. The next Clean UpAustralia Day will be held on Sunday,March 6, 2005.

Supporting Local Leaders

Sustainable Regions funding wassuccessfully obtained in 2003/2004for the Mayors’ CommunityLeadership Program which aims to empower and develop existingand emerging community leadersthrough mentoring, up-skilling and a broadening of their generalknowledge of community andeconomic development. This willenable community leaders to takegreater responsibility and ownershipfor driving local solutions to local issues.

Importantly, Community Leaders willalso learn how to become mentorsand teachers themselves so that theycan effectively pass their knowledge,skills and experience to others.

Protecting Our Heritage

The Local Heritage PAR wasauthorised by the Minister for Urban Development and Planningon September 11, 2003. This PARlists and protects heritage assetswithin Playford.

Program and Events 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004

Number of people attending Community Events facilitated by Council and the community 9,100 8,300 12,500


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Grenville Seniors CommunityConnection Hub

The usage of the Grenville Hubincreased by 358% from July 2003to June 2004, and is expected tocontinue to rise as people becomeaware of the benefits of theGrenville Hub through promotion,education and the ongoing need for services to be provided to helpolder people maintain an active andhealthy lifestyle in their own homesand in the wider community.

The Grenville Hub hosted a numberof events in 2003/2004 includingthe Big Multicultural Musical Day, St Andrews Dance, Seniors Ball andPantomimes. All were very popularcommunity events and werecompletely sold out. Feedback wastremendous, with the audiences veryimpressed with the local talent onshow. The Big Multicultural MusicalDay was particularly successful withmore than 1,000 people attending.

The cycling group was introduced in 2003/2004, with 10 regularGrenville Cyclists now meeting everyTuesday morning to cycle for severalhours, followed by a healthymorning tea at the Grenville Hub. It has become so popular that asecond group now cycles everyThursday morning.

The Grenville garden is now a placeof relaxation. People are encouragedto sit and watch the world go by,while enjoying the peace and quiet.A gazebo has been installed toencourage outdoor entertainmentand activities in the warmer weather.

Community and CulturalDevelopment

The community cultural developmentproject which is funded jointly byArts SA has been running since April,2004. Since that time a referencegroup of community stakeholdershas been formed called the “PlayfordArts Community Team” (PACT).Community membership of the teamhas grown and includes ElizabethPotters, Para West Adult Campus,Northern Area Community & YouthServices (NACYS), Keeping ItTogether (KIT) – National SuicidePrevention Strategy, PlayfordPartnership, Anglicare, Playford CityBands, Northern Metropolitan HealthServices, Arts Action (Gawler) andthe Elizabeth Arts Society. A culturalmapping exercise has begun and a database had been developedincluding more than 25 organisationsdelivering arts and cultural activitiesand programs in Playford.

A City-wide exhibition of arts and crafts known as “CelebratePlayford” has been developed in conjunction with communitystakeholders for October, 2004. In addition, the community culturaldevelopment officer assisted the mounting of “High Dreams” at the Civic Centre, which is adisplay of works by local artists witha disability. The City of Playford isalso a partner with Carclew ArtsCentre in an ArtsSmart theatre andperformance project for youngpeople in the Peachey Belt.

Neighbourhood Development

The Neighbourhood DevelopmentOfficer maintained strong links withexisting projects and programs in2003/2004, such as the PlayfordChristmas Pageant which involvedworking with the Peachey BeltResident Group.

Other significant community-initiatedprojects included Peachey Voice Radio– a weekly radio show promoting the activities of the Peachey Beltcommunity-based groups and serviceproviders. Topics featured includedFamily, Bullying, Youth Participation,Active Community, and IndigenousIssues Awareness.

The Peachey Voice Newsletter wasalso introduced in 2003/2004. It is a quarterly newslettercoordinated by the community forthe community. The newsletteridentifies positive stories from thePeachey Belt and also promotesachievements of community-basedgroups and service providers.

Average daily attendance at the Grenville Hub

2002/03 2003/04Actual Actual

Daily attendance 206 343


32

Objective 3.6A community which enjoys a standard of health andwellbeing comparable to therest of the metropolitan area.

Peachey Connections

The City of Playford introducedPeachey Connections during2003/2004. Peachey Connections isa new program designed to enhancewellbeing by providing services andactivities for Seniors and Adults witha disability who live within DavorenPark and surrounding areas.

A highly popular Karaoke morningwas held as part of the PeacheyConnections Program with visitorsattending from the One Tree HillRural program and the Grenville Hubday activity program. A good timewas had by all, with participantssinging and dancing to theirfavourite tunes.

The Stepping Into Life InformationExpo was also held in 2003/2004.This Expo was designed inconjunction with the NorthernCarer’s Network to provide residentsan opportunity to learn about theservices available in the Peacheyregion. Thirteen organisations tookadvantage of the opportunity topromote their service and it wasestimated that approximately 150residents attended. (Local Event)

The City of Playford forged strongpartnerships with otherorganisations within the Playfordarea in 2003/2004, including COTA,Helping Hand, Northern Carer’sNetwork and the Lyell McEwinHealth Service and have collaboratedto provide community programssuch as the Staying on Top of Life,Moving Right Along, Quality Use of Medicines and Working inPartnership with Your Doctor.

A total of 1135 participants accessedPeachey Connections in 2003/2004

which equates to a total of 5793hours of services and activitiesprovided for community members.

The City of Playford is aiming toincrease participation in the PeacheyConnections Program by 15% in 2004/2005. Work will alsocontinue to encourage communityparticipation in decision-makingprocesses and in networking closelywith other service providers to ensure services and activities are contributing to an improvedquality of life for the community.

Rural Program

The City of Playford continued to conduct its Rural Program in2003/2004, operating every Tuesdayat the Virginia Institute and the OneTree Hill Institute. The Rural Programincorporates activities for membersof the Italian community twicemonthly. In total, 57 clients utilisedthe Rural Program in 2003/04, with 1622 attendances.

The Rural Program aims to reduceisolation, increase social interaction,provide information and createlinkages between residents and services to maintain health and wellbeing and allowing seniorsto continue living in their ownhome. The program is stronglysupported by volunteers donatingtheir time and was recognisedduring the year by One Tree Hillparticipants who recently wrote to the Sunday Mail applauding boththe quality of the Rural Program and the volunteers involved.

Social Inclusion in Playford

A Disability Access Planner positionwas introduced during 2003/2004which has resulted in increasedrecognition within the Council aboutthe need to consider people whohave a disability, as well as theirspecial requirements when planningservices and facilities. There is alsoan increased recognition about theneed for consultation to ensureaccess, equity and DDA compliance.

A Celebration of Ability event washeld which brought together peoplewith a disability and the broadercommunity to promote a naturallyinclusive environment and torecognise and celebrate theachievements of people with a disability.

The Playford Friends Unity band was also formed in 2003/2004, with three major publicperformances and further invitationsto perform in the future. Playfordwas also involved in the High BeamInternational Arts Festival as part ofa major art project in collaborationwith Arts in Action havingcoordinated and hosted fourworkshops for more than 100 people from a large variety oflocal organisations. The culminationof this work is a major artworkcurrently hanging in the Great Hallat the Civic Centre.

Service Provision – 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004Community Services

Number of client visits for Aged and Disabled Day Activities* 6,964 5,799 7,318Number of clients assisted through Home Assist Program 2,746 5,467Number of people purchasing food from the Food Co-ops 14,677 14,997 17,294


33

Community Health Education

A number of Community Healthevents were held in 2003/2004,including the Resilience Forum,ADHD Forum and CommunityWellbeing Forum & Expo. In addition,information kits on a range of topicswere developed and distributed to the broader community. Due to its overwhelming success, the Northern Wellbeing Partnershipwill continue to host the CommunityWellbeing Expo in the future.

Promoting Nutrition in Playford

In 2003/2004, a new co-ordinatorwas appointed at the ElizabethDowns Food Co-operative, with six volunteers also assisting withoperations. However, the opening of a new supermarket next to thisoutlet has severely affected trade.

An additional co-ordinator was alsoappointed to assist with the runningof the Smithfield Plains Food Co-operative, which has relocatedfrom the Para Worklinks site onCoventry Road to the SmithfieldPlains Shopping Centre. Tradinghours were extended from 23 hoursper week to 35 hours per week.

Since relocating to Smithfield PlainsShopping Centre, the Co-op hasachieved the following:

■ Enrolled more than 290 new members;

■ Catered for 710 persons at 10 separate functions;

■ Provided cooking classes for more than 450 people in 26 sessions; and

■ Quadrupled average weekly sales.

The Food Co-operatives have alsoincreased the range of meal packson offer to more than 16 and avariety of supplementary packs suchas simple scones, co-op cookies,chocolate puddings and play doughare now available.

A ‘Food Security Expo’ wasconducted at the Civic Centre in 2003/2004 and the outcomes ofthis Expo were extremely positive.Local growers, retailers/businesses,community service providers and thePlayford Food Co-operativescommitted to developing projectsbased around the communication ofinformation about produce marketsand the connection between food,nutrition and schools.

Variety Club Respite House

In 2003/2004, the City of Playford,in partnership with the Variety Club,Autism SA and Northern andSouthern Councils, agreed toestablish two respite houses forchildren with severe behaviouralproblems – one in the North andone in the South. Funding for thisproject will be provided by theVariety Club and the Department of Human Services, with Autism SAresponsible for the management ofthe houses. The City of Playford hasbeen active in a facilitation role andassisting to find a suitable propertywithin the Playford area. The respitehouse will provide assistance and support to parents of childrenwith behavioural difficulties andit is intended to be used to hosteducational programs when it is not being used for respite.

Environmental Health in Playford

Two Environmental Health Officersare employed by the City of Playfordto monitor public health standardswithin the Council area. Theseofficers follow a schedule ofinspections for food premises,cooling towers, hairdressing salonsand swimming pools. In 2003/2004,524 inspections were conducted,comprising 349 routine inspections,141 follow up inspections and 34inspections as a result of complaints.

Playford Home Assist

The Home Assist program continuedin 2003/2004 and received anaverage of 500 enquires per month,with home support services andtransport provided to 650 clients.

Playford Home Assist has forged astrong relationship with ResthavenDay Therapy and recently receivedHACC funding to support 50 clientsin moving towards independenceand wellbeing.

The ‘Friendly Visiting Program’ was extended in 2003/2004.Currently, the City of Playford has eight volunteers visiting 15 residents. It is hoped through the active recruitment of volunteers,the program will be expanded in2004/2005 as there is a great needin the community for such a service.

A new respite group for men withearly signs of dementia was alsoestablished in 2003/2004 inconjunction with the NorthernCarers Network. The Cobbers Groupaims to support men with dementiaby providing transport and socialactivities whilst giving their carerstime out for themselves. Currently,


34

Level of youth participation for Youth Week


Number of participants 250 400 350 400

the group comprises of five men,which meet at the Grenville Centreon a fortnightly basis. The groupalternates between attending socialactivities based at the centre andplanned outings to places of interest.

The Gardening Program has alsoincreased in the past year. There arenow two groups of four gardenerswho work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.This has enabled the program to morethan double the amount of gardeningwork completed and a successfulapplication for Home Assistequipment has supported thegardening program and reduceddirect costs to clients.

The Virginia Bus run also expandedin 2003/2004. Previously this serviceonly operated on a Thursdaymorning and was utilised by five to10 people. The service now operatesall day and provides a service tobetween 25-30 people per week.

Aboriginal Torres StraitIslander Community Worker

An Aboriginal Torres Strait IslanderCommunity Worker commenced atthe City of Playford in April, 2004and is jointly funded by theDepartment of Human Services. TheATSI Community Worker is part of acommunity reference group whichwas established out of a communitymeeting held at the Aboriginal EldersVillage. This group includes theAboriginal Education Worker fromSmithfield Plains High and members

of the Indigenous Leadership Group,while relationships have also beenestablished with the Aboriginal YouthHealth Worker from Muna Paiendiand the Indigenous Men’s Groupfrom Kaurna Plains School. Displayswere developed for NAIDOC andReconciliation Week and participationin the Nunga Woodstock event alsooccurred in 2003/2004.

The City of Playford also received aHighly Commended Certificate inthe 2003 Heart Foundation KelloggLocal Government Awards for the‘Strengthening IndigenousCommunities’ Project.

Youth Development

The establishment of the YouthAdvisory Committee (YAC) was a significant achievement of theYouth Development Program in2003/2004. The YAC has identifiedand fostered potential communityleaders while providing a fun, yetmeaningful learning experiencethrough active participation. This program has established abetter working relationship betweenCouncil and young people and hasalso provided Council with a betterunderstanding of the issues thataffect young people; the barriersthat young people may face whenwanting to engage in civic activities;and the strengths that lie within theyounger section of the community.YAC activities include thedevelopment of Council’s Youth

Issues Paper, the design of Civic Centre bus shelter artwork,planning, coordination andevaluation of events during National Youth Week 2004 and the Skate Park launch.

Keeping it Together, YouthSuicide Prevention Project

A key achievement of the City ofPlayford’s ‘Keeping It Together’suicide prevention project in2003/2004 was the development ofthe “Breathe Another Day” booklet,which contains stories, poetry,puzzles, recommendations andimagery authored by seven youngpeople living with a mental illness.The young people who developedthe booklet, with the support of KIT,plan to distribute Breathe AnotherDay to Hospitals, Community HealthServices, Mental Health Services andGP Surgeries in order to supportothers in the community living withmental health issues, along withtheir families. At the ‘Keeping ItTogether’ presentation to serviceproviders, the most powerful toolwas the stories the young peoplerelayed to the audience about theirexperiences. KIT projects such as this aim to raise awareness aboutresilience and connectednessamongst community members, as part of Federal Governmentefforts to reduce the incidence of suicide and self-harm.

Home AssistanceResidents who received supportfrom the Home AssistanceScheme during the year were very happy and rated the programa score of 9.1 out of 10, an improvement from last year’sscore of 8.9 out of 10.

Access to Home Assistance Services by disadvantaged clients


New Rural Clients 7 10 10 15New Peachey Belt Clients 22 13 10 23

Peachey Belt

Community development planningfor the future regeneration of thePeachey Belt has been undertakento establish the Swallow CliffCommunity Campus comprisingschools and other service providers.

Early Childhood and Families

The City of Playford focused on early childhood and families during2003/2004 to achieve a moreintegrated approach in conjunctionwith early childhood and familyagencies to facilitate early detectionand prevention strategies.

An Issues Paper about EarlyChildhood and Families within theCity of Playford was prepared inDecember, 2003 exploring issuesrelevant to the Playford communityand recognising leading practicework of the Para West AdultCampus faculty of family learning.The development of this paper wasendorsed by the Northern Childrenand Families Forum, a bodyrepresenting services working withyoung children and families in theareas of health, education and care.

Child Care Centre

The City of Playford Child CareCentre received the highest level orreaccreditation, as a result of an auditundertaken in May, 2004. The ChildCare Centre has forged partnershipswith TAFE SA and the University of South Australia and is being usedas a ‘Learning Centre’ where studentsare able to obtain on-the-jobcompetencies and work experience.The Centre also conducted a‘customer survey’ in 2003/2004which yielded very positive results.

Objective 3.7 A city transport system thatenables people to get wherethey want to go.

Landscaping Plans for theSmithfield and ElizabethRailway Stations Surrounds

TransAdelaide commenced planningfor the Smithfield Train Station duringthe year to increase the level ofservice and coverage of train-basedservices in the area. Complimentaryto this upgrade, the City of Playfordwill be redeveloping the area aroundthe Smithfield Railway Station into an ephemeral wetland.

This project is led by the NorthernYouth Justice Team, TransAdelaideand City of Playford and issupported by a range of agencies.The project is funded through SAWorks. The objectives are:

■ To provide employment trainingwith real work outcomes to some of the most at-risk andmarginalised young peopleresiding in the northernmetropolitan suburbs of Adelaide.

■ That the training be Competency-Assessed and NationallyAccredited.

■ To galvanise the communitythrough the partnership to worktogether with these youngpeople to shift their paradigm of citizenship.

■ To develop an environmentallysustainable and aestheticallyattractive amenity for theSmithfield community.

UniSA has undertaken the surveyingof the site. This has enabled theother facets of the project to beimplemented.

The City of Playford has alsoupgraded the landscaping aroundthe Elizabeth Railway Stations.


35

Service Provision – 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004Immunisation

Number of people immunised 3,813 5,213 7,314

Service Provision – 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004Child Care

Number of children provided with childcare services each week day 54 54 56

ImmunisationResidents rated staff at Council’simmunisation service as pleasantand friendly with a score of 8.7out of 10, a slight increase fromlast year’s 8.6 out of 10.

36

Corporate

37

GOAL 4 – CORPORATE

1.0 OrganisationalCulture

Leadership Development

To ensure that persons in leadershippositions have the skills required to do their jobs effectively, the Cityof Playford embarked on a review of leadership competencies in2003/2004. The review also ensurescompetencies are aligned to thelong term goals and objectives ofthe organisation and have beendeveloped into position descriptionsand linked to the Council’sperformance appraisal system.

Employee Relations

An employee survey investigatingpressure, leadership and bullyingwithin the City of Playford wasundertaken in 2003/2004. Detailedinformation relating to the incidenceof bullying was collected from stafffollowed by a risk analysis. As a result,the City of Playford has implementeda number of strategies including:

■ A bullying hazard management strategy;

■ Information sessions for staff;■ Review of work practices;■ Review of team sizes and

number of projects managed.

Continuous Improvement in People, Events andChildcare Services

In an effort to improve customerservice both internally and externally,the People, Events and ChildcareServices Group have moved towards

a more collaborative approach to group activities through jobsharing in the areas of payroll andorganisational development. Effortsare also continuing to reduce turnaround time in the recruitment andselection process to increase flexibility.

2.0 Customer Focus

Knowledge Management

2003/04 was the second year of thethree-year Knowledge Managementproject. Five new corporate systemshave been introduced as part of thisproject to deliver a cost-effective,integrated information andcommunication system that producehigh levels of customer service. The project facilitates betterdecision-making and easier access to information. The streamlining of systems, processes andprocedures will deliver manyefficiencies for the organisation. The City of Playford is also movingtowards online service delivery andan environment where residents can pay rates online and submitplanning applications and customerrequests via the Internet. During2004/2005, the integration of the

five systems will occur, along withthe development of an EmployeeKiosk and Corporate GIS, and theintroduction of remote computing to allow field staff to have directaccess to corporate systems.

Completion of Civic CentreMarketing Plan

The City of Playford Civic CentreMarketing Plan was developed in2003/2004 to guide the marketingof the Centre and to ensureresidents have open and easy accessto modern facilities and servicesaligned to their needs andexpectations. It was developedfollowing extensive consultationwith staff and elected members,while surveys of the current andpotential needs and interests of localresidents and organisations werealso undertaken.

The plan outlines a series of specificobjectives and strategies that areconsidered both realistic andachievable in terms of timeframesand budgets. It is important torecognise that the plan is not simply about advertising the Centreas it covers all aspects of themarketing mix.

I

Ongoing improvement to exit interviews is continuing to assist in identifyingreasons why staff move on to employment outside of the City of Playford to enable development of effective strategies for staff retention.

Number of employee terminations (excluding casuals)


Number ofTerminations 20 22 15 15

Introduction of Population & Housing Forecasting Tooland Community Atlas

A Community Atlas and PopulationForecasting tool was added to thePlayford website in early 2004,alongside the already existingCommunity Profile which contains a range of population, housing and demographic information aboutthe City of Playford and the suburbswithin. This data is based on the2001 Census of Population andHousing with comparative data also available for 1996 and 1991.

The Community Atlas tool providesfurther benefits through a series of interactive maps whereby userscan view the distribution of specificresident characteristics (eg age)across all Playford suburbs on onemap. Population forecasts to 2016are also now available and havebeen developed using populationdata for 2001 as well as the mostup- to-date information on landdevelopment, fertility and household structure.

3.0 Communicationand Decision-Making

Corporate Management Plan

The City of Playford CorporateManagement Plan 2003-2013 hasbeen developed in the past year and is testament to Council’s strongcommitment to strategic planningand corporate management. The Plan was established basedaround five key pillars of success:Organisational Culture, CustomerFocus, Communication andDecision-Making, Financial and RiskManagement and Partnerships. The Corporate Management Planprovides the framework and thedetail to ensure internal systems are both efficient and effective in contributing towards therevitalisation of the City.

Playford Plans Measures and Targets

The Playford Plan is the long-termplan for the City which guidesCouncil’s service delivery priorities,major capital works and theallocation of resources in the nextten years. In an effort to alignCouncil’s strategic planning withthat of the State GovernmentStrategic Plan, Playford liaised with a number of stakeholders from Stateand Federal Government and localorganisations in early 2004 todevelop a range of performancemeasures to assist in monitoring the progress of the Playford Plan.Further research was thenundertaken into the viability of thesemeasures. Further engagement withstakeholders to identify targets isplanned for 2004/2005.

38

Communityinformation directoryResidents found the CommunityInformation Directory easy to use rating it 8.0 out of 10, a slight decrease from last year’sscore of 8.2 out of 10.

Service Provision – Customer Service 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004

Number of registered dogs 16,148 16,148 16,148Number of dog complaints 1,845 1,625 1,567Number of dogs impounded 1,135 1,226 1,331Number of dogs returned to owner 374 480 500Number of parking complaints 839 371 758Number of burning permits issued 596 852 1,292Number of inflammable undergrowth block inspections 1,570 1,220 1,020Number of after hours requests 1,651 1,526 1,607

4.0 Financial and Risk Management

Continuing Strong Financial Performance

The City of Playford has reported a sound financial result for the 12 months ending June 30, 2004.This is the first year sinceamalgamation that the City hasreturned a positive change inCommunity Wealth after allowingfor depreciation and capitalrevenues. The Operating Surplusratio of 16% is 1.6% ahead of thebudget of 14.4% and in advance of the 2008 target of 20%.

Rates Equalisation

The City of Playford embarked uponthe equalisation of rates followingamalgamation in 1997. All residentialrates have now been equalised andnon-residential rates will be phasedin and concluded by 2008.

Risk Management

The annual Risk Managementassessment has again shown positiveresults, with Council achieving anaggregate score of 90%. The City ofPlayford again rated higher than theaverage metropolitan Council scorein seven out of eight categories.

