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Best Value

Best Value

In December 1999, the Victorian State Parliament passed the Local Government (Best Value Principles) Act 1999, which required Councils to review all services against six Best Value Principles by December 2005. These Best Value Principles are as follows:

  • All services must meet quality and cost standards.
  • All services must be responsive to the needs of the community.
  • A service must be accessible to those members of the community for whom it is intended.
  • A Council must achieve continuous improvement in the provision of services for its community.
  • A Council must develop a program of regular consultation with its community in relation to the services it provides.

A Council must report regularly to its community on its achievements in relation to Best Value.

Best Value Boroondara

Best Value Boroondara takes in the legislatory requirements and expands upon them to better meet the Boroondara community needs. The service reviews are a part of our everyday operations and provide a streamlined process for delivering more accessible and responsive services.

The significant and important role that Council staff have in the delivery of these services is also recognised by Best Value Boroondara. Staff are encouraged to challenge themselves, processes, systems and management to strive for improved service delivery standards and efficiencies. The Best Value Boroondara service reviews have provided a key way for involving staff in continuous improvement opportunities.

Council reports on Best Value in Quarterly Performance Reports as well as a stand alone annual Best Value Boroondara Report.

The Best Value Boroondara Report 2006/2007 can be downloaded by clicking on the below link. It is also available at all customer service centres and libraries or by contacting the Business Development Department on 9278 4341.

Some of the Best Value activities for 2006/2007 are listed below:

Best Value Activities

Governance and Community Relations

  • A review of the internal production process for the Boroondara Bulletin was completed in June 2007.  The review considered the planning, copy writing, design, proofing, approval and pre-press actions and recommended new approaches to ensure that the bulletin is delivered on time and within budget.
  • Further refining of processes relating to capturing and archiving of corporate records in all departments, including the development of inter-departmental workflows, leading to improved responsiveness and compliance.

City Planning

  • The Building Permits and Building Inspections processes were reviewed using the continuous improvement tool of process mapping. This involved mapping all stages of the processes that inform an analysis which identified areas of lag and inefficiency. 
  • The process of establishing agreements with trader associations regarding the application of Separate Rate/Charge Schemes and the detailed documentation has been reviewed to improve administrative effectiveness.

City Works

  • Improvements have been achieved through the use and application of mobile computing to extend the knowledge of the Asset Management System to every day use both in the office and the field, to deliver services more efficiently and effectively.
  • Continuation of the engineers’ rotation program with the initial staff on the program being placed into permanent positions after four six-monthly rotations. Three other newly graduated engineering staff commenced a three six-monthly rotation program in August 2006.
  • Changes to the green waste service have been implemented. The level of requests for missed collections has reduced considerably since the in-house service began on 5 February. To ensure customer service was maintained, the in-house team collected all bundles that were previously not collected by the contractor or were placed out by residents due to a lack of awareness to the changes to the green waste service. Council also introduced a free disposal of green waste for residents on Sundays at Council’s Transfer Station.

Community Development

  • Boroondara Volunteering Expo day attendance doubled compared with the previous year (from approximately 190 to 430 people) due to better promotion and targeting of the day to meet community information needs.
  • A range of new gentle strength exercise classes for older people have been developed and provided with planning underway to expand distribution to other seniors’ facilities. These new services contribute to enhancing the health, well-being and independence of older people.
  • Family Day Care Program (FDC) participated in the National Accreditation process over a three day period and was awarded a rating of High Quality in all quality areas of the National Quality Assurance Process. 

Corporate Resources

  • A software provider has been selected to implement a performance management system. This system will streamline the process for the development of the Quarterly Performance Reports and the Annual Report, and in future business plans. The project was funded by a successful grant application.
  • The Performance Review and Enhancement Program was improved following consultation with staff members and the leadership team. This will result in greater personal ownership of the process and improved, more specific discussions being held about the performance, direction and objectives of each staff member.

 

Created: 14 January 2005
Last Update: 17 September 2008