FinPro Member Update May 2020 (Edition 1)
May 31, 2020
Presidents Message
Good afternoon Members,
I just wanted to say a massive thank you!!!! You continue to complete pivotal roles for our community under increasing stress. You are
embracing working from home, ensuring the Council Budgets continue to be developed, that small business invoices are processed, ratepayer hardship applications are assessed, employees paid on time, all while you have personal and family circumstances to deal with.
The FinPro Executive has been most disappointed by media coverage over the last couple of days, not just calling on 0.0% rate increases but suggesting that Councils and Council Officers are not doing enough to support of communities – this is simply untrue!!
Please continue to fight the good fight! And delivering for our communities.
We know that many of you will be getting pressure to consider a 0.0% rate rise and although ultimately this is a decision for individual Councils, we are strong in our belief that 0.0% rate rises are not the best way for Councils to respond to COVID-19, especially given the
cumulative impact and therefore the impact this will have on Councils long term financial sustainability. Targeted financial relief, and direct investment will provide greater support to the parts of our community that require it the most.
Our Executive met this week and discussed a number of items, in particular are our regular Professional Days and Annual Conference. Our PD day planned for late May will be delivered differently, in an online manner with more information available next week but will include an update on the LG Act, year-end audit and an economy post COVID outlook. Our Annual Conference is planned for 21-23 October at RACV
Cape Schanck, we are still committed to holding the conference then. We will however, review in late June taking into account health authorities and government advice and will advise members of any changes, but for now make sure your calendar is booked to attend! It will be great to see you in person, not on ZOOM.
Bradley
Bradley Thomas – FinPro President
Director Community and Corporate Services – Hepburn Shire
Membership News
We welcome the following members back:
- Stephen Byrns as Senior Accountant at Towong Shire Council.
We congratulate the following members on their new roles:
- Mark McMillan has been appointed to the role of Manager Financial Services at Mildura Rural City Council
- Romi Fernando has been appointed to the role of Financial Accountant at Cardinia Shire.
- Ange Marshall has been appointed to the role of Manager Finance and Corporate Performance at the City of Kingston.
If you have any news to share with the FinPro membership please forward this to Gab.
FinPro Technical Committee News / Updates
Technical updates from the sector
General Information
The LGV website provides a host of information: LGV – COVID19 Information
Local Government Act 2020 – Update
The Local Government Act 2020 has now received Royal Assent and information is available at www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au. This website is the centralised point of information. The website will have links to:
- Important dates;
- Guidance material; and
- Engagement opportunities.
FinPro distributed an update of the Implementation of the Local Government Act 2020 last week – a copy is available on the FinPro Website
The information that was distributed by LGV to councils was as follows:
BULLETIN: 33/2020
Planning Matters and Conduct of Council Meetings
The COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act 2020, passed by Victorian Parliament on 23 April 2020, includes changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the Local Government Act 2020 which affects council responsibilities for planning matters and the
conduct of council meetings.
From a planning perspective, these changes are intended to ensure the Victorian planning process can maintain its usual pace, despite the closure of many council offices and current physical distancing restrictions on meetings and hearings.
Planning documents that previously required to be physically available to view at council offices are now only required to be available for online inspection. This includes copies of planning scheme amendments and submissions, and planning permit applications and objections.
In relation to council meetings, the Local Government Act 2020 will enable councils to hold virtual meetings rather than councillors having to attend in person. The new Part 12 amendments to the Local Government Act 2020 allows councillors and members of delegated committees, special committees, and governing bodies of regional libraries, to participate in meetings remotely by electronic means of communication. The change is effective from 1 May 2020 and ends on 1 November 2020.
Further guidance is being developed to assist councils in implementing the new virtual meeting requirements and will be available shortly.
This temporary change will enable councils to make decisions on important matters that cannot, or had not, been delegated to officers, this may include adopting a budget or a planning scheme amendment.
Colin Morrison
Acting Executive Director, Local Government Victoria
BULLETIN: 33/2020
Ministerial good Practice Guidelines MGPG-1: Virtual Meetings
Bulletin 33/2020 detailed that the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 included changes to the Local Government Act 2020 to enable councils to meet virtually.
A Ministerial Good Practice Guideline MGPG-1: Virtual Meetings, has been approved by the Minister for Local Government and is available on the Local Government Victoria website at: https://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/our-programs/local-government-act-2020
The change enables councils to meet virtually from 1 May to 1 November 2020.
Colin Morrison
Acting Executive Director, Local Government Victoria
Update from VAGO
VAGO released the following report today in relation to the Managing Development Contributions.
Budget and Year-end Survey
Last week we asked all councils to complete a survey around Budget and year-end.
Our Update on Friday 24 April provided the survey responses. Further to that information we are able to provide some answers to the questions:
FinPro Resource Library
FinPro would like to share information and resources that make life ‘easier’ for Finance Staff. As such, the following information is provided as a resource to FinPro members.