Risk management practices haveimproved in Road Management(which was previously below themetropolitan average). The singlecategory below the average relatesto professional indemnity, includingexternal organisations.

This outcome had an immediateeffect on Council’s bottom line.Playford’s public liability andprofessional indemnity premium has risen by only $82, thanks to a $64,000 bonus for claimsperformance and risk management.

Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare

Since its formation in 1997, the City of Playford has performedwell in the area of Occupational,Health, Safety and Welfare with:

■ A reduction of annual claimsfrom 78 to 45, (at the same time our workforce numbershave increased);

■ A reduction in the cost of claims paid out from $543,000 to $66,000;

■ An increase in the rebate on ourannual workers compensationcontributions paid back to councilfrom $68,000 to $228,000.

Achievements for 2003/2004include a significant reduction in the injury frequency rate and thecommencement of both a ChemicalManagement Project and a PlantRisk Assessment Project.

5.0 Partnerships

Signed Agreement withAnimal Welfare League

In 2003/2004, the City of Playfordsigned an agreement with theAnimal Welfare League which plansto build an animal shelter on

Hewitson Road, Elizabeth West.Council will have exclusive use of 20 dog pens at the new facilitywhich will be used as Playford’s newpound. As part of the agreement,Animal Welfare will also hold andcare for animals (other than dogsand cats) that stray at large as partof the Fauna and Stock Agreement.The new facility will be more secureand modern and will include acattery. This state-of-the-art poundwill assist Council in improvinganimal management within the city.

Playford Partnership Model

The Playford Partnership Modelcontinued to evolve throughout2003/2004, shifting its focus fromthe Peachey Belt to the economic,environmental and social regenerationof the whole of Playford.

The Playford Partnership model ishighly recognised as a model for awhole of government approach tostrategic development, recognisingthat collaborative planning and useof resources provides substantiallygreater and sustainable benefits tolocal communities. In fact, thePlayford Partnership won theManagement Improvement Categoryof the Department of Transport andRegional Services National Awardsfor Local Government 2003.

GOAL 4 – CORPORATE continued

39

Annual LGA Audit Rating


Rating % 86.1 90.9 90 90 90

Playford rated higher that the average metropolitan council score in 7 out of 8 categories.

Injury Frequency Rate – compared with average rate for Group A Councils (> 200 staff)*


< Average forRating 19.2 22.8 11.2 < 16.8 Group A Councils

* Lost time injuries/total hours worked by Playford employees x 1,000,000.

“The City is divided into six wardsrepresented by the Mayor and 15 Elected Members”

40

Governance

41

COUNCIL & CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REVIEW

City of PlayfordWard StructureThe City is divided into six wardsrepresented by the Mayor and 15Elected Members. The table belowprovides a comparison of the City ofPlayford and its representation withother metropolitan Councils.

Periodic ReviewThe City of Playford formallycommenced the Periodic Review inNovember 2001 with the publicationof public notices in “The Advertiser”and the “News Review Messenger”newspapers, as well as the SouthAustralian Government Gazette.

The review was conducted in accordance with the processspecified in Section 12 of the Local Government Act 1999 and,where and when practical took intoaccount the provisions of Sections26 and 33 of the Local GovernmentAct 1999. Issues considered duringthe review included:

■ communities of interest, ■ the population of the area, ■ the topography of the area, ■ communication between electors

and their elected representatives, ■ demographic changes, ■ the total size and composition

of the Council■ The ward quota.

The review was concluded on 27 August 2002 at which timeCouncil formally resolved to retainthe composition of having a Mayorand fifteen ward Councillors withthe City of Playford divided into six wards.

The Electoral Commissionsubsequently approved the City of Playford’s Periodic Review and the new wards and associated warddescriptions and maps were gazettedin the South Australian GovernmentGazette on 5 December 2002.

The new ward boundaries came into effect for the May 2003 Council Elections.

Periodic reviews are to be conductedevery six years or as requested bythe Electoral Commissioner. The nextreview may occur during 2007.

Under Section 28 of the LocalGovernment Act a group of at least20 eligible residents may submit toCouncil a submission that theCouncil consider a proposalæ

(a) To alter the boundaries of the council;

(b) To alter the composition of thecouncil or the representativestructure of the council(including by the creation,alteration or abolition of wards);

(c) To incorporate within the area of the council a part of the State that is not within the areaof a council.

The Local Government Act states the process for this request to be processed.

GovernanceArchitectureThe City of Playford’s Council,Committee and Special CouncilMeetings are held in the PlayfordCivic Centre, 10 Playford Boulevard,Elizabeth within the CouncilChambers and Committee Rooms.

Prior to April 2004 the meetings wereheld in the Council Chambers,Windsor Square, Elizabeth but withthe opening of the new Playford CivicCentre, meetings relocated to thenew easy to access meeting rooms.

Council’s Meeting cycle for2003/2004 included:

■ Next Generation BuildingsCommittee, second Monday of each month at 9.00 am.

■ Community and EnvironmentCommittee, second Tuesday of each month at 7.00 pm.

■ Development Assessment Panel,third Tuesday of each month at 7.00 pm.

■ Economic and CorporateCommittee, second Tuesday of each month at 7.00 pm.

■ Council Meeting, fourth Tuesdayof each month at 7.00 pm.

■ Special Council Meetings, third Tuesday of the monthfollowing the DevelopmentAssessment Panel.

Comparison of Playford Elector Ratios with other Metropolitan Councils

Council Elected Members Electors Ratio(including the Mayor)

Burnside 13 35,597 1:2,738Charles Sturt 21 84,907 1:4,043Playford* 16 47,305 1:2,956Pt Adelaid/ Enfield 18 81,384 1:4,521Salisbury 17 90,565 1:5,327Onkaparinga 21 114,067 1:5,431

Information derived from the Local Government Association Circular 35.2 (date 24/8/2004)

Council resolved to discuss nine items in confidence under section 90 of theLocal Government Act during the financial year compared to four items for theprevious financial year.

“The City is divided into six wards represented by the Mayor and 15 Elected Members”

42

Types of Decisions2002/2003 2003/2004

*Decisions made by Committees (under delegated authority) 84 91

Decisions made by Council 136 119

Decisions made by the Development Assessment Panel 46 44

TOTAL DECISIONS 266 254

*Committee decisions are limited to th receipt and acceptance of items of information

Elected Member Profile

Number of Elected Members

16 (including the Mayor)

Elected Members Allowances

Elected Members received the following allowances during the 2003/2004 period:

■ Mayor up to $26,720 per annum■ Deputy Mayor and Presiding

Members $8,350 per annum■ Councillors, $6,680 per annum

Elected Members are provided witha printer/facsimile machine, laptopcomputer and mobile telephone forCouncil business. The Mayor hasaccess to a vehicle for Councilbusiness and civic duties.

COUNCIL & CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REVIEW continued

43

Participation in GovernanceMeetingsThe following graphs provide a summary of Elected Members and their participation atCommittee, Council, Special Council and DevelopmentAssessment Panel Meetings.

Participation in Economic & Corporate Committee Meetings – 11 meetings held

Participation in Community & Environment Committee Meetings – 11 meetings held

Participation in Next Generation Buildings Committee Meetings– 8 meetings held

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

May

or Bak

er

Cr Shaw

Cr Rya

n

Cr Muso

lino

Cr Mac

Milla

n

Cr Lev

itt

Cr Fed

erico

Cr Cav

a

Cr Boundy

meetings attended apology other committee attendance

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Cr O’R

eilly

Cr Norri

s

Cr Ham

ilton

Cr Gooley

Cr Doch

erty

Cr Cra

ig

May

or Bak

er

Cr Wiss

ell

Cr Shaw

Cr Rya

n


0

2

4

6

8

Cr Mac

Milla

n

Cr Lev

itt

Leig

h Hall

Cate A

tkin

son

May

or Bak

er

Don Ven

n

Cr Wiss

ell


Mayor Marilyn Baker is a member of all Council Committees. The Economicand Corporate Committee and Community and Environment Committee wereboth held on the second Tuesday of each month from 7.00 pm resulting in theMayor not being able to attend all of the meetings.


44

Participation in Special Council Meetings – 18 meetings held

Participation in Council Meetings – 16 meetings held

Representativeson ExternalOrganisationsAt the August 2003 CouncilMeeting, Council endorsed thefollowing Elected Members torepresent the City of Playford’sinterests on External Organisations.

■ Adelaide Plains Animal and PlantControl Board – Cr Julie Norris.

■ Gawler River FloodplainManagement Authority – Cr Max O’Rielly.

■ Local Government Associationand Local Government FinanceAuthority – Mayor Marilyn Baker

■ Northern Adelaide DevelopmentBoard – Cr Duncan MacMillan.

■ Playford District BushfirePrevention Committee – Cr Glenn Docherty and Cr Julie Norris

■ Southern and Hills LGA NaturalResource ManagementCommittee – Cr Coral Gooley.

■ Virginia Horticulture CentreIncorporated – Cr Geoff Boundy.

■ Murray Darling Association – Cr Max O’Rielly.

■ Playford Partnership ElectedMembers Forum – Mayor MarilynBaker and the Deputy Mayor.

■ Playford Partnership Executive –Mayor Marilyn Baker.

■ Playford/South AustralianHousing Trust Executive – Mayor Marilyn Baker.

At the 20 May 2003 CouncilMeeting, Cr Don Levitt with Cr Coral Gooley as proxy wereendorsed as Council’s ElectedMember representatives on theNorthern Adelaide WasteManagement Authority.

These appointments to the externalorganisations were endorsed by Council for the 2003/2006term of office.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

18

16

May

or Bak

er

Cr Cav

a

Cr Boundy

Cr Cra

ig

Cr Gooley

Cr Fed

erico

Cr Doch

erty

Cr Lev

itt

Cr Ham

ilton

Cr Mac

Milla

n

Cr Norri

s

Cr Muso

lino

Cr ORiel

ly

Cr Rya

n

Cr Shaw

Cr Wiss

ell

meetings attended apology

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

May

or Bak

er

Cr Cav

a

Cr Boundy

Cr Cra

ig

Cr Gooley

Cr Fed

erico

Cr Doch

erty

Cr Lev

itt

Cr Ham

ilton

Cr Mac

Milla

n

Cr Norri

s

Cr Muso

lino

Cr ORiel

ly

Cr Rya

n

Cr Shaw

Cr Wiss

ell

meetings attended apology


45

CorporateGovernanceDocumentsThe City of Playford has producedthe following documents that formthe foundation of Council’scorporate governance processes:

■ Revitalising our City – PlayfordPlan 2002-2012

■ City Plan■ Assessment Book■ Annual Financial Statements■ Environmental Management Plan■ Economic Development

and Industry Plan■ Social Development Framework■ City of Playford Annual Report■ Committee and Development

Assessment Panel Annual Reports■ Council Agendas, Reports,

Minutes and Charters ofCommittees and Council

■ Governance Architecture■ Delegations Register■ Sub-delegations Register■ Register of Elected Members

Expenses and Allowances■ Register of Interests –

Primary and Ordinary Returns■ Election Campaign

Donation Returns ■ Register of Staff Salaries

and Benefits■ Elected Members Access to

Council Information Policy■ Elected Members Recognition

of Service Policy■ Access to Elected Bodies Decision

Making Code of Practice■ Elected Members Support Policy■ Council and Committee

Code of Practice

■ Development Assessment PanelCode of Practice

■ Rating Policy■ Complaints and Grievance Policy■ Contracts and Tender Policy■ Purchasing Policy■ Order Making Policy■ Council By-laws■ Register of Community Land■ Register of Public Roads■ Community Involvement Policy■ Code of Conduct for Elected

Members and Staff■ Fees and Charges Schedule

Code of Conduct

Elected Members

No Code of Conduct investigationswere conducted during the financial year.

