Supplementary Agenda of General Meeting

General Manager's Report No. GM11/20

Office of the General Manager

Date of Meeting: 13/05/2020

8 COVID-19 PANDEMIC - UPDATE ON COUNCIL'S RESPONSE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

· The COVID-19 Pandemic is continuing to impact the community however there are some promising signs of return to more normal life.

· Over the past month the virus containment measures directed by the Federal and State Governments have significantly halted the spread of the virus through the community.

· Although many of Council’s facilities have been closed and the majority of staff have been working from home, our service delivery has been adapted to ensure continuity of service has been maintained where possible or practical.

· The recent announcements by the Federal and State Government concerning the staged removal of containment measures will now enable the re-opening of some Council facilities through May 2020 and provide a framework on how and when other facilities can be re-opened.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the contents of the General Manager’s Report No. GM10/20 be received and noted.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Report is to provide an update on Council’s current response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organisation has declared the COVID-19 virus as a pandemic. As the pandemic is expected to impact on Council’s operations for an extended period, an ongoing status report will be provided to each ordinary Council Meeting for the duration of the pandemic and through the recovery phases.

DISCUSSION

Status of Pandemic Response

Over the period of mid-April to mid-May 2020, the various pandemic containment measures implemented by Federal, State and Local Governments through March/April 2020 have greatly assisted in stabilising the spread of the virus through the local community.

Our major facilities have continued to remain closed to public access including libraries, aquatic centres, Brickpit Stadium, community halls and meeting rooms, Administration Centre and Council Chambers. Although initially closed for a four-week period, the Thornleigh Community Recycling Centre was reopened on 29 April 2020.

Although more difficult to regulate, our playgrounds (of which Council has 140) and skateparks have also been closed and appropriate signage installed to inform the community of the COVID-19 measures. Open space areas, boat ramps, public amenities, footpaths and roads are essentially the only council assets which remain open for public access, although strict social distancing measures are in force within these areas.

Council’s Traffic Rangers have been redeployed from normal duties to assist in the monitoring of social distancing measures at key locations. It is pleasing to note that the majority of our community are self-regulating their behaviour in accordance with the various government requirements and have been accepting of the need to do this.

Implementation of Action Plan

The Pandemic Action Plan has not required significant revision since the previous status report to the General Meeting on 8 April 2020. Moving forward, however, the Pandemic Coordination Team (PCT) is now giving consideration on how we would proceed with reopening of facilities in the expectation that this will be a staged process and that social distancing and limits on numbers of patrons will likely be in place for an extended period.

The three-stage plan outlined by the Prime Minister on Friday 8 May 2020, and further detailing of the NSW Road Map by the NSW Premier will assist in guiding these decisions.

More detailed information on the status of operations by Division, is provided below:

Status of Operations over April 2020

Community & Environment Division

In response to public health measures, the Community & Environment Division has needed to make changes to a number of the services and facilities it provides to the community. This includes physically closing Council’s libraries at Hornsby, Pennant Hills, Berowra and Galston to customers and transitioning to online delivery of services with the new Library Pick & Drop service. This service allows library members (residing in the Hornsby LGA) to choose items – including books, DVDs, CDs and other media - to be delivered to their doors. The service is available via Council’s website and has been promoted on Facebook – with much success.

It is pleasing to note that since the libraries were closed to public access on 23 March, a total of 515 new library memberships have been processed. The Pick n Drop service has also taken more than 7300 reservations for items in the collection of which more than 5863 items have been loaned via 800+ deliveries.

A Hornsby Shire Libraries on Facebook page has also been created to keep residents up to date with available services, while also entertaining and engaging them with online storytelling and posts about a range of topics. There has been an average of 32 live participants and 200 views for each live Storytime session to date.

Council has also closed its network of community centres to the public and provided refunds to affected hirers. With Council’s normal community events program on hold due to the pandemic, the Events Team have been investigating options for a new series of online events.

From Friday 15 May, Council will showcase local musicians in an at-home music performance series called ‘Friday Night Vibes’. This event programme will be run on Friday evenings at 5pm for six weeks via a ‘Facebook Live’ stream on Hornsby Shire Council’s Facebook Page.

Council’s open space areas remain open for residents to use following appropriate social distancing, however, playgrounds, skateparks, outdoor fitness equipment and Brooklyn Baths have been closed. Council continues to monitor these areas to ensure that public health measures are followed.

Essential services such as waste and cleansing services continue to be provided to residents. In this regard, staff have been working with our contractors to ensure that suitable business continuity measures are in place.

As a means of supporting the community, the Community Nursery has introduced a Nursery Express service and is delivering native plants and vegetable seedlings to local homes. This initiative has been very well received by the community with 540 native plants and 720 vegetables delivered to date. Available stock has been exhausted within hours of each promotion.

Infrastructure & Major Projects Division

As reported last month, the Infrastructure & Major Projects Division has transitioned much of its staff to a working-from-home environment. The exceptions to this are the outdoor construction and maintenance crews and the workshop team. These employees generally travel from home to worksites although some are required to collect trucks from the depot where appropriate social distancing measures are in place to separate teams.

