CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S (CEO) MONTHLY REPORT – APRIL 2012 · 2015-03-17 · Agenda –...

Agenda – Ordinary Meeting 26 April 2012 - #3463758

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ORDINARY MEETING

26 APRIL 2012

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S (CEO) MONTHLY REPORT – APRIL 2012 Lyn Russell :jel: 1/3/37-30: #3278759v9

RECOMMENDATION:

That Council 1. endorses the Chief Executive Officer’s report for April 2012; and

2. notes and endorses the six-monthly update on activities presented to Council by Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Advance Cairns

INTRODUCTION: The following report provides an update for Councillors on current strategic Council related issues and actions underway to address them. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION The following provides a summary of key activities for the month from the Economic Development & Innovation Unit. Tropical Innovation Awards The 2012 Tropical Innovation Awards will be held on 30 of November at the Cairns Convention Centre and launched on 17 May at Cairns Visitor Centre (Botanic Gardens). Applications will be open from this date.. The TIA will culminate in a full day of Tropical Expertise and Knowledge with the Austropex and Queensland Wide Innovation Network (QWIN) held during the day. 2012 TIA award categories l focus more specifically on the process of commercialisation and will target a whole range of innovative processes and products rather than using traditional methods of Intellectual Property (IP) protection. The new and more simplified categories will include: Emerging Innovation; Established Innovation; Tropical Innovation; People’s Choice; Youth Innovation; and Innovation of the Year.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION continued The formal call for sponsorship of the 2012 TIA is now open with three sponsorship packages ($5,000, $10,000 and $25,000) on offer in a newly presented sponsorship proposal. Sponsors will receive prominent public acknowledgement for their support, with sponsor benefits escalating according to their level of support. Sponsors will feature in all advertising and have the opportunity to have a display booth at the awards event. The Economic Development & Innovation Team maintain full information about the awards on the web site www.tropicalinnovationawards.com.au Tropical Innovators Forum Cairns Regional Council is a proud supporter of the Tropical Innovators Forum (TIF), Tropical North Queensland's first network to develop and harness tropical innovation and expertise. The Forum provides a networking opportunity for local innovators to brainstorm ideas and experiences and to hear guest speakers address topics relating to innovation, commercialisation and intellectual property. The Tropical Innovators Forum also provides Council opportunity to link with previous and potential applicants and monitor the progression of our local innovators. The next forum meeting will be held on Tuesday 1 May 4-6pm at Placid Pools, Smithfield. Placid Pools were the 2010 TIA winners of Innovation of the Year Award. The Council is proudly partnering with the Queensland Government on a second Fast Tracking Tropical Expertise program for the region. The program helps innovative companies take their products to national and global markets. Successes of Fast Tracking Tropical Business last year included: - 14 business cases prepared (the target was 6) - 7 products launched (target was 5) - 15 partnerships or strategic alliances established (target 10) - 12 grant applications initiated (target 5) 11 businesses are registered for the program this year. Digital Economy National Broadband Network March 29 brought the very welcome announcement from NBN Co that the Cairns region will be included within the next 12 months and 36 months roll out plans of the National Broadband Network. Announcements included the following areas: - Bungalow, Cairns City, Cairns North, Manunda, Mount Sheridan, Parramatta Park,

Portsmith, Westcourt and White Rock: Fibre work to commence within one year from August 2012 in phases with last schedule to commence in March 2014.

- From Palm Cove to Gordonvale, work to commence within three years.