Employees

One Code of Conduct investigationwas conducted during the financialyear with the employee being foundnot to have breached the code.Therefore no action was taken on this matter.

Service Deliveryand CompetitionPrinciplesThe City of Playford recognises the need to provide the communitywith ‘best value’ services.

Through a consultative approachwith the workforce, Council hasdeveloped its Service Delivery Policy

that specifies that Council will notundertake competitive tenderingduring the life of the Joint EnterpriseAgreement. The Service Deliverypolicy has specific principles directlylinked to continuous improvementand skills development to ensureCouncil’s internal service providersare competitive and continue toprovide a high level of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Council’s Purchasing Policy states‘Council will support industry in the Playford area where thatindustry is competitive as to quality,quantity required, lead time forsupply and price’.

Council supports the application ofCompetition Principles. Council doesnot have any significant businesses in relation to category 1. No in-housetenders have been let during theyear. No complaints were receivedregarding competitive neutrality.

Freedom ofInformationDuring 2003/04 eight individualrequests for information under the Freedom of Information Actwere received. This compares withnine requests during 2003/04. Of the eight requests receivedduring 2003/04, three were notprocessed as the documentsrequested were deemed as exemptaccording to the Act. The remainingrequests were processed within the required timeframes.


46

Workforce Profile InformationSize of the Labour Force

2002/2003 2003/2004

259.71 FTE 269.62 FTE

Registered Volunteers

2000/2001 2001/2002 2003/2003 2003/2004

153 186 311 384

Age Profile

Age Male Female

<20 2 2

20-29 18 24

30-39 43 38

40-49 66 50

50-59 44 29

60> 7 4

Total 180 147

Employee Status

Casual 32

Ongoing 185

Ongoing part time 24

Fixed term contract 84

Trainee 2

Total Employee Positions 327

Workforce Salaries and Benefits

From To No. of Staff Percentage

0 20,000 2 1%

20,001 30,000 10 3%

30,001 40,000 142 43%

40,001 50,000 100 31%

50,001 60,000 36 11%

60,001 70,000 8 2%

70,001 80,000 10 3%

80,001 100,000 6 2%

100,001 120,000 10 3%

120,001 140,000 0 0%

140,001 200,000 3 1%

327 100

Three senior executive officers are employed by the City of Playfordpursuant to employment contractswhich provide for a totalremuneration package consisting of salary, superannuationcontribution at the level required forthe purposes of the SuperannuationGuarantee Act and packaging ofvehicles for business and private use.No bonuses are paid.


47

EqualEmploymentOpportunity (EEO)EEO is the right to fair and unbiasedconduct, practices and decisions in all employment related activities.The City of Playford must complywith the Federal and State anti-discrimination laws and withthe SA Local Government Act.

The City of Playford supports thelegislation and endeavours to fulfilits legal obligations by undertakingthe following actions:

The Selection Process forpromotion and employment is basedsolely on the principle of merit, thatis, the best person will be selectedon the basis of their abilities,aptitude, skills, qualifications,knowledge, experience (includingcommunity experience),characteristics and personal qualitiesrelevant to the carrying out of theduties and where relevant:

■ The manner in which each of theapplicants carried out the dutiesor functions previously; and

■ The extent of the applicant’spotential for development.

Training and Developmentactivities are provided on an equalopportunity basis.

Terms and Conditions ofEmployment are free fromdiscrimination. This includesensuring that staff are not subjectedto harassment through verbal orphysical behaviour based on theirrace, gender, sexuality, physical orintellectual impairment, pregnancyor age.

To assist employees in balancingwork and family life a range ofdiscretionary clauses and policieshave been initiated throughCouncil’s Enterprise Agreement.These include:

■ Flexible working arrangements■ Family friendly working

arrangements (Family andParental Leave)

■ Employee Assistance Program■ Bereavement Leave

The City of Playford EqualOpportunity Policy is widelydistributed and publicisedthroughout the Council and training is provided to staff on a regular basis.

“… achieving fairness and equity”

48

Rates

49

RATING POLICY STATEMENT 2003/2004

This document sets out the policy of the City of Playford for settingand collecting rates from itscommunity. The main aspectscovered by this policy are:

Rates Charged■ method used to value land■ general rates■ fixed charge■ differential rates■ residential■ commercial■ primary production■ country townships■ water catchment levy.

Rate Collection■ payment of rates■ late payment of rates■ non-payment of rates■ remission and postponement

of rates■ rebate of rates.

Strategic FocusIn determining a suitable ratingpolicy the Council has consideredthe following:

■ Playford Plan 2002-2012■ City Plan 2003-2004■ City of Playford 10 Year

Financial Plan■ The Local Government Act 1999

In addition, during 1998/1999Council undertook an extensive“Rating Policy ConsultationProcess”. This enabled Council to ascertain the impact of rates on the community and tointroduce a rating policy whichequalised rates across the previoustwo amalgamated cities whilstmaintaining the broad principle of achieving fairness and equity in the distribution of the rateburden. The 2003/04 policy isbased on the same key principlesthat were established during the1998/1999 Consultation Process.

Method Used to Value LandAll land within a council area, except land specifically exempt (eg Crown land, Council ownedland), is rateable.

Rates will be assessed against anypiece or section of land subject to separate occupation. However,there may be exceptions granted for specific land use codes underSection 148 of the LocalGovernment Act. This section of theAct provides that decisions inregards to the basis on which ratesare assessed must be made fairlyand in accordance with principlesand practices that apply on auniform basis across the area ofCouncil. In these circumstances,subject to approval by Council, rates will be assessed based on land ownership.

The City of Playford has decided to continue to use Capital Value as the basis for valuing land withinthe Council area. This method valuesthe land and all the improvementson the land.

The Council considers that thismethod of valuing land provides the fairest method of distributingthe rate burden across all ratepayerson the following basis:

■ Rates constitute a system oftaxation and the equity principleof taxation requires thatratepayers of similar wealth paysimilar taxes and ratepayers of greater wealth pay more taxthan ratepayers of lesser wealth;

■ Property value is a relatively goodand generally accepted indicatorof wealth, and capital value,which closely approximates themarket value of a property,provides the best indicator ofoverall property value.

The Council will adopt the CapitalValuations made by Council’s Valuer,the SA Valuer-General as effectiveon 1 July 2003 for the purposes of 2003/2004 rating.

Other valuation methods availableare site value (value of land only)and annual value (value of rentalpotential of the property). These are not consideredappropriate in Playford’s situation.

General RatesThe Local Government Act 1999provides for a Council to raiserevenue for the broad purposes ofthe Council through a general ratethat applies to all rateable property.

Council has decided that acomponent of the total rate will be a fixed charge that will raiseapproximately one half of total raterevenue (before remissions).

Section 152 of the Act provides for a fixed charge component ofrates. Council’s reasons for includinga fixed charge component are:

■ To be able to deliver a range of services to the community,Council must maintain a range of internal support andadministrative services. No particular group of ratepayersbenefit more than any othergroup of ratepayers by theprovision of the support andadministrative services.

■ The Council therefore considers it appropriate that all ratepayerscontribute equally to the cost ofadministering Council’s activities.

The fixed charge will affect allratepayers and is set to raiseapproximately one half of total rate revenue.

From a ratepayer’s perspective, the anecdotal evidence appears to be in favour of a fixed charge,which is uniformly paid by eachratepayer, irrespective of capital value.

In addition to a fixed charge Councilwill charge differential general rates(cents in dollar valuation) on thefollowing land uses:

■ Residential properties■ Commercial properties phased in

over eight years from 1999/2000with varying rates applying to commercial properties

in the former City of MunnoPara, the former City of Elizabeth,the Elizabeth Regional Centre,and commercial properties in theold rural category in the formerCity of Munno Para.

■ Primary Production properties■ Country Township properties■ Vacant Land and Other Rates

Every resident benefits in some partfrom the general amenity of thecouncil area. This amenity includesthe local economy, general counciloperations and the ability of everyresident to use council facilities.

The main reasons for providingdifferential rates are:

■ Ability to pay.■ Potential income taxation

deductions.■ Materially heavier/lighter use of

services by ratepayers /employees / customers /suppliers.

Residential Properties

The majority of council’s ratepayersare classed as residential.

About 85% of ratepayers areclassified as residential and willcontribute approximately 65% of total rate revenue.

Commercial Properties

Council derives approximately 20%of its rate revenue from commercialproperties (approximately 2% in number) and believes this to represent a fair differential.

Primary Production Properties

Primary Production properties tendto be remote from some of theservices provided by council. Interms of infrastructure adjacent totheir properties they generally donot have made roads, footpaths orstreet lighting. However, they do

have the capacity to enjoy the samelevel of amenity as other residents inother areas of council. In addition,primary production properties havethe potential for taxation benefits.

To compensate for the deficiency ininfrastructure, a lower rate is chargedfor primary production properties.Primary Production properties willcontribute approximately 10% oftotal rate revenue.

Country Townships ofVirginia, Angle Vale and One Tree Hill Properties

The ratepayers in the countrytownships of Virginia, Angle Valeand One Tree Hill have beenassessed as not receiving the samebenefits available to other residentialratepayers in Playford at this point in time.

There are a reduced level of sealedroads, kerbing, footpaths and streetlighting. However, they do have the capacity to enjoy the same levelof amenity as other residents andratepayers in other areas of council.For these reasons Council haselected to retain a lower rate for theratepayers in the country townships.

Approximately 5% of total raterevenue is derived from CountryTownships.

Vacant Land and Other Rates

Properties in these land use codesgenerally have the capacity to enjoythe same level of amenity as otherresidents in other areas of counciland the residential rate in the dollarwill apply.

These rate types account forapproximately 5% of total raterevenue.


50

Business ImpactStatementCommercial properties generallyhave available to them and theiremployees the same services asother ratepayers. However, in mostcases commercial users have agreater impact on the main servicessuch as road maintenance andgenerally derive a greater benefitfrom such services as improvedpublic lighting, street-scaping,parking control etc. In addition,businesses generally pay rates frompre-tax revenues as opposed toresidential ratepayers paying ratesfrom post-tax revenue.

Council generally is of the belief that council rates are not asignificant factor in the businesscosts of commercial operations andas such have minimal impact on thesetting up or maintaining a business.

Land UseLand use is the basis to levy thedifferential rates described above. If a ratepayer believes that aparticular property has been wronglyclassified as to its land use then theratepayer may object to that landuse by writing to Council within 60 days of being notified. The objection must set out the basisfor the objection and details of theland use that should be attributed to that property.

The Council will then review the objection by requesting theValuer to reassess the property.Upon receiving the Valuer’srecommendation, the GeneralManager will make a decisionregarding the objection.

