SERVICE AREA,INDICATOR,MEASURE DESCRIPTION,Ararat Rural City,SIMILAR COUNCILS,ALL COUNCILS,TREND,COUNCIL SAYS
"Animal Management","Timeliness","Time taken to action animal management requests",1 days,1.499553 days,1.713146 days,0.00%,"Council places a strong emphasis on responsible pet ownership and community safety, ensuring all requests for animal management received are actioned on the same day."
"Animal Management","Service standard","Animals reclaimed from council",35.34%,47.41%,47.26%,-5751.00%,"This result is consistent with 16/17 and 17/18 results.  A variation in the 2018/19 results is due to the combination of the numbers of 'rehoused' and 'reclaimed' animal numbers. This has now been corrected in the reporting system."
"Animal Management","Service standard","Animals rehomed",42.97%,39.10%,31.96%,,"Council places a strong emphasis on re-homing animals and last year introduced a program to actively work with adoption agencies, significantly increasing the number of animals being adopted."
"Animal Management","Service cost","Cost of animal management service per population",$17.790797804981,$17.856641,$12.535750,,"The cost of the animal management service per head of municipal population has seen a decrease this year. This is due to resourcing adjustments and process improvements within the service, following a service review."
"Animal Management","Health and Safety","Successful animal management prosecutions",0.00%,17.65%,63.75%,,"There were no animal prosecutions during this reporting period."
"Aquatic Facilities","Service standard","Health inspections of aquatic facilities",1,1.061111,1.524432,10000.00%,"All Council aquatic facilities underwent an inspection by an authorised officer during the 2019/2020 financial year. In addition to this inspection, staff assess water quality 4 times daily and records of results are consistently maintained."
"Aquatic Facilities","Utilisation","Number of visits to aquatic facilities per head of municipal population",4.132292106374 visits,2.789173 visits,3.977699 visits,-5237.00%,"The decrease in pool utilisation was due to two factors. The closure of Council pools during Stage 3 COVID-19 restrictions had an impact on patronage, and a cooler than usual summer meant that outdoor pools were closed for more days than usual, where the maximum temperature was below 23 degrees. 

The lower patronage numbers were offset financially by operational efficiencies and reduction in operating cost associated with Council resuming direct management of the facilities."
"Aquatic Facilities","Service cost","Cost of aquatic facilities per visit",$13.0404314871187,$16.067953,$8.367016,,"Council assumed direct management of pools during 2019/2020 after a long period of contracting leisure services out. Insourcing this service will lead to long term cost savings based on increased operating efficiency and reduction in costs associated with direct service delivery."
"Food Safety","Timeliness","Time taken to action food complaints",2.91666666666667 days,1.225439 days,1.612097 days,15521.00%,"Council finds the 2019/2020 result an unacceptable decrease in the service standard expected. A service review has been undertaken and staffing and operational changes have been put in place to correct this issue. Council takes food safety and public health seriously and wishes to ensure a more timely response from 2020/2021 onwards."
"Food Safety","Service standard","Percentage of required food safety assessments undertaken",53.10%,85.05%,95.00%,-3421.00%,"Council finds the 2019/2020 result an unacceptable decrease in the service standard expected, which falls far from that which our community should expect in such an important area. A service review has been undertaken and staffing and operational changes have been put in place to correct this issue. Council takes food safety and public health seriously and wishes to ensure a more timely response from 2020/2021 onwards."
"Food Safety","Service cost","Cost of food safety service per premises",$309.80701754386,$557.393440,$502.095791,6801.00%,"An increase in cost per food safety service is reflective of more accurate reporting this financial year. An audit of registered food premises resulted in the removal of many Streatrader business registrations no longer current on Council's system. This has seen the number of food premises registered decrease from 270 to 228."
"Food Safety","Health and Safety","Percentage of critical and major non-compliance outcome notifications followed up by council",114.29%,84.14%,91.91%,2030.00%,"There were 14 critical or major non-compliance outcome notifications issued in 2019/2020 and 16 actioned. Two of these are a result of follow ups from the 2018 calendar year. Council places high importance on ensuring critical and major non-compliance issues are responded to."
"Governance","Transparency","Council decisions made at meetings closed to the public",33.82%,11.21%,9.84%,5449.00%,"This variance is largely due to a decrease in the number of Council Meeting resolutions presented in 2019/2020 (136 in 2019/2020 against 169 in 2018/2019)  The total number of decision made in closed meetings increased in this year, due to an increase in contracts for works being presented to Council, in 2018/2019 the majority of capital works were carried out in-house (26 contracts in 2019/2020 against 6 contracts in 2018/2019). 50% of these decisions has the confidentiality of the decision and/or report lifted. Items included in the majority of decisions were commercial in-confidence procurement, or sale/lease of land. Council continues to improve its processes in relation to decision making and transparency."
