FAQ

Like all Councils, the City of Burnside has responsibilities under the following acts and legislation:

• Local Government Act 1999 
• State Records Act 1997 
• Public Health Act 2011 
• Development Act 1993 
• Development Regulations 2008 
• Freedom of Information Act 1991 
• SA Emergency Management Act 2004 
• Fair Work Act 1994 
• Industrial and Employee Relations Act 1994 
• Work Health and Safety Act 2012 
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 
• Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 
• SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 
• SA Fire and Emergency Services Regulations

The Council also has the power to make its own regulations and By-laws.

Detail around the legislation that guides Council can be found at www.legislation.sa.gov.au.

Council has a lease arrangement with the current proprietor of the Regal Theatre. Under this lease, the leasee has obligations for property maintenance. Council continues to manage relations with the leasee and to ensure that the lease arrangements are being met.

The City of Burnside undertakes engagement with our community in many ways and through many different departments – Rangers (animal management and parking), Customer Service, Assets, Major Projects (Burnside Pool Redevelopment and Glenunga Hub), Engineering (roads, kerbs, footpaths, lighting), Operation Services (tree management, open space maintenance, waste collection, environmental management), Planning (land revocation, planning approvals) - and this is not an exhaustive list.

There are occasions when Council seeks to consult with our community on issues such as the annual Business Plan and Budget, to seek community opinion on the implementation of new services, strategies, major projects, policy or By-laws. The requirement to undertake a consultation will most often be directed by our Elected Member Council and enacted by Council’s administration.

The structure of the consultation will vary dependent on the topic being consulted upon. The nature of the Draft Business Plan and Budget consultation, for example, is subject to the Local Government Act (1999) that is prescriptive about the consultation process. The consultation period must be an-nounced by public notice in the newspaper, there are set timeframes from when the consultation is announced to when the public meeting is to be held, and the process of the consultation through to the presentation of the draft business plan and budget to Council for endorsement are all prescribed.

The upcoming engagement on cat management will be guided by Council’s Public Consultation Policy and Section 50 of the Local Government Act (1999). As this engagement will be undertaken as a consultation, the techniques that will be undertaken to encourage our community to be involved will include:

• Distribution of 27,000 flyers and surveys both city-wide by letterbox delivery and posted to ratepayers that live externally to the City;
• Online survey portal, engage.burnside, for completion of surveys and to make comments; 
• Email addresses and phone numbers offered for the community to seek more information or make comment;
• Links to the Dog and Cat Management Board website for more information on cat management;
• Social media alerts to encourage participation;
• The engagement will be open for a minimum 21 days as per Council’s Public Consultation policy;
• Survey feedback data compiled into a report to Council;
• Elected Members decide upon the outcome based on the engagement results.

Rates are not a fee for service but rather a tax based on the value of land and property. Within South Australia property values are set by the State Valuer-General under the Valuation of Land Act 1971.

Councils are governed by the Local Government Act 1999 which provides flexibility for Councils to make decisions that suit their local community. As a result, the way one Council structures its rates may differ from another Council, hence differences in the levels of rates charged.

The capital value used by Council for your property is provided by the State Valuation Office.

This rate in the dollar is then applied to the capital value (which is the value provided to Council by the Valuer General) of each individual property. This determines the rates payable for each property for that particular year. If you do not agree with the valuation of your property you can object in writing to the Valuer General within 60 days after the date of service of the rate notice.

For more information on rates the Local Government Association of South Australia website has extensive information on rating (www.lga.sa.gov.au).

Street lighting is one of the most expensive operating costs for Burnside at approximately $340,000 per year for the electricity, $350,000 per year for the provision of street lights on SA Power network poles and $75,000 for Council’s share of lighting on Arterial Roads. Burnside is implementing energy efficient lighting where practical (usually when upgrading) however each additional light still costs an added $120 per year approximately.

Each site is considered when brought to Council’s attention and where necessary, prudent tree branch trimming, higher efficiency lighting, or potentially an additional light or lights are provided.

Where additional lighting is provided care is taken to limit the light spillage onto adjacent properties.

Because the most common type of light in the street can become weaker with age, Council also encourages SA Power Network to replace aging lamps on a suburb wide basis to return lighting to the design level.