The permanent staff within the Division are currently productively employed on a range of tasks and this is expected for some time. The Hornsby Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Galston Aquatic & Leisure Centre and Brickpit Stadium have remained closed throughout the past month in accordance with State Government requirements. This closure period has been utilised to undertake maintenance works such as sanding and varnishing of the courts at the Brickpit Stadium, and various other minor maintenance tasks across all three leisure facilities.

Planning & Compliance Division

The Planning and Compliance Division, in consultation with the Corporate Support Division, has introduced a system of online lodgement of applications. The establishment of the new online system enables applicants to continue to lodge development applications. The number of applications received continues to be generally comparable to previous years. In accordance with new Orders introduced by the Minister for Planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Council has also transitioned successfully to the online notification of development applications and determinations.

The number of Service Requests received by Council in relation to planning, building and environmental compliance remains substantially the same. To assist with the current work, building certifiers and rangers have been requested to assist investigate complaints. Council’s rangers are also undertaking new duties to encourage residents not to socialise in our parks, playgrounds, skate parks and Hornsby Mall.

In light of the current COVID-19 measures, food shops/restaurants have been required to cease to operate other than providing takeaway services. Council food inspectors have continued to provide a service and support for operators of food premises by proactively contacting operators by phone to discuss their food safety obligations and any issues that arise. Further, limited inspections have been conducted where food complaints have been received or where follow-up inspections were scheduled prior to the current crisis. However, given the financial impacts of the pandemic on the food preparation industry, and in support of small business, Council has waived fees for food premises inspections and administration until 30 June 2020 and will continue to monitor situation next financial year.

Corporate Support Division

As reported last month, the Corporate Support Division have been able to transition most of its staff towards a working-from-home arrangement. Significant effort has been undertaken by the Division to assist the organisation with technology requirements, establishing online services, communication platforms and virtual council meetings.

Financial assessments are being prepared on an ongoing basis to determine the financial consequences of this pandemic and the appropriate action needed to maintain long term financial sustainability. Procedures have been established to assist in providing community support for those experiencing financial hardship from COVID-19.

Office of the General Manager

The General Manager and Executive Assistants are providing services as normal, including the Councillor Help Desk and management of Mayoral correspondence.

All staff within the Strategy and Place Unit continue to work from home and to manage current workloads effectively. The demand for the team’s services remains high, in part due to the new initiatives that have been launched by the Community and Environment Division and also due to pandemic messaging requirements. A Communications and Engagement staff member remains a member of the PCT and provides support accordingly.

Council continues to keep the community updated regularly through our website, eNews, advertising, signage and via Facebook posts. Community response remains positive and appreciative of Council’s response to the pandemic. Since the last report, we have a number of Facebook posts that have been incredibly successful in engaging the community – a particular highlight is our posts on the new Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mural at the Thornleigh CRC, which collectively reached more than 45,000 Facebook users and achieved 7,000+ engagements.

Council’s website is also a popular source of information for the community. Since launching the content, the Library Pick & Drop Service page has received 4,175 unique visits and the Nursery Express page has attracted 8,242 unique visits. Around 9,500 unique visitors have viewed the dedicated COVID-19 section.

Council’s flags in Peats Ferry Road, Hornsby Mall and Beecroft and Galston town centres were recently replaced with bright and colourful HSC-branded flags, and new mesh fencing on Peats Ferry Road has informative information and guidance for the community.

While Council-run Citizenship Ceremonies have been cancelled until further notice, the Department of Home Affairs has commenced online ceremonies and we await advice on whether this will be rolled out to councils in the near future.

The Risk & Audit Unit is also operating as normal, but its priority focus is providing support to the PCT.

Modification of Statutory Requirements

As reported to the General Meeting on 8 April 2020 the NSW Government has made the decision to postpone the September 2020 local government elections for 12 months with a possible further extension to 31 December 2021 should the need arise. Whilst not formally gazetted, the Minister for Local Government has indicated that 11 September 2021 is the preferred date.

On 17 April 2020 the Office of Local Government announced the making of Regulations under section 747B of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act) to temporarily modify the application the Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulations modify the Act as follows:

1. Councils have been provided with a one-month extension:

· To adopt their 2020-21 Operational Plan (including Revenue Policy, Statement of Fees and Charges and annual budget) before 31 July 2020.

· To submit audited financial reports by 30 November 2020.

· For the preparation and publishing of annual reports by 31 December 2020.

2. Councils have the option to delay issuing rates notices to ratepayers until 1 September 2020, and the collection of the first quarter rates instalment until 30 September 2020.

3. Councils may immediately waive or reduce fees under a new “COVID-19” category.

4. The requirement for councils to make certain documents available for physical inspection at their offices has been modified to allow access to the documents to be provided remotely.