Fixed wireless announcements by NBN Co are anticipated by the end of April. Supporting a digital economy and community and the roll out and uptake of the NBN and high speed broadband is a key delivery program within Council’s Economic Development & Innovation Strategy 2012/2015.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION continued The roll out has opportunities and implications across Council’s services including: planning and infrastructure support; communication with the development community; community and digital engagement to support uptake and applications of high speed broadband; local, regional and national collaboration on community and digital economy opportunities; and delivery of Council business. This delivery program will also focus on working to develop digital economy initiatives in areas not included within the three year NBN announcements. On Friday 20 April, Council Staff from a range of relevant departments met with NBN Co Green Field Development and Planning staff to discuss next steps and strategic partnership. This meeting included Economic Development & Innovation, Planning, Infrastructure, IT, Customer Service, Marketing, Community and Libraries. This group will now meet regularly as an internal reference group on NBN and digital economy/ community. One project discussed at this meeting with NBN Co was ‘Project Connect’. Early partnership between Council and NBN Co since the roll out announcement will include the dissemination by Council of NBN related information. Project Connect is one of these initiatives, aimed at making new homes NBN-ready. From 1 May , information will be forwarded to local building certifiers and information sheets will be attached to all Material Change of Use Approvals for houses and units and all reconfiguration of a Lot Approvals. Relevant information will be sent to industry peak bodies and sent to all new property owners with the Welcome Package distributed by Council. Cairns Regional Council is the first Council in Australia to partner with NBNCo on this new initiative. At a strategic level Council is represented on the 'Broadband for the Tropics' Committee including Townsville, Mackay and Cairns. This committee facilitates collaboration and advocacy on digital economy issues between all levels of government, economic development, community, defence, education and research interests. Get Up To Speed On 12 April, Council partnered with the Broadband Today Alliance to support a Skills Queensland funded 12 week program of (largely) on-line courses for business operators to support tuning into the digital age – Get Up To Speed. The program aims to increase businesses awareness about opportunities presented by fast broadband through the NBN and to build skills and knowledge on emerging digital technologies. Approximately 50 business representatives attended an information meeting at Council on Thursday 12 April. The program has places for 50-100 businesses and complements website technology seminars being provided by the Qld Government to the region's business community on 17, 18 and 26 April. Investment Attraction Investment Opportunities A number of investment enquires have been received during March relating to tourism and mining. Existing investment opportunities are progressing with continued support from Council. This support ranges from economic and site information provision, to early meetings with Planning and other Council departments on behalf of investors and coordination of meetings involving regional stakeholders.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION continued Formal guidelines on Council’s Investment Attraction Incentives program are available in print form and on Council’s web site. A marketing campaign is underway to promote and stimulate applications to the Cairns Investment Attraction Program. Monthly meetings of Council’s Investment Attraction Assessment Panel have now commenced, with minutes to be reported to future Council meetings. Panel of Commercial Real Estate Agents As part of the Investment Attraction Incentive Program, Council is establishing a Panel of Commercial Real Estate Agents. The intent of this panel is to provide Council with easy access to professional real estate agents to provide detailed information on available commercial/industrial properties and/or land within the region to respond to enquiries from investors, developers and others interested in leasing or purchasing real estate. Five submissions were received in response to the tender process and details of the Panel will be presented to Council‘s 26 April 2012 Ordinary Meeting by separate report. Filming in Cairns Following the endorsement of Council's Film Friendly Policy in December 2011, the new streamlined application forms are now live on Council's web site and the number of applications that have been received has been increasing. Recent applications received for filming include: ABC Television Make Believe Group The Gallery Nippon Television Network Corporation HIS Australia Pty Ltd OSSAN Tourism Queensland Weekend Sunrise In June, Council will host a Film Industry High Tea (location and date TBC), focused on networking, profiling and showcasing Cairns for filming and identifying industry needs and priorities for Council in supporting industry growth. Fashion and Design Following a number of industry meetings and with support from Councils Beautiful Art Space program, a dedicated retail fashion outlet – Sugar Boutique- Cairns Local Designers was officially opened on Friday 13 April. The shop is located in the Pier and is designed to provide a stepping stone for local designers to developing commercial markets.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION continued Local Area Programs Babinda The Babinda Mill Site steering group continues to meet monthly to progress planning for the ex Babinda Sugar Mill Site. Maryborough Sugar submitted their Development Application to Council on the 24 February which presents the master planning concept for the site. This includes special residential, tourism commercial and industrial land allocation. The Babinda Business Expansion and Retention Survey has recently been completed and key findings from the survey are now being considered by the project working group, with priorities identified for immediate action in the following areas: - Building and profiling Babinda for tourism including signage, marketing as RV Friendly

and project development. - Lobbying and advocacy to State Government departments with regard potential

relocation to Babinda and uses of Government-owned property in Babinda. - Development of a local area digital economy project for Babinda. This initiative has

been identified within both the RDA Road Map for FNQ&TS and the Cairns Economic Development & Innovation Strategy to be developed by the ED&I team in partnership with the local community.

Events Economy Events Strategy and Best Practice Process Development - Cairns Regional Council was invited to present at the Bendigo Bank State Conference

to present on Council’s approach to events and events strategy. The feedback was extremely positive and communication has continued with regard to collaborative community events for the region going forward.

- A sponsorship best practice workshop has been developed and delivered for internal staff as a first step towards consistent application of best practice throughoutt the organisation in the area of sponsorship.

Contract Management - Taipans continue to deliver against the existing sponsorship agreement; with the last

game this month (March). Communication continues in regard to a longer term agreement .

- The management company of USM Events (Cairns Adventure Festival) has been

purchased by WTC (Ironman) resulting in the Challenge Cairns branded events being substituted for Ironman branded and managed events. Contract alterations are currently underway.

- Concept of Operations is now completed for the Solar Eclipse (which provides a zoned

preference / ranking for each prime / coastal viewing area within the Cairns / Port Douglas area). Work continues with the Eclipse teams.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION continued Event Delivery Council’s Events Advisory Committee is scheduled to have its first formal meeting / workshop in June / July. This meeting will include review of new grant application and assessment criteria and processes which are currently under development, in line with the Events Strategy. Informed Economy Council's new six-monthly economic snapshot is available in print and on –line. The snapshot is continually expanding in both content and distribution to provide a broad overview of the region's economic profile, key sectors and major developments. Regional Partnerships International Economic Development Conference 2012 Planning is progressing for the International Economic Development Conference to be held in Cairns 17-20 September 2012 “Driving Economic Leadership in the Asian Century – Leveraging Local Prosperity and Wellbeing”, with the call for papers now open. Council’s CEO is confirmed to speak at the conference on the topic ‘Leading Success through Innovation’. Regional Delivery The Economic Development and Innovation Team work in partnership on an ongoing basis with regional economic development stakeholders on a broad range of initiatives and regional working groups to ensure all stakeholders are informed and aligned. In particular, the team works closely with Advance Cairns, Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism Port Douglas & Daintree in their (Council) funded delivery of services. Tourism Port Douglas & Daintree reported to Council in March on 6-monthly delivery against Council’s Resource & Performance Agreement. This report presents a summary of 6 month delivery by TTNQ and Advance Cairns, noting that all three organisations report on annual performance. Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Attachment 3 presents TTNQ’s 6-monthly update to Cairns Regional Council, including delivery against the additional $400,000 Council funding in the 2011/2012 budget. TTNQ’s performance based delivery program for this additional budget allocation focuses on the following priority areas: - TNQ Regional Economic Plan; - China aviation development; - Singapore aviation development; - Cruise ship development; - Incentive travel market; and - Drive tourism domestic market.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION continued Advance Cairns Advance Cairns’ Relational Agreement with Cairns Regional Council reflects both the TNQREP and the Cairns Economic Development & Innovation Strategy. Programs delivered by Advance Cairns and supported by Council are directly referred to in the ED&I Strategy. These outcomes are also delivered to the wider FNQ through separate (and slightly later) agreement with FNQROC. Attachment 4 presents the Advance Cairns KPI Progress Report for the year to date. In summary, this performance focuses on X Priority Areas: - TNQ Regional Economic Plan; - Operate as the peak non-govt organisation driving economic development for TNQ; - Investment attraction; - Government support and investment; - Business and industry development; - Regional promotion; and - Organisational sustainability. MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS The following provides a summary of key activities for the month in Marketing & Communications Branch. The second edition of the CRC staff newsletter (print and online) has been delivered. The newsletter will be developed monthly with expected distribution during the first week of the month. M&C have also been involved in the discussions for the EBA negotiations, providing advice and an internal communications strategy to ensure the effective delivery of information relating to the EBA. Planning meetings have commenced for the Cairns and Mossman shows, Solar Eclipse, and Cairns Adventure Festival. Planning for the Cairns Show is centred on the theme of the community putting themselves “In the Picture” ie: increasing community involvement in Council events and connections to key projects. M&C have provided support and are members of the planning team for Festival 2012. M&C have provided guidance on social media campaigns, design, media policy and overall promotion of the 2012 event. M&C continue to work with IS to bring the Festival website onto the corporate platform to bring management of the website in-house. Other activities for the month of March include: Continued to deliver Council messages to the community via fortnightly Cairns Sun and

Gazette Council Corners, Babinda Bytes and Cairns Sun “Hot Topic” responses. Messages during March included International Women’s Day, free Daintree Ferry travel for Easter, Earth Hour, Port Douglas Waterfront, dengue prevention, and infrastructure works under way.


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MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS continued

Provision of web editing services to all departments for content on corporate website and intranet. During March, some 62 editing requests were actioned, with many of these requests comprising multiple tasks or components.

Communication services for Economic Development & Innovation unit, including content management of InvestCairns website and input to content for and design of 2012 Tropical Innovation Awards sponsorship kit.

