Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

A model for financial sustainability

By Tim Jackson CEO

The financial performance of the City of Playford has undergone a dramatic turnaround since Council was created in 1997 through the amalgamation of the Cities of Elizabeth and Munno Para. Through long term strategic and financial planning we have been able to improve a $10 million annual operating deficit to $3.19 million despite increased spending on continued maintenance and development of assets critical to our community.

The City of Playford is committed to ongoing strategic planning and corporate management and an integrated framework underpins Council's Strategic Management Plans. This framework ensures there are strong linkages across Council departments and across Council's four key areas - economic prosperity, environmental care, community wellbeing and corporate.

The key elements of Playford's Strategic Planning Framework are:

• the Playford Plan, which is Council's key long term planning document setting the direction for the City over a ten year period and is closely linked to the Ten Year Financial Plan
• the Goal Plans, which are designed to further articulate issues, strategies and actions for each of the Playford Plan goals
• the Corporate Management Plan, which outlines how Council management and administration will provide the corporate infrastructure and systems necessary to support service delivery to the community
• The Ten Year Financial Plan, which determines the level of funding that can be provided in the long term to new projects and to service delivery, while ensuring the City remains in a financially sustainable position where it can fund all of its ongoing capital infrastructure renewal needs
• the City Plan, which is Council's key internal management document reflecting the work Council needs to undertake over a three year period in terms of projects and services to achieve the Playford Plan and associated Goal Plans.

The articles in this supplement demonstrate how this planned approach is helping to provide benefits to the local community both in the short and long term.

The following articles are also included in this edition or go BACK to the main page: