Clarence Valley Council held its monthly Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday, 18 April 2023 at Maclean Council Chambers. Two Mayoral Minutes and one Notice of Motion were discussed and followed by seven of 21 items debated and the other 14 adopted by consent in a meeting which lasted two hours.
⬛️ Watch recording of April 2023 Clarence Valley Council Meeting here
⬛️ View the April meeting Agenda and Minutes
⬛️ Revisit the March 2023 CVC meeting
⬛️ 2023/24 Operational Plan now on exhibition
Investigation into town water supply filtration, construction of the Regional Aquatic Centre, and a record $208 million Capital Works program are among the highlights of the draft 2023/2024 Operational Plan, currently on public exhibition.
The Operational Plan sets out the projects and initiatives that Council will undertake in the next financial year to achieve the strategies in the Delivery Program 2022/2025 and community objectives in The Clarence 2032 - Community Strategic Plan.
Alongside the Operational Plan, public comment is also being sought on:
- Resourcing Strategy - incorporates Long Term Financial Plan (2023/2024 to 2032/2033), Workforce Management Strategy (2023-2027), Asset Management Strategy (2023/24 - 2032/33);
- Schedule of Fees and Charges.
Each of these documents are created under the NSW Office of Local Government's Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework (IP&R), which guides the way local government plans, documents and reports its future strategies.
⬛️ MAYORAL MINUTES: Disaster fund; hospital steering committee
Mayor Ian Tiley received unanimous support for two Mayoral Minutes put forward at the meeting.
The first called on Council to support the Local Government Association in its bid for a billion dollar disaster fund by making representations to multiple politicians including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"While local government appreciates the significant investment both federal and state governments have made in disaster funding in recent times, many disaster-declared regional councils including the Clarence Valley have small ratepayer bases and cannot afford to build roads and infrastructure that will be more resilient to future disaster events," Mayor Tiley said.
"Up front investment is needed to regional councils to build back better, and thereby saving all governments money in the long term."
The second Mayoral Minute referred to the proposed formation of the Maclean Hospital Redevelopment Select Committee.
While the Mayor indicated he intends to participate on the committee in his civic role, it would remain external and independent.
"Since becoming Mayor, I have had a number of informal discussions regarding the need for redevelopment of Maclean Hospital," Mayor Tiley said.
"It is proposed that a small number of professional people and health experts would commence to identify the nature of the desired development and consider appropriate strategies to realise the desired outcomes.
"This initiative would in no way impede the ongoing Grafton Hospital redevelopment endeavours which Council strongly supports."
⬛️ Trove funding announcement a win for Council
On 3 April, the Federal Government committed $33 million in funding over the next four years plus a $9.2 million cash injection Trove.
Trove is the National Library of Australia's expansive public digital archive used by many Australians including historians and researchers free of charge.
"We moved a motion last meeting to lobby to increase Federal funding for Trove and within three days the Federal Government announced a massive increase in funding," Cr Steve Pickering said. "It's a great outcome for anyone that uses Trove as a resource and congratulations to staff for making it happen so quickly."
Trove Collaborative Services (TCS) introduced a new pricing model in 2022 which raised serious concerns regarding the affordability and ongoing viability of participation in resource sharing for public libraries, with further Federal funding cuts due in July. Council voted on 28 March to endorse lobbying from the NSW Public Libraries Association calling for sustainable funding to ensure the continuation of free access.
Trove currently boasts a collection of more than 14 billion digitised records.
⬛️ Establishment of water supply advisory committee
A Bulk Raw Water Supply Agreement Advisory Committee will be formed as part of Clarence Valley Council's aims to reach an agreement with Coffs Harbour City Council.
The purpose of the committee is to consider the draft Bulk Water Supply Agreement inclusions and support a recommendation on the final agreement made to each Council for endorsement by July 2023.
Clarence Valley representatives on the committee will consist of Mayor Ian Tiley, Cr Steve Pickering, and two staff members with appropriate expertise and/or responsibility for water supply functions. Coffs Harbour City Council will be invited to nominate similar positions onto the committee.
A sunset clause indicates the intended dissolution of the committee by 30 June.
⬛️ Councillors vote to wait for flood modelling results
Clarence Valley Council declined a Notice of Motion calling for the rezoning of undeveloped floodplain lands in the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA).
Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy called for Council to prepare a planning proposal for submission to the Department of Planning an Environment, requesting that vacant land in the WYURA which does not already have development approval be rezoned from Residential (R1) to Conservation (C2), or a mix of Conservation (C2) and Rural (RU2).
"The (former) NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet ... said building with resilience in mind would avoid past mistakes, adding the days of developing on the floodplain in the state were over," Cr Clancy said.
While some councillors agreed in principle with the sentiment of the Notice of Motion, they raised issues such as heightened legal risk, a lack of precedent, and the pending release of relevant documents to inform decision-making.
"I would rather have seen this motion come forward after the updated (Clarence River) Flood Model and the NSW Floodplain Development Manual had been released," Cr Steve Pickering said. "These are two important documents which we need to review before making such a serious decision."
Cr Bill Day said he was wary about Clarence Valley Council pioneering such reforms.
"There is a lack of case law on back-zoning in NSW," Cr Day said. "The stakes are very high, and I'd be amazed if Council could avoid major legal challenges ... we're talking millions of dollars in compensation, enough to bankrupt a small regional council."
Cr Clancy's original motion was defeated 5-2.
A "cautious and responsible" foreshadowed motion from Cr Day sought to instead seek a commitment from the NSW Government to support and indemnify Clarence Valley Council in the event of litigation occurring should Council seek rezoning of the WYURA, and to share the submission with the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation. This was also defeated, 4-3.
Cr Peter Johnstone and Cr Ian Tiley, who are both members of the Northern Rivers Regional Planning Panel, were not present in the chambers having declared a conflict of interest.