A ratepayer, if not satisfied with thecouncil decision, also has the right toappeal against the Council’s decisionto the Land and Valuation Court.

Remission of Rates Subject to satisfying the conditionslisted below, the policy provides that a partial remission of rates beautomatically granted to a ratepayerwhose property is being affected by the rate equalisation process.

The partial remission, if applied,ensures that annual increases inrates between the financial years2002/03 & 2006/07 are capped at a level which ensures the fullequalisation of rates by the 2006/07 financial year.

There are 2 categories of remissionthat may apply subject to thefollowing conditions.

Category A – Equalisation Remission

a) The rateable land the subject of the rate notice is the samerateable land contained in therate notice issued by Council forthe previous financial year; and

b) The land use remains the same as the previous financial year, as adopted by Council; and

c) A partial remission was grantedto the ratepayer in the previousfinancial year; and

d) The Council has not granted aprovisional building rules consentpursuant to the development Act1993 for the rateable land since1997/98.

If all of the above conditions aresatisfied, a partial remission of rateswill be granted in order to limit theincrease in total rates from theprevious financial year to an amountequal to the following:

■ The difference between totalrates payable for the currentfinancial year (excludingremission) and total rates payablefor the previous financial year

(including remission) multipliedby the "remission percentage".

■ The "remission percentage" is calculated as: 100 divided bythe number of financial yearsremaining to meet equalisation.

■ For commercial ratepayers, “total rates payable for thecurrent financial year (excludingremissions)” refers to the currentfixed charge plus the currentdifferential rate calculated at therate in dollar applied to land usecategory 2 Commercial-Shop(rate type 200).

■ For other ratepayers, “total ratespayable for the current financialyear (excluding remissions)”refers to the current fixed chargeplus the current differential ratecalculated at the rate in dollarapplied to the applicable landuse category.

A remission, as calculated inaccordance with formula listedabove, will only be provided if itexceeds an amount of $100.

Category B – Fixed Charge Remission

For a property that does not qualifyunder the Category A conditions, a remission may be provided whereadditional assessments and hencefixed charges were imposed on theproperty in the 2002/03 financialyear. This resulted from Council’scompliance with Section 148 of the Local Government Act 1999in rating pursuant to occupation.

A partial remission of rates will begranted in order to limit the increasein fixed charge from the previousfinancial year to an amount equal to the following:

■ The difference between the totalfixed charge payable for thecurrent financial year (excludingremission) and total fixed chargepayable for the previous financialyear (including remission),multiplied by the "remissionpercentage" (see above).

RATING POLICY STATEMENT 2003/2004 continued

51

PensionerConcessionsIf you are an eligible pensioner you may be entitled to concessionon your rates.

Existing ratepayers with PensionerConcession do not need to reapply.

Application forms, which includeinformation on the concessions, are available from Council’sCustomer Service Centres.

The application forms are alsoavailable from the SA WaterCorporation and its district officesand Revenue SA.

An eligible pensioner must hold a Pension Card, State ConcessionCard or be a Totally PermanentlyIncapacitated Pensioner.

You must also be responsible for thepayment of rates on the property inrespect of which you are claimingconcessions and it must also be yourprinciple place of residence, on the due date of the first quarterfor each financial year.

The State Government administersapplications. Payment of ratesshould not be withheld pendingassessment by the StateGovernment, as penalties will arise.

State Seniors Card Ratepayers(Self Funded Retiree)If you are a self-funded retiree andcurrently hold a State Seniors Cardyou may be eligible for a concessiontoward council rates.

In the case of couples, both mustqualify, or if only one holds a StateSenior’s Card, the other must not bein paid employment for more than20 hours per week.

For further information, pleasecontact Revenue SA.

UnemployedPersonsConcessionsThe Department of Human Services-Family and Youth Services may assistwith the payment of Council ratesprovided this is for your principalplace of residence (remissions arenot available on vacant land orrental premises). Please contact your nearest Family and YouthServices office for details.

Water Catchment LevyThe Council is in the NorthernAdelaide and Barossa WaterCatchment area and is requiredunder the Water Resources Act tofund, with other Councils of thecatchment area, the operations ofthe Northern Adelaide and BarossaWater Catchment ManagementBoard. It does so by imposing aseparate rate in the dollar againstthe properties that fall within thedefined catchment area that are notsubject to other Water ResourcesAct Levies.

The flood mitigation and othercatchment area works carried out by the Catchment Board benefit allratepayers. Therefore the separaterate in the dollar is levied at the samerate for all properties within theCatchment Area, with the exceptionof ratepayers that are subject toother Water Resources Act levies.


52

Payment of RatesThe Council will collect ratesquarterly on the dates Gazetted in:

■ September■ December■ March■ June

Rates may be paid:

In person at the Customer ServiceCentres located at:

■ Warooka Drive, Smithfield SA 5114

and

■ 3 Windsor Square, Elizabeth SA 5112 or any method detailed on the rates notice.

Any ratepayer who may, or is likelyto, experience difficulty withmeeting the standard arrangementsis invited to contact the Rates Officerto discuss alternative paymentarrangements. Such enquiries aretreated confidentially by the Council.

Late Payment of RatesThe Local Government Act 1999provides that Councils must imposea penalty of 2% on any payment forrates, whether by instalment orotherwise, that is not paid on orbefore the due date. A payment thatcontinues to be late is then chargeda prescribed interest rate for eachmonth it continues to be late.

When the Council receives apayment in respect of overdue ratesthe Council applies the moneyreceived as follows:

■ First – to satisfy any costsawarded in connection with court proceedings;

■ Second – to satisfy any interest costs;

■ Third – in payment of any fines imposed;

■ Fourth – in payment of rates, in date order of their imposition.

Non-Payment of RatesSection 184 of the LocalGovernment Act 1999 provides thata Council may sell any propertywhere the rates have been in arrearsfor three years or more.

Remission andPostponement of RatesSection 182 of the LocalGovernment Act 1999 permits a Council to postpone or giveremission on rates due to hardshipand other defined reasons.

Council applies these remissions inaccordance with the Act

Rebate of RatesSection S159-166 of the LocalGovernment Act 1999 requiresCouncils to rebate the rates payableon some land.

Council will determine rate rebateapplications in accordance with its Rate Rebate Policy 2003/04.

DisclaimerA rate cannot be challenged on the basis of non-compliance with this policy and must be paid in accordance with the requiredpayment provisions.

Where a ratepayer believes that theCouncil has failed to properly applythis policy it should raise the matterwith Council.

RegionalSubsidiariesThe City of Playford is involved with two regional subsidiaries:

■ Gawler River FloodplainManagement Authority

■ Northern Area WasteManagement Authority

RATING POLICY STATEMENT 2003/2004 continued

53

54

AnnualFinancialStatements

55

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Financial StatementsStatement of Financial Performance ..............................................................56Statement of Financial Position......................................................................57Statement of Changes in Equity (including reserve movements).....................58Statement of Cash Flows...............................................................................60

Notes1 Significant Accounting Policies .......................................................61–622(a) Reporting by Functions/Activities ..........................................................632(b) Components of the Function/Activity Statement...................................633 Grants and Subsidies ......................................................................64–654 Finance Charges...................................................................................655 Depreciation ........................................................................................656 Other Expenses ....................................................................................667 Current Assets – Cash ..........................................................................668 Current Assets – Receivables ................................................................669 Current Assets – Inventory ...................................................................6710 Current Assets - Investments ...............................................................6711 Current assets – Other .........................................................................6712 Current Liabilities - Bank Overdraft .......................................................6713 Current Liabilities – Creditors ...............................................................6714 Current Liabilities – Provisions ..............................................................6715 Current Liabilities – Loans.....................................................................6816 Non Current Assets – Receivables.........................................................6817 Non Current Assets – Investments ........................................................6818 Non Current Assets - Property, Plant and Equipment ......................69–7019 Non Current Liabilities – Provisions .......................................................7120 Non Current Liabilities – Loans .............................................................7121 Commitments ......................................................................................7122 Events Subsequent to Balance Date......................................................7223 Contingent Assets and Liabilities ..........................................................7224 Superannuation ...................................................................................7225 Reconciliation of net deficit from operations

to net cash provided by operating activities ..........................................7326 Regional Subsidiaries ......................................................................73–7427 Financial Instruments............................................................................75

Chief Executive Officer’s Statement ...............................................................76Independent Auditors Report ........................................................................77

56

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFor the Year Ended 30 June, 2004

2004 2003Note $ $ $ $

OPERATING REVENUERates – General 24,874,408 23,534,584 Statutory Charges 786,180 713,933 User Charges 747,811 762,080Operating Grants and Subsidies 3 9,717,878 9,286,459Investment Income 280,950 292,940Reimbursements 423,434 359,890Gain on disposal of Non-Current Assets 226,447 189,561Commercial Activity Income 76,975 163,928Other 501,661 307,643Total Operating Revenue 37,635,744 35,611,018

OPERATING EXPENSESEmployee Costs 15,024,496 13,617,252Contractual Services 6,769,873 6,840,007Materials 4,125,454 4,242,946Finance Charges 4 2,017,444 1,650,301Depreciation 5 8,596,743 8,944,526Other 6 3,940,918 3,919,746Total operating expenses 40,474,928 39,214,778

Operating (Deficit) before Capital Revenues (2,839,184) (3,603,760)

CAPITAL REVENUESCapital Grants, Subsidies and Monetary Contributions 3 1,897,556 920,090Physical resources received free of charge 2,314,766 1,367,453

Operating Surplus (Deficit) after Capital Revenues And before Extraordinary Items 1,373,138 (1,316,217)

Extraordinary Items – –

Net Surplus (Deficit) resulting from Operations 1,373,138 (1,316,217)

To be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes

57

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

As at 30 June 2004

2004 2003Note $ $ $ $

CURRENT ASSETSCash 7 8,650 7,900Receivables 8 2,222,633 2,093,442Inventory 9 129,488 142,188Investments 10 3,372,366 6,850,004Other 11 127,104 137,422Total Current Assets 5,860,242 9,230,956

CURRENT LIABILITIESBank Overdraft 12 650,755 1,331,765Creditors 13 6,700,533 7,012,243Provisions 14 2,262,396 1,852,064Loans 15 4,616,581 3,673,407Total Current Liabilities 14,230,265 13,869,479

Net Current Assets (8,370,024) (4,638,523)

NON-CURRENT ASSETSReceivables 16 81,437 86,864Investments 17 444,047 124,319Land 18 70,808,939 69,892,341Buildings 18 36,330,468 28,243,776Infrastructure 18 149,395,498 149,231,692Equipment 18 10,202,154 9,149,738Furniture and Fittings 18 1,626,980 920,100Total Non-current Assets 268,889,523 257,648,830

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIESProvisions 19 501,997 356,442Loans 20 28,235,562 22,245,063Total Non-current Liabilities 28,737,559 22,601,505

Net Assets 231,781,940 230,408,802

EQUITYAccumulated Surplus 206,152,064 202,621,077Reserves 25,629,876 27,787,725Total Equity 231,781,940 230,408,802


58

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITYFor the Year Ended 30 June, 2004

