MINUTES of Council Ordinary Meeting

19 November 2019

Held in the Council Chambers, Administration Building

45 Roderick Street, Ipswich

The meeting commenced at 9.00 am

Pursuant to section 8.4.5 of Council’s Meeting Procedures Policy, the Interim Administrator invited the Interim Management Committee being Jan Taylor, Simone Webbe, Robert Jones, Stan Gallo and Steve Greenwood to address the Council on any matters before it.

The Interim Administrator advised that he is bound to declare Conflict of Interests and potential Conflict of Interests and that the members of the Interim Management Committee are not legally bound, however in accordance with the Interim Management Committee Charter they will also declare Conflict of Interests and potential Conflict of Interests.

ATTENDANCE AT COMMENCEMENT	Greg Chemello (Interim Administrator) INTERIM MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Jan Taylor, Simone Webbe, Robert Jones, Stan Gallo and Steve Greenwood
WELCOME TO COUNTRY OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY	Ipswich City Council respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners as custodians of the land upon which we meet. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, as the keepers of the traditions, cultures and stories of a proud people.
OPENING PRAYER	Greg Chemello (Interim Administrator) Let us in silence pray or reflect upon our responsibilities to the people of Ipswich. We meet today to serve our community, to use our resources wisely and well, to represent all members of our community fairly and to make decisions that promote the common good.
APOLOGIES AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE	Nil

Confirmation of Minutes

Confirmation of Minutes of Ordinary Meeting

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 28 October 2019 be confirmed. The motion was put and carried.

Declarations of Interest in matters on the agenda

DECLARATIONS	The Interim Administrator declared interests in the following matters:
GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
CONFLICT OF INTEREST ITEM 4	Item 4 titled Proposed Amendment to Delegation – Exercise the Powers of Council under the Economic Development Act 2012. The nature of the perceived interest is that he was formerly the General Manager of Economic Development Queensland which is the agency responsible for the Priority Development Area for Ripley. As there is no personal or financial benefit to the Interim Administrator and the nature of the report being an amendment necessary because of a recent legislative amendment, he would participate in the meeting in relation to the matter.

Reception and Consideration of Committee Reports

Economic Development Committee

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: That the Economic Development Committee Report No. 2019(11) of 12 November 2019 be received and adopted.

DISCUSSION

In relation to Item 2 titled City of Ipswich Business Visit to Japan and Taiwan, the Interim Administrator reiterated the comments he made at committee, both in November and April 2019, in relation to the Sister City relationships and the visit to Nerima, Tokyo, Nantou, Hsinchu and Taipei. He stated that as Interim Administrator he does not feel it is his role to adversely impact on long term Sister City relationships or create any new Sister City relationships. He further stated that he felt it was a matter for elected representation to determine and therefore in his view it is important that Ipswich honours its relationship with Nerima and attends the milestone 25 year anniversary of the Sister City relationship. The motion was put and carried.

Growth and Infrastructure Committee	The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: That the Growth and Infrastructure Committee Report No. 2019(11) of 12 November 2019 be received and adopted.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST ITEM 4	The Interim Administrator informed the meeting that he has, or could reasonably be taken to have a perceived conflict of interest in Item 4 titled Proposed Amendment to Delegation – Exercise the Powers of Council under the Economic Development Act 2012. The nature of the perceived interest is that he was formerly the General Manager of Economic Development Queensland. The Interim Administrator confirmed that, as there is no personal or financial benefit to the Interim Administrator and the nature of the report being an amendment necessary because of a recent legislative amendment, he would participate in the meeting in relation to the matter.
DISCUSSION	The Interim Administrator commented on the following Items: Item 1 titled Long Term Infrastructure Strategy, Framework and Asset Management Plans in that a significant amount of work went into the long term infrastructure planning and the asset planning framework for council and that at committee he had thanked officers for their role in the preparation of the framework. The Interim Administrator thanked officers again for their work stating that it was an excellent basis for long term infrastructure planning linked to Council’s long term financial plan. Item 2 titled City of Ipswich Car Parking Pricing Strategy – in that Council will now undertake meaningful public engagement program to determine the communities’ views in relation to the draft strategy. The Interim Administrator stated that a lot of technical analysis went into the car parking strategy and one of the most regular comments from the public is car parking, particularly in the Ipswich central area. Item 8 titled Review of Several School Zones Across the City - The Interim Administrator stated that it is important that he reiterates the process that was undertaken at committee where officers presented a very good technical report applying the State Government’s rules and guidelines on whether the school zones should be declared outside two particular schools and continue in a third. He stated that the committee’s formal recommendation  is different to the officers’ recommendation in two cases and that it was the appropriate process Council needed to go through and that the officers did the appropriate technical report. The Interim Administrator stated that in deciding this matter he took on board the broader community and school issues and queried the impact of installing school zones on traffic flow, volumes and congestion and on balancing all that out determined that Council should introduce school zones in the two areas identified. He thanked the officers for the report and stated the he would not have suggested for a minute that they should have changed their technical recommendation. The motion was put and carried.