"Governance","Consultation and Engagement","Community satisfaction with community consultation and engagement",56 /100,54.473684 /100,56.310127 /100,1429.00%,"Council has worked to improve community consultation and processes around engagement which has been reflected by a 14% increase in the 2020 community satisfaction survey result. While the improvement is encouraging, Council is continuing its commitment to listening to, and addressing, community concerns."
"Governance","Attendance","Councillor attendance at council meetings",92.86%,93.47%,92.01%,-280.00%,"Councillor attendance at Council meetings remains consistently high, reflecting Councillor's commitment to active participation in decision making."
"Governance","Service cost","Cost of elected representation",$34079.8571428571,$42533.301840,$49089.267619,-1516.00%,"The direct cost of delivering Council's Governance service per councillor has decreased by 15% this reporting period. This is due to less costs associated with Councillor travel and attendances due to COVID-19 restrictions, and the inclusion of CEO recruitment costs last financial year. "
"Governance","Satisfaction","Community satisfaction with council decisions",57 /100,53.157895 /100,55.135443 /100,2391.00%,"Council has placed a strong focus on consulting the community in regard to decisions made in their best interests, which has seen a 23% rise in this indicator from 2018/2019. While the improvement is encouraging, Council is committed to continuous and ongoing improvement in this area."
"Libraries","Utilisation","Physical library collection usage",2.38969181721573 items,2.043410 items,3.563301 items,-2729.00%,"This indicator assesses the degree to which Council's physical Library items were accessed. The COVD-19 event meant that there was a trend away from physical library access towards electronic access, due largely to library closures required by Stage Three restrictions."
"Libraries","Resource currency","Proportion of library resources less than 5 years old",54.05%,56.90%,65.34%,-69.00%,"This result remains within the expected range. The purchasing of book stock is managed under a service agreement with City of Ballarat, who ensures a modern and relevant library collection. Council believes this percentage of new stock reflects an appropriate level of service to meet community expectations and demand. Council has increased digital stock, including e-audio, e-magazines and e-books to meet demand in this area."
"Libraries","Participation","Active library borrowers in municipality",11.75%,14.93%,14.88%,-1357.00%,"A slight decrease in active members is evident for the 2019/2020 financial year. Council is currently undertaking a review of its Library services with the intention of assessing how the Library can better service the changing needs of our community."
"Libraries","Service cost","Cost of library service per population",$25.7221612494724,$38.778305,$32.095855,,"A slight decrease in the cost of the Library service is attributed to improvements in resourcing and operational cost savings at the facility."
"Maternal and Child Health","Service standard","Infant enrolments in the MCH service",100.00%,100.36%,100.81%,-87.00%,"Indicators show a 100% enrolment in Council's maternal & child health program, which suggests excellent community appreciation and engagement with this service."
"Maternal and Child Health","Service cost","Cost of the MCH service",$70.4260438782732,$91.722829,$81.814586,-772.00%,"A slight decrease in the cost of the MCH service is attributed to more accurate reporting this period."
"Maternal and Child Health","Participation","Participation in the MCH service",81.45%,82.41%,78.05%,237.00%,"Participation levels have slightly increased on last reporting period, with Council continuing to review engagement practices within the maternal and child health service to increase participation rates."
"Maternal and Child Health","Participation","Participation in the MCH service by Aboriginal children",80.00%,88.36%,82.00%,-545.00%,"Council has 15 Aboriginal children enrolled in the maternal and child health service with 3 children having not attended in the last 12 months. Such low numbers creates sensitivity when reporting in percentages. Attendance in the program continues to be strong."
"Maternal and Child Health","Satisfaction","Participation in 4-week Key Age and Stage visit",102.06%,98.85%,97.03%,,"This indicator shows the percentage of infants enrolled in the MCH service who participated in a 4 week Key Age and Stage visit. This percentage is over 100% due to the timing difference that can occur between birth notices being received and the home visit being completed across reporting periods."
"Roads","Satisfaction","Sealed local road requests per 100km of sealed local roads",6.23188405797101 requests,37.334441 requests,53.925778 requests,-4194.00%,"Council have seen significantly less sealed road requests compared to 2018/19. Increased expenditure on road renewal this financial year has impacted this indicator.  Council are aware that the condition of roads remain a concern by the community. This is again recognised in Council's 2020/21 budget which includes a significant emphasis on capital works and road renewal."
"Roads","Condition","Sealed local roads maintained to condition standards",100.00%,96.91%,96.43%,59.00%,"Council has had no roads fall below the renewal intervention level this year. A proactive approach by our roads team sees maintenance conducted regularly and pre-emptively, to ensure sealed roads remain at condition standard. "
"Roads","Service cost","Cost of sealed local road reconstruction per square metre",$51.6173118236792,$73.845259,$97.162232,-2873.00%,"Council is continually reviewing the process around road reconstruction in order to provide highest quality at the most effective rate. A decrease in costs this reporting period put us back in line with last year's state average for cost per square metre."
"Roads","Service cost","Cost of sealed local road resealing per square metre",$5.64710565222336,$5.100694,$13.451249,6100.00%,"Council maintains a strong focus on asset renewal, including local sealed roads. The cost of resealing per square metre is well within the expected range, however has increased slightly this year due to higher contract rates. "
"Roads","Satisfaction","Community satisfaction with sealed local roads",56 /100,51.315789 /100,56.212658 /100,1200.00%,"This result reflects an improvement in community satisfaction with Council's local roads compared to recent years. It is envisaged that the ongoing investment in road renewal outlined in Council's budget 2020/2021 will continue to improve community satisfaction in the longer term."
"Statutory Planning","Timeliness","Time taken to decide planning applications",33 days,52.289474 days,65.411392 days,-4211.00%,"Process and system improvements have contributed to decreasing decision times on planning applications. Council have achieved a significant improvement of 42% on 2018/2019."
"Statutory Planning","Service standard","Planning applications decided within required time frames",75.00%,76.39%,73.97%,2500.00%,"Process and system improvements have seen an increase the percentage of decisions made within legislated timeframes. Council have achieved a significant improvement from last year. Council continues to actively work toward a greater reduction in processing times."
"Statutory Planning","Service cost","Cost of statutory planning service per planning application",$2056.05813953488,$2603.581744,$2645.653862,-3093.00%,"Resourcing efficiencies and process improvements have seen Council reduce the cost per planning application by 30%."
"Statutory Planning","Decision making","Council planning decisions upheld at VCAT",0.00%,26.39%,50.61%,,"Council have had no VCAT decisions in relation to planning applications in this reporting period."
"Waste Collection","Satisfaction","Kerbside bin collection requests per 1,000 households",70.1570680628272 requests,70.413408 requests,119.914717 requests,2079.00%,"Ageing bin stock (higher number of damaged bins) and a greater number of missed bins are the main factors causing an increase in community requests related to kerbside bin collection. Council continues to work closely with waste and recycling contractors to monitor services and continuously improve practices and systems where practicable."
"Waste Collection","Service standard","Kerbside collection bins missed per 10,000 households",4.46165901213292 bins,3.223409 bins,5.032448 bins,810.00%,"This increase in last year's collection bins missed may be due to an increased turnover of waste truck drivers, and subsequent knowledge of routes. Council continues to work closely with waste and recycling contractors to monitor services and continuously improve practices and systems where practicable."
"Waste Collection","Service cost","Cost of kerbside garbage bin collection service per bin",$152.796219728293,$121.497779,$112.028338,540.00%,"Council is committed to lowering the cost of the bin collection service, and is currently assessing options in relation to kerbside waste collection contractors, as well as looking for opportunities for efficiencies in service delivery."
"Waste Collection","Service cost","Cost of kerbside recyclables collection service per bin",$76.8681135225376,$76.486913,$65.171527,-35.00%,"The cost of the kerbside recyclable bin collections remains steady from last reporting period, but is dependent upon changes/fluctuations within the recycling industry, specifically cost of processing."
"Waste Collection","Waste diversion","Kerbside collection waste diverted from landfill",25.19%,34.07%,44.13%,-292.00%,"This result is consistent with previous years. Council is working with contractors, neighbouring Councils and the waste and resource recovery group to establish opportunities for reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill."
"Financial Performance","Expenditure level","Expenses per property assessment",$4206.73344462994,$3889.111925,$3402.808277,-244.00%,"There has been a slight decrease in this measure based on organisational efficiencies reducing operating expenses. Further savings have been factored into the budget for 2021. It is also anticipated that there will be a small growth in urban residential assessments during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 periods without a growth in operating expenditure."
