What’s New at the Shire of Mingenew
WHAT’S NEW AT THE SHIRE OF MINGENEW
Council Elections
The Shire of Mingenew Council Elections were held on 21 October 2017. Congratulations to all of the newly elected members and well done to all involved during the campaigning of the 2017 Elections. It was pleasing to note that we had just over 50% of eligible people voting in the elections and the results were as follows;
TOWN WARD
Name Votes Result
Paul Lucken 30
Crispian Lucken 49 ELECTED
Helen Newton 73 ELECTED
Kym McGlinn 41 ELECTED
RURAL WARD
Name Votes Result
Brendan Pearse 36
Robert Newton 53 ELECTED
Justin Bagley 50 ELECTED
The election results will see four new people on Council with Crispian Lucken being the only standing Councillor to renominate and be elected. While Kym McGlinn and Justin Bagley will serve their first term on Council both Helen Newton (2011-2017) and Robert Newton (1996-2003) have previously served on Councillors.
Retiring Councillors
During the 2017 Election process two of the Shire’s Councillors Michelle Bagley and Karl Criddle elected not to renominate for Council. As a result this saw the end of 18 years of service from Michelle Bagley serving the community as an elected member. During her 18 years on Council Michelle was the President for the last 12 years and has made a significant contribution to the Mingenew community. From everyone at the Shire I would like to thank Michelle for her enormous effort over the last 18 years.
While Karl was only on Council for 2 years, I would also like to acknowledge his efforts during this time and hopefully we will see Karl back on Council as some stage later on down the track.
Ranger & Emergency Services Officer
The Shire now has a new person by the name of Grant Fiddock that will be looking after the ranger and emergency services roles for Mingenew. Grant replaces the positions previously filled by Peter Smith (Ranger) and Rick Ryan (CESM) as part of a share services agreement with the Shires of Carnamah and Three Springs. Grant will be in Mingenew every Friday and his contact details are 0400 424 545.
WANDRRA Declared Event
The Shire of Mingenew, along with other shires within the Mid West region, was declared as an affected Shire in the storm events that took place in Late January 2017 under the Western Australian Natural Disaster and Recovery Arrangements (WANDRRA). As a result, the Shire engaged a consultant engineer to undertake a review of the road network and make a submission to Main Roads to allow the Shire to complete any restoration works required. The submission has been reviewed and approved by Main Roads and it is likely that works will now commence in the first half of the 2017/18 financial year.
Independent Living Units
The construction of the 2 new 2 bedroom/2 bathroom independent units on King Street is nearing completion. The 2 new units are being constructed along side the existing 4 units on the same street. Expressions of Interest will now be called for eligible person’s to move into the units which we anticipate will be at the beginning of January 2018. The construction of the 2 independent living units was made possible by WA Country Health Services who provided $435,000 towards the project.
Mingenew Town Hall
Following an overwhelming response to our survey conducted earlier in the year Council have made provision in the 2017/18 budget to carry out some refurbishment works on the Town Hall. The Shire are currently working with Lotterywest on a funding application, which if successful will account for a significant portion of the works budgeted. The completion of the project is dependent on obtaining funding and information will be relayed to the community as the Lotterywest progresses in the coming months.
Transfer Station
The Shire are in the process of implementing a transfer station at the front entrance to the existing landfill site allowing a point for the public to drop off waste without the need for them to access the tip face. The construction of the transfer station will allow for better waste control and public safety at the existing landfill site and support better recycling and reduction of waste to landfill. An elevated concrete ramp for vehicle access will be constructed with the area to be fenced to ensure any future waste disposal is controlled by the Shire at the manned site. A strategy to rehabilitate the existing waste site will also be implemented by the Shire of Mingenew. Further updates will be provided at the project nears completion. .
Organisation Restructure
As most of you would be aware the Shire completed an Organisation Restructure in April 2017. The restructure came as the result of reviewing our current levels of service delivery and the staff structure of the organisation to `look at ways of maintaining and increasing the current levels of service delivery and meeting the demands of increasing compliance within the organisation. The purpose of the Shire’s Organisational Restructure review was to address the gaps identified and to enhance the Shire’s sustainability into the future.
Some of the highlights of the Restructure being;
- Levels of service have been maintained and in some cases improved
- Our salaries budget was reduced by more than 25% meaning that our forecast salaries budget in 2022/23 will be the same as our budgeted salaries budget were in the 2016/17 financial year
- Forecast savings well in excess of $1m for the next 7 year period
- Cost savings were made across the organisation by reviewing our current work practices
- The Shire are able to address our Asset Management and Workforce Plans as well as addressing compliance matters with the appointment of a Governance Officer
- The Shire is now much better positioned to remain a sustainable organisation in the years ahead
2017/18 Budget
The budget for the 2017/18 financial year was adopted at the August Ordinary Meeting on the 14th August. For further details on the budget please visit our website at www.mingenew.wa.gov.au
24/7 Shire Contact
The Shire now has a designated number for people to call out of office hours. The number to call if you need to contact the Shire in the case of an emergency is 0419 647 661.