2004 2003Note $ $ $ $

ACCUMULATED SURPLUSBalance at beginning of period 202,621,077 201,270,634 Net Surplus (Deficit) from operations 1,373,138 (1,316,217)Transfer from Reserves 3,792,726 5,027,539Transfer to Reserves (1,634,877) (2,360,879)Balance at end of period 206,152,064 202,621,077

ASSET REVALUATION RESERVEBalance at beginning of period 23,783,626 24,460,923Transfers to Reserves – revaluation increment – –Transfer from Reserves – revaluation decrement – –Transfer from Reserves – asset disposals (126,115) (677,297)Balance at end of period 23,657,511 23,783,626

PLANT REPLACEMENT RESERVEBalance at beginning of period 1,809,823 1,739,370Transfers to Reserves – 1,164,592Transfer from Reserves (1,809,823 (1,094,139)Balance at end of period – 1,809,823

RATES VALUATION ADJUSTMENT RESERVEBalance at beginning of period – 80,000 Transfers to Reserves – –Transfer from Reserves – (80,000)Balance at end of period – –

INFRASTRUCTURE RENEWAL RESERVEBalance at beginning of period 741,662 3,334,273Transfers to Reserves - -Transfer from Reserves (741,662) (2,592,611)Balance at end of period – 741,662

Continued…

59

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the Year Ended 30 June, 2004 continued

2004 2003Note $ $ $ $

UNCOMPLETED WORKS RESERVEBalance at beginning of period 1,094,157 564,492Transfers to Reserves 858,341 1,094,157Transfer from Reserves (1,094,157) (564,492)Balance at end of period 858,341 1,094,157

DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTION RESERVE – PARKSBalance at beginning of period 128,037 129,327Transfers to Reserves 412,738 17,710Transfer from Reserves (20,969) (19,000) Balance at end of period 519,806 128,037

DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTION RESERVE – CIVILBalance at beginning of period 230,420 146,000Transfers to Reserves 363,798 84,420Transfer from Reserves – –Balance at end of period 594,218 230,420

JOINT VENTURE RESERVE Balance at beginning of period – –Transfers to Reserves – –Transfer from Reserves – –Balance at end of period – –

Total Equity 231,781,940 230,408,802

Represented by:Accumulated Surplus 206,152,064 202,621,077Reserves 25,629,876 27,787,725

231,781,940 230,408,802


60

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWSFor the Year Ended 30 June, 2004

2004 2003Note $ $ $ $

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIESReceiptsInvestment Income 280,950 259,580GST collected 391,563 451,684GST refunded by ATO 2,990,744 1,926,698Receipts – Other 37,022,174 35,844,517

PaymentsFinance Charges (1,953,826) (1,621,059)GST paid (3,416,273) (2,471,614)Payments – Other (29,646,216) (28,668,081)

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities 24 5,669,116 5,721,725

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIESReceiptsNew Loans 10,800,000 7,031,044Loan Repayments 5,427 5,508

PaymentsPrincipal Repaid (3,866,327) (3,771,504)

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities 6,939,100 3,259,540

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTMENT ACTIVITIESReceiptsCapital Grants/Subsidies/Contributions 1,897,556 920,090

ContributionsProceeds from sale of Plant & Equipment 1,477,470 1,851,905

PaymentsPayments for Land, Buildings, Plant & Equipment (15,319,175) (8,934,476)Payments for Roads, Footpaths, Stormwater Drainage (3,459,945) (3,056,162)

Net Cash Used in Investment Activities (15,404,094) (9,213,135)

Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash Held (2,795,878) (231,870)

Cash at Beginning of Reporting Period 5,526,139 5,758,009

Cash at End of Reporting Period 7 2,730,261 5,526,139


61

NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSfor the Year Ended 30 June 2003

1. SignificantAccountingPolicies

a) Basis of Accounting

These financial statements are a general purpose financial reportprepared in accordance withAustralian Accounting Standards.

Except for certain non-current assets shown at written downcurrent cost valuation, the reportuses the historical cost convention.

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of theprevious year.

b) Trust Funds

When applicable, amounts receivedas tender deposits and retentionamounts controlled by Council are in the amount disclosed as"creditors" within current liabilities.

c) Accounting for the Goodsand Services Tax (GST)

Revenues, expenses and assets(excluding receivables) are stated at an amount excluding GST.Receivables and payables are statedat an amount including GST. The netamount of GST refundable from theAustralian Taxation Office is includedwithin current assets – receivables.The GST components of cash flow,are separately disclosed under cashflows from operating activities.

d) Acquisition of Assets

The cost method of accounting is used for the initial recording of all assets. Cost is determined as the fair value of the assets givenas consideration plus costs incurredin preparing them for use.

Non monetary assets received in the form of grants or donations arerecognised as assets and revenues attheir fair value at the date of receipt.

Fair value means the amount forwhich an asset could be exchangedbetween a knowledgeable buyer andseller in an arms length transaction.

e) Revaluations of Non-Current Assets

All non-current assets, other thanland held for resale and investmentsare revalued to their fair value beingcurrent cost less accumulateddepreciation at the date of eachrevaluation within the Council.

Land under roads is not recorded,valued and recognised in Council'sFinancial Statements as the landunder the road is deemed to haveno value.

The “current cost” of an assetmeans the lowest cost at which thegross service potential of that assetcould be obtained in the normalcourse of operations.

Revaluations do not result in thecarrying value of non-current assetsexceeding the net amount expectedto be recovered through the netcash inflows arising from theircontinued use and subsequentdisposal ("recoverable amount").

Where the value of a non-currentasset is greater than its recoverableamount, the revaluation decrementis recognised as an expense in theoperating statement, except whereit reverses a previous increment. In this situation, the revaluationdecrement is taken from the assetrevaluation reserve.

f) Depreciation of Non-Current Assets

All non-current assets having a limited useful life are depreciatedover their lives in a manner thatreflects the consumption of theirservice potential. Land is not a depreciable asset.

Depreciation is recognised on astraight line basis, using rates whichare reviewed each reporting period.

Major useful lives are:

Buildings 50 years

Infrastructure 20–100 years

Equipment 5–20 years

Furniture & Fittings 5–10 years

g) Non-Current Assetsconstructed by the Council

The cost of non-current assetsconstructed by the Council includedthe cost of all materials used in construction, direct labour on the project and an appropriateproportion of variable and fixed overhead.

h) Maintenance and RepairMaintenance, repair costs and minorrenewals are charged as expenseswhen incurred.

Road reseal & rehabilitationexpenditure of a nature whichextends the useful lives ofinfrastructure is capitalised in thecarrying value of infrastructure assets.

i) Employee Entitlements

Employee entitlements are accruedon a pro rata basis for annual leaveand long service leave up to thereporting date.

Annual leave is provided fromcommencement of employment.Long Service Leave is provided for upon completion of five years of service.

Entitlements in relation to currentwages & salaries, time off “in lieu”,annual leave and long service leavehave been calculated at currentwages rates.

A provision for parenting leave of $40,000 has been provided for,based on a review of such leavetaken by Council employees over the last 3 years.

The superannuation expense for the reporting period is the amountof the statutory contribution thecouncil makes to the employeesuperannuation plan. Details ofthese arrangements are outlined at Note 23.

j) Inventory

Inventories are valued at the lowerof cost and net realisable value.

k) Investments

Regional Subsidiaries (Associates)An associate is an entity, other thana partnership, over which Councilexercises significant influence andwhere the investment in that entityhas not been acquired with a view

to disposal in the near future. In preparing these financialstatements, Councils equity in the Northern Adelaide WasteManagement Authority and GawlerRiver Floodplain ManagementAuthority is recognised at the value set out in Note 17.

Other InvestmentsInvestments in short term depositsare valued at cost. Investmentrevenues are recognised as they accrue.

l) Leases

A distinction is made betweenfinance leases where the Councileffectively owns the leased asset,and operating leases under whichthe lessor retains ownership.

Where the non-current asset isacquired by means of a finance leasethe asset is recorded at its fair value.A liability is recorded for the sameamount. Lease payments areallocated between the principalcomponent and the interest expense.

Operating lease payments arecharged to the operating statementin the periods in which they are incurred.

m) Rates, Grants, Donationsand Other Contributions

Rates, grants, donations and othercontributions are recognised asrevenues when Council obtainscontrol over the assets comprisingthe contributions. Control overassets acquired from rates isobtained at the commencement of the rating period or, where earlier,upon receipt of the rates. Controlover assets received by way ofgrant(s) is normally obtained upontheir receipt or upon priornotification that a grant has beensecured. The timing of controldepends upon the arrangementbetween the grantor and Council.

A contribution over which Councilhas control, but which is yet to bereceived is recognised as a receivable.

Where a contribution recognised as revenue during the reportingperiod was obtained on thecondition that it be expended in a particular manner or used over a particular period, and theseconditions were not finalised as at the reporting date, anadjustment is made to the revenuerecorded so as to match this to theexpenditure recorded in Council’saccounting records. The balance ofthe contribution will be recognisedas revenue in a future accountingperiod as expenditure occurs.

n) Cash

For the purposes of the statement of cash flows, cash includes allmonetary deposits that are readilyconvertible to cash on hand, whichare used, or are available for use, in the cash management functionon a day to day basis, net of anyoutstanding bank overdraft andshort term borrowings.

o) Impacts of AdoptingAustralian Equivalents to International FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS)

This financial report has beenprepared in accordance withAustralian Accounting Standardsand Urgent Issues Group ConsensusViews. The entity’s management,along with its Auditors, are assessingthe significance of any changes andpreparing for their implementationin 2005. There are no differencesbetween Urgent Issues GroupConsensus Views and AustralianEquivalents to IFRS identified to dateas potentially having a significanteffect on the entity’s financialperformance and financial position.

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2(a) Reporting by function /activityRevenues, Expenses and Assets have been attributed to the following functions/activities. Details of those functions/activities are set out in Note 2(b).

External Services Support Services Other – not attributed Total2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003$000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000

REVENUES Grants 4,063 3,821 845 26 9,023 6,361 13,931 10,208Rates – – – – 24,874 23,534 24,874 23,534Other 3,815 3,330 (998) (730) 226 1,557 3,043 4,157Total Revenue 7,878 7,151 (153) 704 34,123 31,452 41,848 37,899

EXPENSESDepreciation 7,209 7,609 1,388 1,336 – – 8,597 8,945Finance Charges - 3 2,017 1,647 – – 2,017 1,650Other 27,764 29,411 2,098 (791) – – 29,861 28,620Total Expenses 34,973 37,023 5,503 2,192 – – 40,475 39,215

Net Surplus /(Deficit)Resulting from Operations 1,373 (1,316)

Total Assets 237,157 236,834 2,420 957 35,173 29,088 274,750 266,879

The reported Total Revenue of $41.8M does not reconcile to the Statement of Financial Performance Total OperatingRevenue of $37.6M, as Capital Revenue of $4.2M has been included in the above calculation.

NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSfor the Year Ended 30 June 2003 continued

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2(b) Components of the functions /activities

In preparing the data reported on in Note 2a, the service profiles of the City of Playford have beenclassified as either external servicesor support services:

External services

Aged & Disabled, ArboriculturalServices, Building Maintenance & Property Services, Child Care,Community Development,Construction, Civil TechnicalServices, Economic Development,Environment, Health, HorticulturalServices, Library Services,

Maintenance Services, ManagedRecreation Facilities, Open SpaceMaintenance South, Open SpaceMaintenance North, Parks & Environment Information, Parks & Recreation Support,Planning & Building, Playford FoodCoop, Public Relations, RegulatoryServices, Sportsfield Services,Sustainable Regions, Theatres and Waste Management.