Communities Committee

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: That the Communities Committee Report No. 2019(11) of 12 November 2019 be received and adopted. The motion was put and carried.

Environment Committee

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: That the Environment Committee Report No. 2019(11) of 12 November 2019 be received and adopted. The motion was put and carried.

Governance Committee

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: That the Governance Committee Report No. 2019(11) of 12 November 2019 be received and adopted.

DISCUSSION

The Interim Administrator commented on the following Items: Items 1, 2 and 3 in relation to the Review of Policies with the repeal of a number of old policies and the replacement with a lesser number of contemporary policies. He stated that Council commenced this reform 12 months ago and it is now coming to fruition. He thanked all staff involved in the review of these policies. Item 9 titled Sale of Land for Overdue Rates and Charges – the Interim Administrator acknowledged that this is a difficult issue and acknowledged that in the confidential papers attached to the officer’s report there was significant background information on the amount of communication and engagement that had occurred with the owners of the properties and that this process really is a last resort. He thanked officers for their diligence in reporting the details of the interactions with owners and the intent to have the rates paid without resorting to the sale of land but that this was now the action Council needed to take. The motion was put and carried.

Officers’ Reports

Queensland Audit Office Final Managment Reports 2018-2019

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: A.           That the 2018-2019 final management report for Ipswich City Council as detailed in Attachment 1 of the report by the Principal Financial Accountant dated 5 November 2019 be received and noted. B.           That the 2018-2019 final management report for Ipswich City Properties Pty Ltd as detailed in Attachment 2 of the report by the Principal Financial Accountant dated 5 November 2019 be received and noted. C.           That the 2018-2019 final management report for Ipswich City Enterprises Pty Ltd and Ipswich City Enterprises Investments Pty Ltd as detailed in Attachment 3 of the report by the Principal Financial Accountant dated 5 November 2019 be received and noted. D.           That the 2018-2019 final management report for Ipswich City Developments Pty Ltd as detailed in Attachment 4 of the report by the Principal Financial Accountant dated 5 November 2019 be received and noted.

DISCUSSION

The Interim Administrator noted the Queensland Audit Office reports in relation to the companies owned by Council relating to developments and that the reports which are public really echo the fact that these companies have effectively closed down. He thanked staff for their work, particularly Ipswich City Properties in having the companies at a point where they may not be legally closed yet but were operationally closed by 30 June this year. The motion was put and carried.

Contract for Telecommunication Services

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: A.           That Council (Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council), in accordance with section 234 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 (exception for LGA arrangement), approve for the provision of Telecommunication Services with Telstra Corporate Limited via Local Buy Contract NPN 1.18.  B.           That Council (Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council) enter into a contract for the provision of Telecommunication Services via Local Buy contract NPN 1.18 with Telstra Corporate Limited for a period 3 years. C.           That the Chief Executive Officer be authorised to negotiate and finalise the terms of the contract and to do any other acts necessary to implement Council’s decision in accordance with section 13(3) of the Local Government Act 2009.

DISCUSSION

The Interim Administrator outlined that it was agreed at the Governance Committee that this report would be brought to Council. He stated that after reading the report and additional documentation that was presented to Council in terms of looking at options and implications, that he is now comfortable with the recommendation. The motion was put and carried.

Report - Audit and Risk Management Committee No. 2019(05) of 6 November 2019

The Interim Administrator of the Ipswich City Council resolves: A.           That the report of the Audit and Risk Management Committee No. 2019(05) of 6 November 2019, be received and the recommendations contained therein, be adopted. B.           That the 2020 planned agenda for the Audit and Risk Management Committee be adopted. C.           That Council endorse the request for quotation process for the engagement of a qualified valuer for five (5) years to perform asset revaluation services as outlined in the report by the Principal Financial Accountant dated 30 October 2019. D.           That the Audit and Risk Management Committee Charter as detailed in Attachment 2 (Attachment 1.6.2) of the Officer’s Report, be adopted. E.           That the proposed Internal Audit Charter as detailed in Attachment 2 (Attachment 1.9.2) of the Officer’s Report, be adopted.

DISCUSSION

The Interim Administrator invited comments from the Interim Management Committee: Robert Jones stated that the focus of the Audit and Risk Management Committee is to make sure that it has the appropriate systems, processes and controls in place that underlie the strategic risks of the organisation. He stated that this is the focus going forward and that he thinks council is in good shape for the next year. The Interim Administrator thanked Robert Jones and Stan Gallo for their work with the Audit and Risk Management Committee. He stated that he has spent some time talking to other councils in South East Queensland on a number of matters over the last few months including Audit and Risk Committee roles and charters. He commented that thanks to the advice and assistance of Rob and Stan that he feels Ipswich is heading in the direction to be leading edge in this area given the issues across South East Queensland. The motion was put and carried.

MEETING CLOSED

The meeting closed at 9.14 am.