During the 2018 Mayoral election campaign I made several commitments to advocate for action and am pleased to report the success of those commitments. Specifically, I am proud to have lead a chamber that has delivered additional transparency, increased the proportion of council money spent locally, decreased our city’s green house gas emissions, formed a collaboration with Flinders University to employ graduates, and increased staff accountability.

Below are some of the achievements of the current council of which I am most proud.

RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Although council rate income makes up just 4% of total taxes (and councils deliver 26% of government services), for many households rates represent a significant proportion of household expenditure. It is therefore essential that there are no unnecessary rate rises and that ratepayers money is spent wisely.

To combat excessive rate rises, under my leadership council administration have committed to delivering ongoing services every year for a rate increase of equal or less than CPI. This means that only new services will cause a rate rise above CPI. We are the ONLY council is SA to have made this commitment to ratepayers and through prudent financial management, rate rises have been lower during the term of this council than in the past two terms.

Additionally, our council provided targeted rate relief during the Covid-19 pandemic. Additional to rate waivers given to clubs and others renting council premises during 2020, in both the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years, businesses and residents who were negatively impacted by the pandemic were entitled to a 10% rate rebate on rates. Mitcham was the only council in SA to give a rebate, resulting in Business SA CEO, Martin Haese praising Mitcham as both innovative and forward thinking.

COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM

I am exceptionally proud of the Mitcham Community Renewables Program which is saving residents money and helping save the planet. I advocated for a free solar scheme at the last election and am overjoyed to see so many households taking part in the program which stabilises our community’s power supply at no cost to council.

Residents who missed out on the first bulk buy of solar panels and batteries can register now through ShineHub for a second bulk buy with no up-front cost options, and access to the exclusive Mitcham Virtual Power Plant, planned for 2023. Solutions for residents, such as multiunit dwellers, who cannot access a sunny roof space, along with solutions for businesses and other commercial entities, churches, clubs and community organisations, are part of the planned next steps.

FREE GREEN BINS & KITCHEN CADDIES

Council has approved the roll out in 2023 of FREE green organics bins to residents who don’t currently have them, and FREE kitchen caddies and compostable bin liners to ALL residents. This initiative will allow residents and businesses to dispose of their organic and green waste sustainably.

ACCELERATED TREE PLANTING PROGRAM

During this term of council, elected members voted to increase our yearly tree planting by 50%, from 1200 to 1800 per year. Additional trees help to cool our suburbs, increase the value of properties and increase the wellbeing of residents.

COMMUNITY CENTRE AT PASADENA

Council purchased the old Pasadena Sea Scout Hall to create a much needed community facility for residents of our western suburbs. The centre has been upgraded to meet safety requirements and a volunteer consultative group is being established to provide direction for this new community space.

BLACKWOOD LIBRARY & COMMUNITY CENTRE

After 40 years of waiting, the construction of a new library and community centre for Blackwood was finally approved by this council. The new hub is expected be the catalyst for economic growth in the precinct, with major upgrades of Young Street and the Waite Street Reserve also funded. The future development of the current library and nursery sites, and creation of eight new shops and a new pedestrian link adjacent to the new hub, are set to drive further private development. As businesses and the precinct start to thrive, new vibrancy will be brought to the area. This is exactly the type of involvement councils should be having - creating a catalyst to encourage change.

Our decision to build the long awaited Blackwood library and community centre will change the face of the Blackwood precinct. I believe it, along with our substantial investment into Lot 101 Young Street (the land behind the Drakes), where new shops and a huge pedestrian walkway will be built, will be the catalyst for the reinvigoration of the area. The newly renovated Mitcham Library and Brown Hill Creek reserve has added a new level of vibrancy to the Mitcham precinct and I am are sure that the Blackwood Hub project will be similarly impressive.

ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The declaration of a climate emergency in October 2019 was a turning point for council. This allowed the administration to rethink all of our business as usual services through a climate change lens. The outcome has been a dramatic change to the way we think about all of our assets, footpaths, roads, trees, storm water, power usage, transport and much more. We are planting more trees, using permeable footpaths and harvesting rainwater to water these trees (which, incidentally, encourages deep root growth, meaning less damage to our footpaths and kerbs). We’ve added recycled content to our road surfaces making them more flexible and less noisy. We’ve changed most of our lights to LED which is saving you thousands of dollars, were changing the vehicle fleet to 100% electric which saves money on fuel and we’ve installed several electric charging stations to encourage visitors to the city to recharge while they shop. However, the project which has the potential to provide substantial savings to every Mitcham resident is our community solar plan. Currently a panel of staff and experts is analysing the expressions of interest received from potential partners to provide solar panels, batteries and lower power prices, to residents, businesses, landowners and tenants, at no up front cost. This will be an Australian first and has the potential to reduce the energy consumption of the council area by up to 50%. We have been described by the state’s chief entrepreneur as the council of innovation.

LOCAL BUSINESS WEIGHTING

Council has added a local weighting to council procurement so that our local suppliers are now given an advantage through our tender processes. The outcome is that council now spends more money locally.

RECORDING OF COUNCIL MEETINGS

During the 2018 election campaign I advocated for the recording and live streaming of council meetings to increase transparency, and also inclusivity by providing access to people who are unable to attend in person due to parenting or caring commitments, disability or other circumstances. In this term, council has decided to voice record full council meetings and these recordings are available via the council website

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROGRAM

This partnership sees graduates fill temporary vacancies at council via 13 week internships. The arrangement allows talented young people to trial the local government sector and brings the expertise of university training into council.

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