Support services

Asset Strategy, Corporate PeopleRelations, Corporate Planning &Performance, Corporate ServicesManagement, City DevelopmentManagement, City Management,General Managers, Civil OperationsManagement, Corporate FinancialManagement, Customer Service,

Elected Member Support, FinancialManagement, Fleet Services,Information Technology, Parks & Recreation Management,People & Public RelationsManagement, People Relations, Risk Management & Procurement,Social Planning & CommunityDevelopment Management.

Other – not attributed

Rate Revenue, Federal AssistanceGrant, Gain on disposal of Non-current assets and PhysicalResources received Free of Charge.

3. Grants,subsidies and monetarycontributions The City of Playford receives a number of grants and subsidies for various purposes. Grants can be classified as general purpose or specific. General purpose grantscan be used for any purpose Councilsees fit. Specific grants must beapplied to the purpose for which the grant was made. Subsidies are funds contributed by externalorganisations towards projects and may comprise donations.

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2004 2003$ $

GENERAL PURPOSE GRANTSLocal Govt Grants Commission Operating Grant 6,708,149 6,360,622Local Govt Grants Commission Roads Grant 723,024 689,295

SPECIFIC OPERATING GRANTSAged & Disabled Grants 490,095 299,553Child Care 372,445 340,191Libraries Grant 200,817 203,492EPA Payment 154,047 –Playford/Salisbury Sustainable Regions 119,453 83,432Suicide Prevention 117,693 –Water Course Mgmt Program 105,083 –Immunisation 88,929 –Sealed Road Shoulder Maintenance 81,500 –Family Links Worker 73,168 58,987Parenting X-Change 54,916 82,532Youth Building Playford 51,001 61,374Neighbourhood Development Program 44,288 –Local Govt Customer Service Network 39,536 –Crime Prevention 29,000 –Regional Solutions 23,560 101,440Indigenous Employment Program 22,446 179,822Community Information 21,683 39,694Stormwater Pollution Project 20,000 45,000Dalkieth/Coventry Road Construction – 164,866Biodiversity Project – 100,564Youth Enterprise – 67,040Northern Region Infrastructure Project – 59,050Family Day Care Project Officer 14,410 57,014Gawler River Catchment Officer – 53,588Playford Construction Industry Network – 24,545Gawler River Rehabilitation Projects – 24,372Interec – 23,100Export Development – 20,000Septic Tank Review – 20,000Other 162,636 126,886

Total Operating Grants & Subsidies 9,717,879 9,286,459

Grants recognised as revenues during the reporting period or previousreporting periods which were obtained on the condition that they be expended for a specific purpose but had not yet been applied (either fully or partially) for that purpose as at the end of the reporting period were as follows: 2004 $793,450 (2003 $nil)

Grants which were recognised as revenue in previous reporting periods andwhich were expended during the current reporting period in the mannerspecified by the grantor were as follows: 2004 $Nil (2003 $90,320)

2004 2003$ $

CAPITAL GRANTS, SUBSIDIES AND MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONSRoads to Recovery 585,735 397,120Developer Contributions Parks 398,468 17,710Developer Contributions Footpaths 279,388 58,920Library Books 184,142 170,600Skateboard / BMX Grant 150,000 –Civic Centre Land Purchase 111,626 –Developer Contributions Drains 84,870 25,500Mobile Library Tech 65,000 –Elizabeth Oval Floodlighting 18,182 –Green Corps 15,000 –Smith Creek Upgrade Stage 1&2 – 242,240Other 5,145 8,000Total capital grants, subsidies and monetary contributions 1,897,556 920,090

4. Finance charges2004 2003

$ $

Interest paid / payable Local Government Finance Authority 1,938,660 1,571,114Banks & Other (including leasing) 420 6,745

Bank fees and Charges 78,364 72,442Total finance charges 2,017,444 1,650,301

5. Depreciation2004 2003

$ $

Depreciation was charged in respect of:Buildings 1,206,862 1,105,237Infrastructure 5,123,827 5,685,390Equipment 2,063,095 1,952,880Furniture & Fittings 202,959 201,019

Total depreciation 8,596,743 8,944,526


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6. Other expenses2004 2003

$ $

Other expenses include:Auditors remuneration 11,900 11,219Insurance (including workers compensation) 1,305,377 1,148,008Levies paid to governmentCentral Dog Committee 35,457 35,549Other 13,374 13,253

Donations/Grants to Community Groups 1,236,644 1,340,550Advertising 82,422 100,101Communication 456,420 443,823Legal fees 207,014 252,952Elected members allowances and expenses 141,650 117,428Fringe Benefits Tax 145,000 80,222

7. Current assets – cash2004 2003

$ $

Cash at bank and on hand 8,650 7,900

The above amount is reconciled to cash at the end of the reporting period as disclosed in the Statement of Cash Flows as follows:

2004 2003$ $

Cash at bank and on hand 8,650 7,900Investments (Note 10) 3,372,366 6,850,004

3,381,016 6,857,904Less: Bank Overdraft (Note 12 ) (650,755) (1,331,765)Total Cash Assets 2,730,261 5,526,139

8. Current assets – receivables2004 2003

$ $

Rates receivable 806,880 874,019GST refundable from ATO 513,666 519,475Other debtors 1,227,087 1,024,948

2,547,633 2,418,442Less: Provision for doubtful debts (325,000) (325,000)Total receivables 2,222,633 2,093,442

9. Current assets – inventory2004 2003

$ $

Stores and Materials 129,488 142,188

10. Current assets – investments2004 2003

$ $

Local Government Finance Authority 3,372,366 6,850,004

11. Current assets – other2004 2003

$ $

Prepayments 127,104 137,422

12. Current liabilities – bank overdraft2004 2003

$ $

Bank Overdraft 650,755 1,331,765

13. Current liabilities – creditors 2004 2003

$ $

Creditors 3,759,342 5,247,574Accrued Wages and Salaries 495,011 445,397Accrued “Time off in Lieu” 74,239 48,610Accrued Interest 385,055 321,437Amounts Received in Advance 1,986,886 949,225Total creditors 6,700,533 7,012,243

14. Current liabilities – provisions2004 2003

$ $

ProvisionsLong Service Leave 860,774 800,289Annual Leave 1,281,621 1,011,775Parenting Leave 40,000 40,000Rates Rebates & Valuation Appeals 80,000 -

Total provisions 2,262,396 1,852,064


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15. Current liabilities – loans2004 2003

$ $

LoansLocal Government Finance Authority 4,610,429 3,648,951Other 6,152 6,150

Finance Lease Liabilities (Note 21) - 18,306Total Loans 4,616,581 3,673,407

Loans are secured by the general revenue of Council

In addition to the Loans as set out in Notes 15 & 20, Council has a $4,000,000cash advance debenture facility with the Local Government Finance Authority.As at 30 June 2004, this facility was not drawdown as there was sufficientcash on investment to satisfy short term cash flow requirements.

16. Non-current assets – receivables2004 2003

$ $

Loans – General 81,437 86,864

17. Non-current assets – investments2004 2003

$ $

Share of net assets in Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority and Gawler River Floodplain Management Authority (Note 25) 444,047 124,319


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18. Non-current assets – property, plant and equipment

2004 2003$ $

LANDat independent valuation 2000 68,074,355 68,106,065 at cost 2,734,585 1,786,275

Total Land 70,808,940 69,892,341

BUILDINGSat independent valuation 2000 50,141,254 50,141,254at cost 17,812,856 8,519,303

67,954,110 58,660,556Less: Accumulated Depreciation 31,623,643 30,416,780Total Buildings 36,330,467 28,243,776

INFRASTRUCTUREat independent and internal valuation 2001 221,296,714 221,296,714at cost 14,467,444 9,179,810

235,764,158 230,476,524Less: Accumulated Depreciation 86,368,659 81,244,832Total Infrastructure 149,395,499 149,231,692

EQUIPMENTat independent valuation 1,895,216 1,907,187at cost 20,090,568 17,992,448

21,985,784 19,899,635Less: Accumulated Depreciation 11,783,630 10,749,897Total Equipment 10,202,154 9,149,738

FURNITURE & FITTINGSat independent valuation 454,680 454,680 at cost 3,828,138 2,918,299

4,282,818 3,372,979Less: Accumulated Depreciation 2,655,838 2,452,879Total Furniture & Fittings 1,626,980 920,100

Total Property, Plant and Equipment 268,364,040 257,437,647

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Property, Plant and Equipment – movement schedule

At cost/valuation Accumulated Depreciation Net BookPurchases/Phys Adjustments – Adjustments – Value

Balance Resources Revaluations Balance Balance Revaluations Balance Balance1/7/03 Free of charge & disposals 30/6/04 1/7/03 Depreciation & disposals 30/6/04 30/6/04

$000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000

Land 69,892 948 (32) 70,808 – – – – 70,808Buildings 58,660 9,294 – 67,954 30,416 1,207 – 31,623 36,331Infrastructure 230,477 5,288 – 235,764 81,245 5,124 – 86,369 149,396Equipment 19,900 4,336 (2,249) 21,986 10,750 2,063 (1,029) 11,784 10,202Furniture & Fittings 3,373 910 – 4,283 2,453 203 – 2,656 1,627Totals 382,302 20,775 (2,280) 400,797 124,864 8,597 (1,029) 132,432 268,363

Valuations

Land

The independent valuation of landduring the 1999/2000 reportingperiod was carried out as at 1st July,1999 by Andrea Carolan, B App ScPRM, AAPI, Certified PractisingValuer and Peta Rowe, BBus (prop),GAPI of Maloney Field Services. It is on the basis of deprival value.Calculation of the deprival value wasdetermined by the replacement costof the land, which broadly equatesto the market value in addition to procurement costs.

Buildings

The independent valuation ofbuildings during the 1999/2000reporting period was carried out asat 1st July, 1999 by Andrea Carolan,B App Sc PRM, AAPI, CertifiedPractising Valuer and Peta Rowe, B Bus (prop), GAPI of Maloney FieldServices. It is on the basis of deprivalvalue. Calculation of the deprivalvalue was determined by the writtendown current cost of the buildingwhich broadly equates to the currentreplacement cost of an asset less,where applicable, accumulateddepreciation calculated on a basis to reflect the already consumed or expired service potential.

Infrastructure

The valuation of infrastructureduring the 2000/2001 reportingperiod was carried out effective 30th June 2001. Given the nature of the assets within this category, a combination of valuationapproaches were used.

Roads, footpaths and car parks (with exception of road earthworks)were valued using data supplied by Councils Civil operations staffand consolidated into an assetregister which was established by Jeff Roorda and Associates.Council engaged the services ofArthur Galantomos, B Tech (Mech)MIE Aust of GHD ManagementEngineering Environment to reviewthe valuation methodology includingthe process for calculation of unitrates. This valuation representedapproximately 79% of Councils totalinfrastructure assets.

Other infrastructure assets includingroad and drainage earthworks werevalued internally. Where it wasconsidered that the carrying value inthe books prior to re-valuation wasreasonable, no valuationadjustments have been made.