In the case of Ascot Avenue, the street lighting is impacted by the trees and lower storey shrubbery, blocking light to the footpaths. Increasing the light output would have minimal improvement. However increased light output can be achieved with less vegetation. Trimming trees and shrubbery will impact the aesthetic of Ascot Avenue and it is not Council’s preference to detract from the attractiveness of this avenue. Council will consider, in consultation with the residents on Ascot Avenue, the issue of light output vs vegetation closely as part of its city-wide maintenance program to determine what the best outcome for this avenue would be.

Council manages vehicles for the Depot and the Civic Centre. The vehicle types vary according to the user requirements, they are fit for purpose dependent upon the type of work they are used for. Council seeks to resell vehicles at their optimal condition to gain the maximum return.

The replacement of the Depot and Civic Centre vehicles differ and this is based upon research undertaken by the Local Government Management Association (LGMA) into vehicle management, used car markets, and turnover rates to create best return on investment. The City of Burnside has taken into account this advice in our vehicle management procedures.

For the Depot the vehicles are utilities, diesel and manufactured fit for the heavy workload that they are used for. Data from the LGMA demonstrates that for Council to achieve the highest return on the resale of these vehicles the optimal time to sell is when the vehicles reach 5 years old.

At the Civic Centre there are two types of vehicles, commuter vehicles and salaried vehicles, the latter being vehicles for which employees sacrifice salary to pay for the vehicle. LGMA data showed that the best turn over for commuter vehicles is at 3 years, or 60 000 km. For the salary sacrifice vehicles the best turn around is at 2 years or 40,000 km. The difference between the community and salaried vehicles are the make and models, and amount of options added to the vehicles.

Council seeks to resell vehicles at their optimal condition to gain the maximum return.

All vehicle purchasing is guided by legislation and contract law.  

The City of Burnside is committed to providing services to the community in the most cost effective manner possible, while at the same time constructing and properly maintaining vital infrastructure. Below is a breakdown of Council services and costs.

Office of the Chief Executive Officer
Executive & Mayor Support
Council Agenda and Reports
Internal Audit
Strategic Projects
Community Engagement
Media Relations
Communications 102.3 FTE Indoor Employees $10,122,622

Asset Services
Open Space and Recreation Facilities
Environmental Management
Waste Management
Economic Development

Engineering Services
Capital Works Program
Contract Management
Asset management
Traffic Engineering

Customer Service
Customer Service enquiries and requests
Call centre
Information and receipt of payments

Community Services
Home Assist
Community Transport
3Rs Programs (Respite, Recreation & Revitalisation)
Eastern Region Men’s Shed Program
Community Lunch Program
Community Centre Facilities
Community Arts Program (Pepper Street)
Youth Development Programs
Volunteers Services
Family Connections

Library, Learning & Volunteers
Library Services
Toy Library
Community Library Service
Local History & Family History

City Development & Safety
Planning Assessment and Building Assessment
Compliance with building and planning rules
Parking and Animal Control
Community and Environmental Health
Bushfire Risk Management By-laws

People & Culture
Employee Relations
Learning & Development
Industrial Relations
Work Health and Safety
Risk Management

Finance
Budgets
Financial planning and reporting
Debtors and creditors
Manage cash flow, investments & loans daily
Internal controls and compliance
Liaise with external auditors
Rates collection
Audit Committee

Governance
Compliance with legislation
Policy Manual
Freedom of Information

Information Service
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Information Management
Record Management

Procurement & Contracts
Tenders and Contracts
Contract Management
Probity

Strategic Planning
Annual Business Plan
Department Business Plan
Strategic Plan
Corporate Plans

41 FTE Outdoor Employees $2,286,756

City Parks & Gardens (reserve maintenance, gardening, verge mowing, roundabouts, irrigation, playground equipment)
Arboriculture (tree maintenance, tree pruning, tree watering)
Biodiversity (manages all facets of the Biodiversity sites within the Burnside Community area)
City Maintenance (footpath, kerb and gutter repairs, drainage and minor road repairs)
City Safe (line marking, signs, special events, tennis court maintenance)
City Clean/Quick Response (dead animals, dumped rubbish, lane way cleaning, small tree branch removals, road/street sweeping, emptying street/reserve bins).