Promotion of Council news and events via Facebook page and Twitter. Respond to public comments and questions received via Facebook and Twitter. Management of YourSay online community forum. March statistics show 457 active

participants. Produced taxi driver’s newsletter, Driving Force for March-June events and activities Communication services and support for Water & Waste, including coordination of

marketing for works in progress. Web editing and communication support for sustainability issues in the Planning and

Environment Dept. Media Distributed 28 media releases and Community Service Announcements during

February. Of those, 23 (82%) were published in at least one format. Print media utilised 68% of media releases, radio 64% and television picked up 32%. In

the radio category, AM stations (ABC, 4CA, 4KZ) utilised 46% of press releases, while FM stations (Hot FM, Sea FM, Zinc FM) picked up 21%.

Media releases that were utilised in all three forms of media were on the following topics: Women of the Year Awards, The Great Barrier Reef series premiere, Cairns Taipans at Storytime, reporting of potholes, economic impact of Bruce Highway temporary closures, approval of the Cairns Entertainment Precinct development application and the NBN rollout announcement.

In total, 189 news items directly relating to Cairns Regional Council were recorded during February. Of those, 62 (33%) were initiated by or published content from a media release. The number of news items is significantly lower than usual, due to media focus being primarily on the local government elections. Election-related items are not included in this report.

Other topics that received significant news coverage during March include coconuts at Four Mile Beach, potential expansion of defence base, torrential rain and flooding, de-amalgamation discussion, and the Taylor Point court decision.

Cairns Regional Council was featured in national publication Business World Australia. This article focussed on Council’s commitment to grow and diversify the regional economy and the progress that has already occurred. Council had input into the content and editing of the piece. Council’s leadership in sustainability was highlighted with articles prepared by the Media Officer being placed in relevant features in both The Cairns Post and Cairns Life Magazine. A restructuring of Council’s Media Monitors usage has been undertaken to achieve more efficient use of these resources.


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MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS continued Events: March was busy with the following events being held: International Women’s Day – breakfast and staff lunch. The breakfast was very

successful with 170 seats sold and the event held at the Sebel. The staff lunch had around 90 participants held in the reception rooms.

There was also the launch of the Great Barrier Reef Series which took place at the Civic Theatre to a full house. The launch was very well received.

Coordination is still underway for the following events: 2012 Australian Local Government Women’s Association QLD Conference –

promotional collateral, sponsorship packs and approaches, program, speakers, accommodation.

Premier of Great Barrier Reef Series – concept design, coordination for the event. ANZAC Day – planning meeting with Cairns, collation of services across the region

for promotion, logistical planning. Tropical Innovation Awards Launch – this will be held on 17 May and is being

coordinated by the events department.. Civic Events: March citizenship ceremony took place on 29th with approximately 60 citizens being welcomed to the region. School Tours: No School tours for March. Cairns Entertainment Precinct Media/communications activity: The majority of media activity for the reporting period focussed around the DA approval for the Cairns Entertainment Precinct. The number of social media followers continues to grow. The CEP now has 102 followers on Twitter. Facebook currently has 232 fans and a weekly average of 21 people talking about this. Inaccurate reporting of the project is being corrected as appropriate through letters to

the editor, blogs and on the internet. Signage has been erected on site. The CEP website has been updated making public documents available online and to

reflect new designs. Investigations continue into the installation of a webcam to monitor the construction

site in real time. Updated pull up displays using new artistic renders are planned for Council offices

over the coming month. An e-newsletter has been developed and distributed.


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MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS continued Social media We have been working with IS on problems reported in January re: timeouts, speed and browser compatibility issues experienced by users when to uploading events, photos and files to Facebook (or any online platform that requires Flash and Java to get the job done) IS have provided Kerri and some other key staff with a copy of Internet Explorer version 8 running via a virtual machine on the server to address compatibility issues raised by introduction of the new Facebook timeline design. In March we: Completed advanced easy edit training for the web with Squiz and writing for the web

training with 4 syllables Began our trial with Buzz numbers on 1 March which will continue for 3 months until

31 May 2012 Social media officer attended training with Buzz Numbers and a webinar re: new

facebook pages Upgraded all Council Facebook pages to the new design Participated in PhD research with the University of Adelaide re: Government use of

social media. Social media officer and Manager of M&C met with Jenni Dillon from POD and have

begun working on the rollout of the staff training aspects of the “social soldiers” decentralised social media model.

Began working with Cairns Festival RE: social media and website strategy for 2012. Activated CairnsDCC social media re: flash flooding and the big wet.