19. Non-current liabilities – provisions2004 2003

$ $

Provisions - Long Service Leave 501,997 356,442

20. Non-current liabilities – loans2004 2003

$ $

LoansLocal Government Finance Authority 28,235,562 22,238,911Other - 6,152

Total loans 28,235,562 22,245,063

Loans in Regional Subsidiary (refer to Note 25)

The City of Playford has a 33.38% equity interest in the Northern AdelaideWaste Management Authority (NAWMA). NAWMA has loan borrowings of $9.43m as at 30 June 2004 included as current liabilities, and Investmentsof $5.7m included in current assets. NAWMA intends to repay $3.8m of loanborrowings from those investments in 2004/2005. The City of Playford's equityin net borrowings of $5.63m is $1.88m, which has appropriately not beenbrought to account in Council’s Financial Statements.

21. Commitments2004 2003

$ $

OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTSFuture operating lease rentals not provided for in the financial statements and payableNot later than 1 year 213,360 187,217Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years 254,599 302,926Later than 5 years – –

FINANCE LEASE COMMITMENTS Finance lease rentals are payable as followsNot later than 1 year – 18,306Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years – –Later than 5 years – –

– 18,306Less: future lease finance charges – 138

– 18,168

LEASE LIABILITIES PROVIDED FOR IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSCurrent – 18,168Non Current – –Total lease liability – 18,168


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21. Eventssubsequent tobalance date

Sale of Smithfield Library

The Elected Members endorsed the sale of the Smithfield Library siteon 17 June 2003 in order to partfund the capital cost of developingthe new library, located in theMunno Para Shopping City. The contract of sale document wasnot signed prior to 30 June 2004due to circumstances beyond thecontrol of the Council. The contractof sale was signed on 21 September2004. Details of the sale agreementare subject to confidentiality,pursuant to section 90(3)(b) of the Local Government Act (1999).

Sale of Smithfield Council Offices

In accordance with the City ofPlayford’s long term accommodationstrategy, with the stated aims toconsolidate Council staff across thetwo principal sites of the PlayfordCivic Centre and the Davoren ParkService Centre, an offer and deposithas been accepted for the sale ofthe Smithfield Council Office site.The Elected Members endorsed thesale on 27 July 2004. A draftcontract of sale has been developed

and is under negotiation with thepurchaser with settlement plannedfor 30 November 2004, with aleaseback arrangement of 12months from date of settlementwith a 3 plus 3 right of renewal.Details of the sale agreement aresubject to confidentiality, pursuantto section 90(3)(b) of the LocalGovernment Act (1999).

22. Contingentassets andliabilities

Contingent Assets

Since July 1998, in accordance withan indenture between the SouthAustralian Housing Trust (SAHT) andCouncil, Council have been makingan annual payment into a trustaccount established by the SAHT. In collaboration between the parties,total payments to the 30th June2004 of $900,000 are to be used in providing capital works to assist inrefurbishment of the areas in whichSAHT houses are concentrated.

Contingent Liabilities

There are no material contingentliabilities.

23.SuperannuationThe Council contributes for itsemployees to a defined benefit and accumulation superannuationplan established for all LocalGovernments in the State. The Council contributes to LocalSuper amounts as determined by the Scheme. Assets accumulate in the scheme to fund membersbenefits as they accrue. If the assetsof the scheme were insufficient to satisfy benefits payable tobeneficiaries, the Council would be required to meet its share of the deficiency. No liability of the Council has been recognisedas at the reporting date in respect of superannuation benefits for itsemployees as the funding policyadopted in respect of the definedbenefit members of the scheme is directed at ensuring that benefitsaccruing to members andbeneficiaries are fully funded as the benefits fall due.

The amount of superannuationcontributions paid by the Councilduring the reporting period was $1,394,798.

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24. Reconciliation of net surplus(deficit) resulting from operations to net cash provided by operating activities

2004 2003$ $

Net Surplus (deficit) resulting from operations 1,373,138 (1,316,217)

ITEMS NOT INVOLVING CASHDepreciation 8,596,743 8,944,526Net Gain/loss on disposal of Non Current assets (226,447) (189,561)Contributed assets (2,314,766) (1,367,453)

Capital Grants treated as investment activities (1,897,556) (920,090)

CHANGE IN OPERATING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES(Decrease) Increase in Creditors and Provisions 244,185 385,433(Increase) Decrease in Receivables (129,199) 155,358(Increase) Decrease in Inventories 12,700 9,394(Increase) Decrease in Other assets 10,318 20,344

Net cash used in operating activities 5,669,116 5,721,725

25. Regional subsidiariesSection 43 of the Local Government Act 1999, provides that Councils mayestablish a regional subsidiary to carry out joint projects, functions or activitiesof the Councils.

DETAILS OF SUBSIDIARY

Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority

The Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority manages recycling,waste collection and waste disposal for the Cities of Playford, Salisbury andGawler. Contributions are made towards waste collection, disposal, kerbsiderecycling and administration.

NAWMA has loan borrowings of $9.43m included as current liabilities as at 30 June 2004, and investments of $5.7m included in current assets.NAWMA intends to repay $3.8m of loan borrowings from those investments in 2004/2005. The City of Playford's equity in net borrowings of $5.63m is $1.88m, which has appropriately not been brought to account in Council’sFinancial Statements.


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Northern Adelaide Waste Gawler River FloodplainManagement Authority Management Authority

2004 2003 2004 2003$000 $000 $000 $000

Current Assets 6,836 561 1,325 480Non-current Assets 3,716 1,290 – –Total Assets 10,552 1,851 1,325 480

Current Liabilities 10,193 1,663 – 43Non-current Liabilities 28 23 – –Total Liabilities 10,221 1,686 – 43

Net Assets 331 165 1,325 437

EQUITYAccumulated Surplus brought forward 165 26 437 –Net Surplus (Deficit) from Operations 166 139 888 437

Total Equity 331 165 1,325 437

Share of Net Assets

2004 2003 2004 2003$000 $000 $000 $000

City of Playford percentage share in Net Assets of the authority 33.38% 33.39% 15.8% 15.8%Share of Net Assets recognisedas non-current asset, investment (refer Note 17) 111 55 333 69

Annual Contribution to Regional Subsidiary

2004 2003 2004 2003$000 $000 $000 $000

2,570 2,303 285 84

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26. Financial Instruments

(a) Interest Rate Risk

Councils exposure to interest rate risk, which is the risk that a financial instrument's value will fluctuate as a result of changes in market interest rates and the effective weighted average interest rates on those applicable financial assets& liabilities, is as follows:

Fair value – Fair value – fixed interest securitiesWeighted variableaverage interest rate Maturing in Maturing in Non-interest

interest rate instruments 1 year or less more than 1 year bearing

30 June 2004

FINANCIAL ASSETSCash at Bank 4.3% 8,650Receivables 81,437 2,222,633Investments 4.8% 3,372 366 444,047Total Financial Assets 8,650 3,372,366 525,484 2,222,633

FINANCIAL LIABILITIESBank Overdraft 6.7% 650,755Loans 6.8% 398,945 32,453,197Creditors and Accruals 6,688,987Lease Liabilities -Total Financial Liabilities 650,755 398,945 32,453,197 6,688,987

30 June 2003

FINANCIAL ASSETCash at Bank 4% 7,900Receivables 86,864 2,093,442Investments 4.5% 6,850,004 124,319Total Financial Assett 7,900 6,850,004 211,183 2,093,442

FINANCIAL LIABILITIESBank Overdraft 1,331,765Loans 6.8% 115,797 25,784,368Creditors and Accruals 7,012,243Lease Liabilities 5.8% 18,306Total Financial Liabilites 1,331,765 134,103 25,784,368 7,012,243

(b) Credit Risk

Credit risk represents the loss that would be recognised if otherentities/ratepayers failed to performas contracted. Council's exposure tocredit risk is summarised as follows;

Rates Receivable & other debtors –councils maximum exposure is disclosed in the financialstatements net of any provision for doubtful debts.

Council has the power to force thesale of property to recover unpaidrates after three years. Council doesnot have any material exposure to a single debtor or group ofdebtors as at balance date.

(c) Net Fair Value

The net fair value of a financialinstrument is defined as its value net of all costs to settle the asset or liability.

The financial assets & liabilities asstated or referred to in notes (a) & (b) above, are stated at their facevalue (less provision for doubtfuldebts if applicable).

Due to the nature of the financialinstruments held by council, thecosts associated with their settlementinto cash would not be material, and hence the carrying values statedare considered appropriate.


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I, Timothy Robert Sandford Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of the City of Playford, do hereby state that the Financial Statements of the City of Playford for the financial year ended 30 June, 2004 are to the best of my knowledge presented fairly and in accordance with accounting procedures which have been maintained in accordance with the Local Government Act 1999 and the Local Government (Financial Management) Regulations 1999 made under that Act.

.........................................................................................................

TIMOTHY ROBERT SANDFORD JACKSON

Dated 11th October 2004

Adoption of StatementLaid before the Council and adopted on the 26 October 2004

......................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MAYOR

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENT

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORTTO THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF PLAYFORD

Scope of the AuditI have audited the FinancialStatements being the ChiefExecutive Officers Statement,Operating Statement, Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Changes in Equity, Statement of Cash Flows and notes to andforming part of the FinancialStatements of the City of Playfordfor the year ended 30th June, 2004 as set out in pages 1 to 24.The Council’s officers are responsiblefor the preparation and presentationof the Financial Statements and allthe information they contain. I haveconducted an independent audit ofthe Financial Statements to express an opinion on them.

My audit has been conductedaccording to Australian AuditingStandards to provide reasonableassurance that the FinancialStatements are free of materialmisstatement. My audit proceduresincluded examination on a test basisof evidence supporting the amountsand other disclosures in the FinancialStatements together with anevaluation of accounting policies and significant accounting estimates.

My audit procedures have alsoincluded an evaluation ofcompliance by Council with theLocal Government Act 1999,together with the Local Government(Financial Management) Regulations 1999 made under that Act.

All of these procedures have beenundertaken to form an opinion as to whether the Financial Statementspresent fairly, according toAustralian Accounting Standards,

manadatory professional statements(Urgent Issues Group ConsensusViews) and statutory requirements, a view of the Council consistentwith my understanding of itsfinancial position and operations for the year ended 30th June, 2004.

The audit opinion expressed in this report has been formed on the above basis.

Audit OpinionIn my opinion, the FinancialStatements of the City of Playfordare properly drawn up:

a) to give a true and fair view of:i) the Council’s state of affairs

as at 30th June, 2003 andchanges in equity resultingfrom operations and cashflows for the year ended on that date.

ii) the other matters required by the Local Government Act 1999 to be dealt with in the Financial Statements.

b) according to the LocalGovernment Act 1999, together with the LocalGovernment (FinancialManagement) Regulations 1999 made under that Act: and

c) according to AustralianAccounting Standards and mandatory professional statements.

DON VENN FCAChartered Accountant

..................................................................

PartnerDean Newbery & Partners

Dated at North Adelaide this 12th day of October 2004

City of Playford

Playford Civic Centre10 Playford BoulevardElizabeth SA 5114

Telephone 08 8256 0333Facsimile 08 8254 1190Email [email protected]