What’s the best way forward for councils when they are expected to do more with less? With pressure to drive efficiencies and economies, often with constrained income levels, councils need to be creative about how to simultaneously achieve savings and improved service levels. State government policies across Australia have been focusing on council amalgamations, however two sets of councils in North West Tasmania have been able to demonstrate efficiencies and increased strategic capacity through resource sharing.
The councils of Kentish, Latrobe, Waratah-Wynyard, and Circular Head in Tasmania engaged the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government and the University of Technology Sydney Centre for Local Government (UTS:CLG) to review their resource sharing arrangements. The review considered governance and decision-making arrangements, the current State Government reform agenda, strategic capacity of the councils and a financial analysis of savings from resource sharing arrangements.
As part of their resource sharing, the four councils have been able to achieve tangible and ongoing savings which are increasing annually; with Kentish and Latrobe Councils saving over $750,000 and Circular Head and Waratah-Wynyard Councils saving close to $1million last year. Other achievements include standardised policies, frameworks and planning; cross collaboration across the councils; stronger career paths and improved service quality.
The work the four councils have done shows the possibilities and opportunities resource sharing can provide and create. The councils have been able to demonstrate efficiencies of scope and scale and increased strategic capacity from resource sharing, thus creating leaner organisations, better service levels and lower rates, all the while achieving savings and retaining local decision making.
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