Facebook statistics for the period 1-31 March 2012 were: (http://www.facebook.com/CairnsRegionalCouncil) March was another busy month for Council page on Facebook thanks to the flow on effects of the Zumba World Record attempt and also the wet weather and flooding. New fan acquisition was healthy, 30% more than last month for the main Cairns Regional Council page and the Cairns DCC fan base grew from 7070 to 7532 Traffic on the Active Living Fun, Free fitness on the Esplanade Facebook page has decreased their average daily people “talking about this” value was 19 as of 31 March. Despite the 30% increase in new fans, reach and a 10% increase in the number of impressions our content is making on Facebook, our engagement levels were slightly down on the Cairns Regional Council Facebook in March compared to February. We remained 26% above our weekly target of 50 “people talking about this” and will endeavour to increase our reach and engagement levels in April. Cairns Regional Council Facebook page Total New Likes (Fans): 86 Total Unlikes (Fans leaving): 6 Check-ins (Spece St) 13 People Talking About this (avg): 14 Daily, 86 Wk, 297 Month Engaged Users (avg): 27 Daily, 157 Wk, 681 Month Total Reach (avg fans & friends of our fans) 483 Daily, 1407 wk, 3446 month Total Impressions (avg whole of FB inc non fans) 3299 Daily, 21807 wk, 79746 Month


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MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS continued Cairns DCC Facebook page Total New Likes (Fans): 462 Total Unlikes (Fans leaving): 41 People Talking About this (avg): 36 Daily, 225 Wk, 407 Month Engaged Users (avg): 310 Daily, 157 Wk, 681 Month Total Reach (avg fans & friends of our fans) 483 Daily, 1779 wk, 2930 month Total Impressions (avg whole of FB inc non fans) 26474 Daily, 178282 wk, 322377 Month Twitter statistics for the period 1-31 March 2012 were: (http://www.twitter.com/CouncilCairns) New Followers: 98 Total Followers: 744 Qwitters (people who’ve quit following us): 6. Total Mentions: 59 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS continued Total re-tweets: 112 Our Top 3 Links on Twitter February: 1. Road Closure & Road Flooding info (77 clicks, 15 RT) 2. Earth Hour – Vote for Gordonvale SS (28 clicks, 9 RT) 3. QLD School closures/openings re: Big Wet (15 clicks, 5 RT), Work in progress: Now that our following is over 500 we are seeing a healthy 100+ monthly growth rate. We would like to have our Twitter following exceed our Facebook following by 30 June 2012. Twitter have made some changes to their user interface (UI – the way Twitter looks and behaves for users), available analytics and also the way we can find/network with users. Twitter’s UI changes are subtle, however the Application Program Interface (API) and analytics changes are significant and our Twitter reporting services i.e. Twitter Counter, Topsy & Hootsuite are still coming to grips with the changes (ironing out bugs, working around tightened privacy restrictions etc. We will learn about them more in coming months. Last month we reported that our tool for Twitter statistical reporting, Twitter Counter had started to misbehave. This was due to Twitter’s changes, but stability has returned to most areas of the program now and we are able to see more data than we could previously, such as total number of mentions and re-tweets. We will continue to work with Twitter Counter until June and review again on 30 June. Rollout of the social soldier and social media policy are now in progress and will be on-going projects.


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REGIONAL MANAGER DOUGLAS UPDATE The following provides a summary of key activities for the month from the Regional Manager Douglas. Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce Employment Training Workshops Council has provided support to the Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce in delivering an exciting 13-week training program targeting job seekers. The Employment Program has been funded by Skilled QLD, DEEWA and DETA. The funding pool has been made available for innovative training programs under the Natural Disaster Flexible Funding Pool. The training provides three accredited diploma level modules as well as 6 hours one on one mentoring. There will be 40 places offered and the training is being delivered two days a week which includes a morning session Tuesdays and early evening session on Thursdays. The Chamber has aimed to attract a number of mature aged job seekers who have had careers but now find themselves unemployed. The Chamber has worked very hard with the funding bodies to make sure there are no costs to the unemployed for participating in the training. This is a great initiative of the Chamber and will help address the lack of training opportunities that unemployed people in Douglas face due to the extreme distance between the local area and a training facility such as TAFE based in Cairns. Council strongly supports the Chambers efforts in really addressing issues such as these that will in the long-term assist business in Port and the wider community. Council has been able to offer assistance and support to this important initiative by providing the training room space in which the courses are conducted at the recently vacated office area on the Port Douglas Waterfront near Sugar Wharf. The first few weeks of the course have attracted almost capacity number of participants. CARNIVALE The 2012 Carnivale Program was officially launched on Friday, 20 April at the Port Douglas Yacht Club. This years’ program kicks off on 18 May with the Longest Lunch and ends on Saturday, 26 May with the Annual Four Mile Beach Day. The street parade will be held on Friday 25 May. Council will be hosting a stall at the Beach Day where local residents will be able to pick up free native plants for their garden. As part of a three-year funding and resource agreement Council has again this year provided the Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce with both financial and in-kind assistance that contributes to the staging of the Carnivale Program of events. Revitalise Port Douglas Program - Port Douglas Strategic Plan Integrative Project 2012 The Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce initiated a research project with the Melbourne Business School (MBS) to collect data, analyse this data and produce a report with recommendations on how Port Douglas might improve its economic outlook given that in recent years the decline in tourism has had a major impact on business levels.


