October Council Meeting summary

Council endorses changes to kerbside waste and recycling services 

Council has endorsed several changes to City of Ballarat kerbside waste and recycling services.  

These changes include:  

• The introduction of a weekly food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection.  
• Household waste collection frequency to change from weekly to fortnightly.
• The introduction of a monthly residential glass bin collection.

The collection of comingled recycling will continue on a fortnightly basis.  

The City of Ballarat will implement the FOGO and household waste service changes at a date to be determined. The exact timing will be dependent on a range of factors, including the City of Ballarat being able to engage a suitable FOGO processor in the region as well as procuring bins and caddies, and the development and implementation of a comprehensive community education campaign.  Meanwhile, council officers will assess the impact of the State Government’s Container Deposit Scheme due to commence on November 1, 2023, before implementing the kerbside glass collection service.  

The changes to kerbside waste and recycling services follow the introduction of new State Government policy, which require councils to transition to separate glass and FOGO collection services.  

The City of Ballarat has conducted several rounds of community engagement on the kerbside transition, which have garnered high levels of participation from residents.  

For more information about the kerbside transition, or to read the options paper, visit the ‘Sorting our waste’ page on the City of Ballarat website.

Council notes Annual Report 

Ballarat City Council has noted the Annual Report 2022/23 and acknowledged the achievements of City of Ballarat staff during this period. 

The Annual Report documents the City of Ballarat’s activities, highlights, challenges and performance throughout the 2022-2023 financial year. It also includes the City of Ballarat’s annual Financial Report and Performance Statement.  

The preparation of the Annual Report is a compliance requirement of the Local Government Act 2022 and the Local Government (Planning and Reporting) Regulations 2020 (Regulations).  

Highlights from the Annual Report 2022/23 include:  

• Continued investment in the future of Ballarat through a $144 million city-wide transformational capital works program. 
   
• An increased focus on community engagement, resulting in the kerbside transition engagement garnering the highest rates of participation in the organisation’s history.  
   
• Continued improvement to business-as-usual services, with a strong focus on strengthening customer service across the organisation. From developing a Customer Charter to trialling new methods to improve communication with customers, the City of Ballarat is actively seeking to improve these processes.  
   
• Strong progress on the organisational cultural improvement program, with key achievements including the implementation of a Workforce Plan and Gender Equity Action Plan.  
   
• The investment of over $1 million into community grants, with $277,926 allocated through the Community Impact Grant Program and $834,489 allocated through the Strategic Partnership Program. 
   
• Continued work on the Victorian Goldfields UNESCO World Heritage bid.  
   
• The formation of a peak tourism industry body, Tourism Midwest Victoria – a first of its kind partnership between local and state government and the tourism industry. 
   

Council endorses Customer Charter 

At the October Meeting Council endorsed the City of Ballarat’s first Customer Charter — a document outlining what residents can expect when interacting with the City of Ballarat.  

To support the implementation of the charter, Council officers have also developed Customer Response Standards. These standards will guide the actions of staff and enable monitoring of performance against the expectations outlined in the charter.  

A comprehensive internal reporting structure will be developed to measure the commitments made in the Customer Charter.  

The Customer Charter and subsequent Customer Response Standards were developed following an extensive consultation period involving both internal and external consultation. This included:  

• Reviewing comparable charters adopted by other councils.
• Internal consultation with a focus on customer-facing departments.
• Two public MySay surveys, which were also promoted through the Disability Advisory Committee, LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee, the Koorie Engagement Action Group and Intercultural Advisory Committee. The most recent of these surveys was completed in September.  
• Post-call surveys undertaken by the City of Ballarat’s Customer Service team, and hardcopy surveys at the Phoenix Customer Service Centre.  

The Customer Charter forms part of a broader focus on improving business-as-usual services and strengthening customer service across the City of Ballarat.

Council resolves to enter major patching and asphalt contract 

Council has resolved to enter a contract for the provision of major patching and asphalt resurfacing works to known defective areas throughout the City of Ballarat.  

The contract will allow a panel of approved contractors to provide road repair services, including line marking and traffic control, on behalf of the City of Ballarat. The panel arrangement will allow for competitive quotes between suppliers.  

The panel of contractors involved are:  

• Country Wide Asphalt Pty Ltd
• Bitu-Mill (Civil) Pty Ltd
• Centre State Asphalting Pty Ltd
• Boral Resources (VIC) Pty Ltd  

The contract term is for eight months with the provision of a one-year extension.  

Community Partnerships and Grants Report 

Council has received and noted the Annual Community Partnerships and Grants Report, which provides an overview of the City of Ballarat’s three grant programs for the 2022/23 financial year.  

The three grant programs include the Strategic Partnership Program, the Community Impact Grant Program, and the Tourism and Events Grant Program. 

Strategic Partnership Program 
The Strategic Partnership Program (SPP) provides funding to organisations or businesses to deliver initiatives that meet Council’s strategic objectives outlined in the Council Plan.

The SPP has been discontinued and replaced by the new City Partnership Program. Some existing partnerships under the SPP continued to be funded in 2022/23 resulting in their inclusion in this year's Community Partnerships and Grants Report.  

There were 15 Strategic Partnerships in place in 2022/23. Seven existing partnerships will continue through to next year, while eight partnerships have concluded. The total expenditure in the Strategic Partnership Program for 2022/23 was $834,489.50. 

Community Impact Grant Program  
The Community Impact Grant Program aims to support not-for-profit community groups to deliver projects, programs and events that provide a benefit to the community.

In 2022/23 the Community Impact Grant Program was run over two rounds with funding available up to $20,000 for each application in each round.

Across the two rounds, the program received 75 applications — an increase of three applications from the previous year. Forty-Seven applications were funded, with an approval rate of 66 percent, with 2021/22 reporting a 61 percent approval rate.

The total amount funded under the Community Impact Grant program for 2022/23 was $277,926.73.

Tourism Events Grant Program 
The Tourism Events Grant Program supports tourism events and activities that advance and encourage increased visitation, participation, and yield across the Ballarat Municipality. The program aimed to support events and activities that marketed the municipality as a tourism destination of choice.

In 2022/23 the Tourism Events Grant Program was available all year with assessment taking place each month and up to $20,000 available for each application.

Throughout the year a total of 23 applications were received — an increase of three applications from 2021/22.  

Fourteen applications were funded, with an approval rate of 61 percent. This represents another increase from 2021/22, which had a 50 percent approval rate.

The total amount funded under the Tourism Events Grant Program was $155,000.

For more information about the City of Ballarat’s grant program, including the Expressions of Interest phase currently open for the 2024/25 round of the City Partnerships program, visit the grants page on the City of Ballarat website.