"Financial Performance","Revenue level","Average rate per property assessment",$2076.65553700612,$1680.548565,$1774.715687,,"Council's average rate per assessment is slightly above the expected range for this indicator. This is due to historically higher rating by Council. Effort is being made to deliver organisational efficiencies and cost savings as a future dividend to ratepayers."
"Financial Performance","Working capital","Current assets as a percentage of current liabilities",396.18%,362.57%,291.35%,-605.00%,"The result for 2019 included an additional $1 million in Fire Services Levy collected but not remitted to the State Revenue Office at 30 June 2019. The budget for 2021 includes a transfer from reserves of $2.673 million to fund capital works."
"Financial Performance","Unrestricted cash","Unrestricted cash as a percentage of current liabilities",172.49%,128.38%,88.99%,-1235.00%,"The variance in 2019 was expected as Council used unrestricted cash to complete major works at the Ararat Town Hall. Further unrestricted cash will be used to fund capital works in 2021."
"Financial Performance","Loans and borrowings","Loans and borrowings as a percentage of rates",16.15%,6.62%,15.03%,-917.00%,"The result for 2019 included a new loan of $1 million and 2022 includes the payment of another loan of $2 million."
"Financial Performance","Loans and borrowings","Loans and borrowings repayments as a percentage of rates",1.41%,4.10%,4.73%,8013.00%,"The result for 2019/2020 reflects an increase in loan repayments due to the $1 million loan taken up to complete the Ararat Town Hall development. This represents a result at the lower end of the expected range. The forecast result for 2022 includes a payout of a $2 million loan"
"Financial Performance","Indebtedness","Non-current liabilities as a percentage of own source revenue",15.44%,14.55%,21.38%,-644.00%,"The result for 2019/2020 includes a new loan of $1 million taken up to complete the Ararat Town Hall project. The forecast result for 2021 is significantly lower as a $2 million loan is reclassified as a current liability and is due to be paid out in 2022."
"Financial Performance","Asset renewal and upgrade","Asset renewal and asset upgrade as a percentage of depreciation",118.09%,109.73%,115.25%,,"This result represents a significant increase in capital works expenditure in 2019/2020, targeted at improving Council's performance in renewal of rural road assets. This represents performance at the higher end of the expected range. The budget for 2021 includes a 30% increase in capital expenditure on roads."
"Financial Performance","Adjusted underlying result","Adjusted underlying surplus (or deficit) as a percentage of underlying revenue",-4.12%,-0.94%,-0.05%,52054.00%,"Council received a $1.5 Million non-recurrent grant for Natural Disaster in 2019. In 2020 Council has brought forward an extra $2 million in Roads to Recovery funding to complete capital works In 2021 Council is expecting a surplus of $4.661 million which is mainly due to a reduction in expenses."
"Financial Performance","Rates concentration","Rates as a percentage of adjusted underlying revenue",61.17%,52.55%,61.87%,774.00%,"The budget for 2021 includes bringing forward an extra $2 million in Roads to Recovery Funding. This has resulted in a lower ratio in 2020 and a higher ratio in 2022."
"Financial Performance","Rates effort","Rates as a percentage of property values in municipality",0.62%,0.53%,0.41%,-18.00%,"The 2018 revaluation of all properties has resulted in a 12.04% variance in 2019. The result for 2021 has been influenced by a one percent rate reduction in 2021 and significant increases in rural property valuations in the 2020 General Revaluation."
"Sustainable Capacity","Population","Expenses per head of municipal population",$2552.80709159983,$3167.835631,$2047.982523,-25.00%,"There has been a slight decrease in this measure based on organisational efficiencies reducing operating expenses."
"Sustainable Capacity","Population","Infrastructure per head of municipal population",$17841.1988180667,$25372.867045,$15070.916861,12.00%,
"Sustainable Capacity","Population","Population density per length of road",4.88655115511551 people,10.030028 people,111.870511 people,42.00%,
"Sustainable Capacity","Own source revenue","Own-source revenue per head of municipal population",$1649.13465597298,$1936.443481,$1488.383509,174.00%,
"Sustainable Capacity","Recurrent grants","Recurrent grants per head of municipal population",$723.765301815112,$982.603288,$453.447757,308.00%,
"Sustainable Capacity","Disadvantage","Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage of the municipality",1 decile,3.947368 decile,5.531646 decile,0.00%,"The index of relative socio-economic disadvantage has changed from 2 to 1 since the last census."
"Sustainable Capacity","Staff turnover","Percentage of workforce turnover",14.69%,14.24%,12.52%,,"Organisational changes and staff retirements have resulted in an increase in staff churn during 2019/2020."