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REGIONAL MANAGER DOUGLAS UPDATE continued Over 140 concerned residents and businesses contributed insights and opinions in this project. By using an independent body such as MBS the Chamber had the opportunity of obtaining objective and dispassionate insights into what the issues are and how as a community these can be progressed. On Saturday 31 March, the MBS presented its report which clearly outlined the strengths and weaknesses of the Port Douglas economy and made a number of recommendations. The MBS report recommends serious action and to achieve this the Chamber will be seeking support from the various diverse community groups who participated and contributed into the data gathering for the development of the report. Copies of the full report are available from the Chambers website. The Chamber will now be considering the best ways to address the issues raised and develop a strategic plan for implementing appropriate recommendations from the report.

Daintree Ferry Smart Card The Easter Holiday Free Daintree Ferry travel period for Smart Card holders finished on 15 April 2012. Approximately 520 new Smart Cards were issued from March when the new trial period over Easter was announced. These new Smart Card holders join over 1,100 pre-existing Smart Card holders who accessed the free cards when the two-month free trial was held from November 2011 – January 2012. Figures for this latest trial period are still being calculated but the Easter long weekend in particular saw a large number of Smart Card users taking advantage of the free ferry travel. Almost 100 Smart Cards were used to access the ferry on Good Friday alone. Again Council in partnership with Tourism Port Douglas Daintree (TPDD) developed a four page full colour special offers brochure which also included a map of the area and travel times. The brochure was sent to all existing and new card holders. Twenty-five businesses participated in the brochure offering special deals. Solar Eclipse Work continues on organising the management of the Solar Eclipse in Port Douglas to occur on 14 November 2012. The Local Task Force for ensuring the staging of the event in Port Douglas is meeting regularly and also is linking into to Council's broader Events Operations Team. The Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce is currently working on a range of surveys with local businesses to assist in designing the final program schedule for the Port Douglas Eclipse Festival to be staged for a week across the Eclipse period. Meetings have been held with organisers of the Eclipse marathon regarding a range of logistical matters including the outline of the course. ANZAC DAY Services Three traditional ANZAC Day Services will be held in Douglas on 25 April. Dawn Services will be held in Cow Bay and Mossman. A morning Service including the traditional ANZAC Day March that travels down Macrossan Street ending in ANZAC Park will be held in Port Douglas commencing at 10.00am.


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OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST The Past Year in Review As this is our final Council meeting for this electoral term, I offer some reflections on our performance over the past year. The depressed regional economy has obviously had a major impact on Council’s capacity to raise revenue. It has also provided significant impetus for our small but dynamic Economic Development Team to make a significant contribution to economic diversification and strengthening, through work on business attraction, innovation and the digital economy. Our success in confirming the early NBN rollout for this region will now need to be followed through in coming months. Cairns Regional Council’s reputation as a progressive local authority has been enhanced by a wide range of awards and citations. I have attached for your information a list of the most recent awards and commendations received, and would particularly thank all our hardworking Council employees for their contribution to that recognition. I have also provided Councillors with a final update on the “Top Ten” goals you set for me and the Executive Team for this year. I have also reviewed the goals of each of my direct reports and am pleased to advise that all milestones and key performance indicators have been substantially achieved. I would like to thank all Councillors for their leadership over the past four years. Our best wishes to those Councillors who are standing again, and a prosperous and happy future to those who are retiring from Local Government. The report from Executive Support for Operational Plan activities for the month of March 2012 has not been presented to Council as a result of the changed meeting schedule for March and April. However the Executive Finance Variance Report for March 2012 is listed below.


