CONTROVERSY continues to dog the proposed expansion of the Donnybrook-Balingup Shire Administration Centre, with Shire CEO John Attwood hitting back at claims costs of new staff positions would outstrip Council’s income.
The proposed expansion takes in existing shire offices and the adjacent disused church, requiring some construction to link the two buildings and separate the shire offices from the historic Memorial Hall, as well as upgrading the existing offices. The expansion is planned to accommodate future increased staff numbers.
Councillor Mike King put a motion at the November 2014 Ordinary Council Meeting that the Administration Office Refurbishment to the completion of the detail as shown on the plans located on the Shire notice board be acknowledged as the required project, with the best estimate of indicative cost, the HMA Architects indicative cost estimate of $2.3 million. The motion was defeated.
Cr King told the meeting that he accepted there were some shortcomings in the existing facilities which required rectification to achieve a level of comfort and efficiency for Shire staff and clients.
He said there were currently about 70 shire employees, excluding the 29 Tuia Lodge employees.
Cr King said the increase in personnel between 2013 and 2017 included a fulltime governance officer, two administration officers, a human resources officer, an information technology officer, a second records officer, a projects and contracts/OSH officer, an assets officer and an emergency management officer.
“Interestingly there are no increases envisaged in the outdoor Works and Services or Gardening crews. This expansion in administration staff is purely in paper shufflers, they won’t directly contribute to enhanced roads, recreational facilities or rubbish collection. In general these are relatively senior positions, and will probably require more cars and more secretarial work within the office, requiring yet more administrative staff,” he said.
Mr Attwood however said the positions would be more operational than managerial, with only the assets officer and emergency management officer requiring vehicles. Positions such as the asset manager would be shared between Donnybrook and other shires.
“Workforce plans are reviewed every two years,” Mr Attwood said. “We’ve identified what is required to continue to provide the service we’ve got, and we’re looking at increasing some of our part time personnel to full time, and continuing to share resources with other shires.”
He said staffing plans were for the long term, some up to twenty years.
Cr King told the meeting the Administration Centre redevelopment was a $2-3 million expenditure on redevelopment in a contracting economy.
“Our President has indicated the Shire is liable to experience a reduction in general grant funding, including the axing of the Country Local Government Fund (CLGF) in future years,” he said.
“Is this the time to be risking all to build a grandiose Administration Centre, or should Donnybrook-Balingup be tightening our belts, looking for savings, up-skilling and better using the existing skills of our present employees so we don’t arrive at a position of mass sackings in the next few years?”
Mr Attwood said the CLGF was finished, and no other funding for the project was available that he was aware of.
“Council purchased the adjoining church land with the specific purpose of future office use in 2011,” he said.
Cr King said the cost of staff wages in the Donnybrook-Balingup Shire had been at approximately the level of rates collected by the Shire throughout the 2000-2014 period.
“Will the increase of 30 per cent in administrative personnel, or nine positions, see wages outstripping rates income? Yes,” he said.
Mr Attwood hit back at this claim, saying wages were covered by about 85 per cent of the rates income.
“There is no relevance between the amount of rates raised and the wages paid, as many wages are paid from significant other grants,” he said.
He said if council were unable to fulfill all of the new position it proposed, some services, grant opportunities, service delivery of planning, building and maintenance could be reduced.
“We don’t believe any of those things will happen. We can cover most areas, but with an increasing population there’s a corresponding workload,” he said.
Cr King urged councillors to consider planning to reduce the costs to a minimum to provide a “fit for purpose” facility at the lowest reasonable cost.
“The present Shire offices are not shabby, just disorganized, and stand out as quite up market against many other business offices in Donnybrook,” he said.
“This might well result in a project costing around $1million, with little probability of a loan being required.
“However Council has voted on several occasions to support the extensions as shown on the Plans, at a cost of $2million. So back to the present staged situation, which will consume considerable management time to organize and program, will disorganise the office over an extended 2-3 year period, and will likely be inefficient and more expensive than suggested,” he said.
“This building which is to be designed for the staffing situation envisaged in 2017 will not be completed until the earliest 2016 and possibly 2017. Why are Council allowing it to be staged – it should be built in one organized project construction, and the project estimate limit of $2 million should stand, if this is the way the redevelopment is to occur.
“The two staged development leading to a “fit for purpose” facility in 2017 should be abandoned, and the project considered in its entirety as the total project required to achieve the staffing, and Civic and Business functions required by 2017,” he said.
Mr Attwood said Council had been looking at expansions of the Administration Centre for more than 20 years.
“The total concept is $2.3million but Council has to build to the budget of $2million,” he said.
“We haven’t put anything out because we have a concept plan, but based on money and further discussions, if an architect comes along with better ideas, we’re open to them. We will seek public comment once we’ve got something to put out there.
“We believe that with our current and projected future growth, there is a need for an upgraded Administration and Civic Centre.”