- COVID-19 Financial Hardship Policy – Example from Moreland CC March 2020
- Flexible Work Arrangement Guidelines – updated March 2020 (Maribyrnong CC)
- Procedure – Office Ergonomics – 2018 – (Maribyrnong City Council)
- COVID 19 – Council Support Options (Port Phillip City Council) March 2020 and also COVID 19 – Council Support Options (attachment) Port Phillip City Council) March 2020
- COVID-19 Financial Hardship Guidelines – DRAFT – City of Greater Bendigo March 2020
- Info to Contractor re COVID-19 – Indigo Shire – March 2020
- Zoom User Guide – Prepared by the City of Great Bendigo March 2020
Thank-you to all who have shared their documents. If you have any other documents to share please send them through to gab.
FinPro Professional Development Committee News / Update
Planned May 29 2020 Professional Development Day – (online)
Our Executive have started discussions on how to run a one-day PD on Friday 29 May – what this would look like and what topics would be relevant to include.
With the vast majority of our members now working from home, running a ‘day seminar’, even with breaks, is not ideal. We have therefore decided to instead isolate the 4 major topics members are keen to hear about and then run sessions over a number of weeks to cover these off. The sessions will be run online and run for about 45 – 60 minutes each, depending on the topic. The key issues we believe need to be covered are:
- Update and Implementation of the Local Government Act 2020
- General update from LGV
- Update and focus from VAGO for the year end audit process
- Economic Update / Discussion
Others could be:
- Business continuity plans – looking forward
- Managing teams remotely
If you have any thoughts on this please feed them through to either Binda Gokhale, Chairperson of the FinPro PD Committee or Gab.
FinPro Yammer Forum
Never has it been more important than now to reach out to other FinPro Members and be a part of the FinPro Yammer Forum. This online discussion platform gives an opportunity for members to raise topics for discussion, ask questions, seek out policies and also find out what is going on in the sector.
If you are not already a member of the forum, please contact FinPro and we can join you up – email gab at [email protected]
If you are a member, we encourage you to get online and seek the assistance of your fellow LG Finance Peers.
We are also interested in looking at other formats for an alternative to Yammer for our online FinPro Forum – do you have any other methods you utilize that you would recommend instead of yammer? If so, please let Gab know.
Messages from our Supporters and Partners
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Job Vacancies
FinPro is happy to place advertisements on our website for any finance related positions our members councils are advertising. Please send the following details through to Gab Gordon
- Job Title
- Website link
- Dot points giving main details of the position eg. salary or band and main details
- Contact person for any questions
- Closing Date
Regional Finance Groups
Whilst FinPro offers training and networking opportunities for all finance professionals working in the Victorian Local Government sector, our regional groups also provide additional opportunities for training and networking. These are more informal sessions which really benefit from input and support from the Council’s in each area. Please get in touch if you think there are issues or opportunities which can be brought up at these groups.
There are 6 regional groups in Victoria, which together, cover all of the state. They are:
- Central Victoria – Contact: Nathan Morsillo, Greater Bendigo City Council
- South West Victoria – Contacts: John Brockway (Surf Coast Shire) and Belinda Johnson (Southern Grampians Shire)
- South East Victoria – Contact: Kim Jaensch, Frankston City Council
- Metropolitan – Contact: Tony Rocca, Maroondah City Council
- Western Metropolitan – Contact: Wei Chen, Wyndham City Council
- Northern Metropolitan – Contact: Tania O’Reilly, Banyule City Council
Each of these groups meets at least once per year as well as at the commencement of the FinPro Annual Conference, which this year, will be held at RACV Cape Schanck on Wednesday 21 October 2020.
FinPro Executive Members
President – Bradley Thomas (Hepburn Shire Council)
Executive Officer – Gab Gordon
Vice-President: Chair Technical Committee – Tony Rocca (Maroondah City Council)
Technical Committee members:
-
- Danny Wain (Monash City Council)
- Kristy Stephens (Bass Coast Shire)
- Liz Rowland (Moreland City Council)
- Mark Montague (Yarra City Council)
- Nathan Morsillo (Greater Bendigo City Council)
- Vishantri Perera (Yarra Ranges Shire Council)
Vice-President: Chair Professional Development committee – Binda Gokhale (Wyndham CC)
Professional Development Committee members:
-
- Belinda Johnson (Southern Grampians Shire)
- Charles Nganga (Casey City Council)
- John Brockway (Surf Coast Shire) – also leads the FinPro Mentoring Program
- Kim Jaensch (Frankston City Council) – also leads the FinPro Leadership Program
Thank-you to our 2019 Conference sponsors:
Platinum Sponsors – Commonwealth Bank
Gold Sponsors – LG Solutions
EFTSure
Silver Sponsors – BankWest
CT Management
Curve Securities
Genesis Accounting
Inlogik Pty Ltd
IT Vision
Laminar Capital
MAGIQ Software
Midstate CreditCollect
National Australia Bank
Recoveries & Reconstruction
TechnologyOne
Nelnet International
Westpac
Sector Partners: VAGO
LGV
Program Partner: Vision Super
Conference App Sponsor: Imperium Markets
To Contact FinPro:
Gabrielle Gordon
Executive Officer – FinPro
E: [email protected]
M: 0400 114 015
W: www.finpro.org.au
To get a copy of this article, click here.