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Note YTD YTD Variance Variance

Actual Budget

$ $ $ %

Operating Revenue

471 - 471 100 %

1 57,796 34,773 23,022 66 %

58,267 34,773 23,494 68 %

Operating Expenditure

2 1,950,715 2,038,768 88,054 4 %

3 14,310 10,900 ( 3,410) (31)%

4,184 4,000 ( 184) (5)%

4 91,901 72,352 ( 19,549) (27)%

5 42,169 58,986 16,816 29 %

6 67,055 40,725 ( 26,331) (65)%

7 37,702 31,756 ( 5,946) (19)%

8 429,235 337,439 ( 91,796) (27)%

9 134,012 158,304 24,292 15 %

608 - ( 608) (100)%

1,474,844 1,474,865 21 0 %

Total Operating Expenditure 4,246,734 4,228,095 ( 18,639) (0)%

NET OPERATING RESULT ( 4,188,467) ( 4,193,322) 4,855 0 %

Explanations1234

5

6

7

8

9

Consultancy Services

Travel Expenses

Other Services

Internal Charges

Other Expenses

Contributions and Donations

Executive - Variance Report

For the period ended 30 March 2012

Other services variance is predominately due to greater than anticipated expenditure on advertising (-$63k), printing, publishing and photocoping (-$22k), conferences and seminars (-$15k) and electricity (-$7k). This has been offset by less than anticipated expenditure on general services ($19k).

Other revenue variance is due to differences in the timing of budgeted and actual receipt of cash for the Tropical Innovation Awards.

Materials variance is due to greater than anticipated expenditure on computer software supplies (-$19k).

External services are less than budget due to savings in other services ($29k). This has been offset by greater than anticipated expenditure on rental leases (-$6k), contract management (-$4k) and external services (-$1k).

Variance in overtime costs is due to greater than anticipated work loads.

Fees and Charges

Other Revenue

Total Operating Revenue

Travel cost variance is due to the difference in budgeted timing and actual incurrence of expenditure. Actuals are expected to align with budget as the year progresses.

Internal charges variance is due to less than anticipated use of long term dedicated fleet ($24k) and internal job charges ($17k). This has been offset by greater than anticipated use of pool vehicles (-$17k).

Variance in consultancy services is due to work from 2010/11 year for Economic Development not being receipted until 2011/12. This expenditure has not been included in the current budget.

Employee Costs

Employee costs are less than budget due to vacancies within the department.

Overtime

Agency/Temp Staff Costs

Materials

External Services

ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1 - List of awards and citations Attachment 2 - “Top Ten” goals Attachment 3 - TTNQ’s 6-monthly update Attachment 4 - Advance Cairns KPI Progress Report LYN RUSSELL PSM Chief Executive Officer


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ATTACHMENT 1

AWARDS & RECOGNITION 2012 Cairns a UN Role Model for Resilient Cities Cairns has been selected by the United Nations-led program Making Cities Resilient as the first Role Model city from the Pacific region. 2012 Government Communications Australia Award Council's Evacuation strategy awareness campaign was recognised at the 2012 GovComms Awards, claiming the tile of "Best emergency or crisis communications initiative".

AWARDS & RECOGNITION 2011 Inclusive Community Champion Award for All Abilities Playgrounds Council has won the Spinal Injuries Association's Inclusive Community Champion Award for the All Abilities Playgrounds at Edmonton and Mossman. Sister Cities Cairns Regional Council has been recognised for its commitment to its international bonds at the Sister Cities Australia National Awards. Engineering award for tennis centre The Cairns International Tennis Centre received a Highly Commended award at the 2011 Institute of Public Works Engineering Qld Division Excellence Awards. Babinda Harvest Festival 2011 Babinda Library has won the Babinda Harvest Festival 2011 Best Decorated Premises Award at the Babinda Harvest Festival on Saturday June 4. 2011 Healthy Queensland Awards Cairns Regional Council's Cairns West Strategy has been praised for its approach to increasing safety and community wellbeing at the 2011 Healthy Queensland Awards. Economic Development Aust.- QLD Awards for Economic Development Excellence Cairns Regional Council's Tropical Innovation Awards won the 2011 Economic Development Australia - QLD Awards for Economic Development Excellence 2011 National Awards for Local Government Cairns Regional Council won the 2011 National Award for Local Government in the category of Regional Innovations for the Tropical Innovation Awards Project. Skill 360 Australia Training Awards Six Cairns Regional Council staff won various awards at the Skill 360 Australia Training Awards. LGMA Qld Excellence Awards 2011 - Award for Excellence in Innovation Cairns Regional Council's CBD South Flood Mitigation project won the Award for Excellence in Innovation at the 2011 LGMA Queensland Excellence Awards. LGMA Queensland Management Challenge Cairns Regional Council's "Cairns’ational" team placed 2nd in the 2011 LGMA State Management Challenge. Rick Hansen Difference Maker Award Council’s Access and Equity officer, Ian Chill, received the Rick Hansen Difference Maker Award at the 2010 Spinal Injuries Association Inclusive Community Champions Awards.


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ATTACHMENT 2

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S GOALS - 2011/2012

GOAL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

THIRD QUARTER PROGRESS REPORT

1. WORKPLACE HARMONY Develop a strategic enterprise bargaining agenda in close consultation with employees, E-Team and Councillors.

Best practice enterprise agreement endorsed by all parties prior to July 2012.

SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS Productive EBA negations are continuing. A framework agreement has been developed under broad headings, and the Single Bargaining Unit is progressing details of all EBA strategies.

2. 2012 ELECTIONS AND COUNCILLOR DEVELOPMENT Prepare a comprehensive Councillor orientation program for implementation post the 2012 Council elections.

Program endorsed by current Council and Department of Local Government & Planning.

COMPLETED A detailed program has now been developed in readiness for the new Council.

3. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Accelerate the implementation of Council’s Connecting service quality program across all Council departments.

Improved PhoneFox results and customer satisfaction measures across Council.

COMPLETED The Connecting Program is now a fundamental part of Council’s Service Quality Strategy

4. COMMUNITY PLAN Finalise preparation of Cairns Regional Council’s Community Plan and submit Plan to the Department of Local Government & Planning.

Council endorsement of final draft.

COMPLETED Council’s Community Plan has now been finalised, signed off by Council and submitted to the Department as required.

5. CIVIC PRECINCT MASTERPLANNING Ensure completion of masterplans for:- - City Centre - Port Douglas Waterfront - Daintree Gateway; and development of priorities and funding strategies.

Council approval of all masterplans.

COMPLETED Masterplans for all precincts have been completed and approved by Council. Funding strategies have been developed for all precincts.


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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S GOALS - 2011/2012 GOAL KEY PERFORMANCE

INDICATORS THIRD QUARTER

PROGRESS REPORT 6. SECURE PREFERRED DESIGN OPTION AND FUNDING FOR CAIRNS

ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT (CEP)

Consult the community to determine preferred design option for CEP, and secure Federal funding via completion of FSR and PAF.

Council endorses preferred design option and PAF & FSR are completed and submitted to Cabinet Budget Review Committee.

COMPLETED Council endorsed the preferred CEP design and the Cabinet Budget Review Committee received all reports and approved the necessary funding for the project.

7. DEVELOP CAIRNS REGIONAL COUNCIL’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TO BE CONGRUENT WITH THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Contribute to finalising the Regional Economic Plan and ensuring Cairns Regional Council’s Economic Development Plan is aligned.

Council approval of Cairns Regional Council’s Economic Development Plan.

COMPLETED Council endorsed the Economic Development & Innovation Strategy at the Ordinary Meeting of 14 December 2011

8. RESTRUCTURE STRATEGIC AREAS OF COUNCIL TO ENHANCE SERVICE DELIVERY

Review existing Council structures relating to :- - Greenspace and parks and gardens - environmental sustainability - property acquisition and disposal - marketing and communications and implement improved service delivery

arrangements.

Council approval of structural changes.

COMPLETED The new Manager Parks & Leisure role has now been advertised. The Marketing & Communications Branch will report to the General Manager Corporate Services as from 1 July 2012

9. IMPLEMENT IMPROVED COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MODELS Consult with existing advisory committees and implement approved new committee arrangements during 2011/2012.

New committee arrangements operational by June 2012.

COMPLETED The new committees are now operational.

10. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AND EVENT MANAGEMENT Finalise and commence implementation of Cairns Regional Council’s events strategy, including production of an annual event calendar, and continuation of work on communications plans.

Council approval of strategy and plans.

COMPLETED The Events Strategy has been approved by Council and the Event Calendar is on Council’s website.


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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S (CEO) MONTHLY REPORT – APRIL 2012 · 2015-03-17 · Agenda –...

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Transcript of CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S (CEO) MONTHLY REPORT – APRIL 2012 · 2015-03-17 · Agenda –...