5. In addition to these temporary measures, in response to the closure of some local newspapers and to assist councils to reduce their costs, the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 (the Regulation) has been amended to remove requirements for newspaper advertising. This amendment is not temporary and will continue to apply after the COVID-19 pandemic passes.

It is proposed that Council continue with the original timeframe for the adoption of the 2020-21 Operational Plan (including Revenue Policy, Statement of Fees and Charges and annual budget) at the June Council meeting. Any amendments required will be undertaken at the September quarterly review. The impacts of COVID-19 will require both a short-term response and a longer-term plan.

The preparation and publishing of the annual report will go to the December Council meeting.

COVID-19 Local Government Economic Stimulus Package

The State Government has announced a $395 million relief package for councils in NSW. Whilst the final details are still being worked through, and every council will need to submit an application, it is currently unlikely that Hornsby Council will qualify for any significant support through this package.

The main benefit that will accrue to Council is a one-year holiday from a recently announced increase in the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) for 2020-21 which equates to $300,000 (current estimate). Unfortunately, Council will very unlikely meet the eligibility criteria for the Job Retention Allowance component of the package for permanent staff. Advocacy is continuing to see that the final assessment criteria are relevant to the real needs of local government.

Impacts on Local Business and a Community Support Package

Although most businesses (particularly retail businesses) have been legally able to trade within the pandemic guidelines, they have nevertheless closed their shopfronts due to the poor trading conditions and lack of patronage. Many of these businesses have moved to online services and/or takeaway/home delivery where possible. In this regard, our food inspectors have continued to provide a service and support for operators of food premises during the tighter lockdown period by proactively phoning them to discuss their food safety obligations and any issues that arise. In the past week our food inspectors have re-commenced their physical inspections while maintaining social distancing requirements.

Given the financial impacts of the crisis on the food preparation industry, our officers have already received written requests to waive applicable administration and inspection fees. As part of our Hornsby Helps package, Council has decided to defer or waive the fees (partial or in full) for safety inspection at food businesses that are still open, depending on the size of the business.

Outside of the main retail areas, other private businesses are also reported to be closing or reducing staff numbers. Where possible, Council staff are looking to develop closer ties with local businesses and ensuring they are given the opportunity to quote on new work for Council.

Overall, the Hornsby Helps Support Package has been well received. Current forecasts, however, are that we should expect some pandemic restrictions to continue for at least six months. Further reports will detail decisions to extend fee waivers and discounts into the next financial year to minimise further financial impact on local business and provide incentive during the recovery period that follows. It is likely that a further 3-month period will be proposed with a further review to occur in September 2020.

Work has also commenced on a Town Centre Recovery Program across the Shire. The intent of this program is to contact businesses and civic groups who are predominately within town centres and engage with them about what they believe Council could do to assist in a recovery program. It is envisaged that online working groups will be established, and an action plan developed for each participating town centre for consideration by Council.

To support the requirement for rapid network building and mobilising businesses and civic groups, Council will be utilising a software platform known as Localised. This is designed to function as a business directory, business to business promotion/social network and should assist in connecting Council with businesses within a locality.

Council has also recently participated in a discussion with the Greater Sydney Commission in which it is acknowledged that local economies will be critical to economic recovery, and they wish to work closely with councils on recovery plans.

Staff

As previously reported, staff have remained committed to serving the community and many have been working extremely hard to enable our business continuity plans to be implemented so that our services, which are not otherwise affected by mandated closures, can continue to be delivered as normal.

Even where some normal services have been disrupted, staff have adapted their service delivery capability by launching several new services, as previously outlined.

From a health perspective, it is pleasing that no staff have been confirmed to have the COVID-19 virus. Although specific staffing matters are not for discussion in a public report, it can be stated that our goal is to keep our permanent staff employed, paid and continuing to deliver core services to our community. Recognising that some staff workloads have been impacted due to closures of facilities, however, some staff have been redeployed to assist in other areas where resources are required.

A very pleasing aspect of the response from staff has been a widespread voluntary acceptance of a 20% reduction in working hours for a 3-month period from 27 April to 24 July 2020. For most staff this involves moving from a 5-day week to a 4-day week and utilising their annual leave for this remaining day each week. Some staff, however, are taking leave without pay. This action by staff is to be commended as it substantially reduces our leave liabilities or provides direct cost savings to the budget. As a result, we will be in a better position to retain all our permanent workforce for a longer period if the pandemic measures are protracted.

Emerging Risks

Financial impacts

As detailed in Corporate Support Director’s Report CS11/20, 2019/20 – March 2020 Quarter Review (13 May 2020 General Meeting), initial estimates on the impact of the pandemic indicate that Council may forego up to $9.375 million in lost income during the 2019/20 financial year. To maintain tight budgetary control, a range of expenditure reductions that amount to $6.901 million are recommended, which offset all but $2.474 million of estimated reduced revenue. As a result, Council’s forecast 30 June 2020 surplus of $3.981 million will be reduced by the net cost shortfall of $2.474 million to $1.507 million.

The impact on the 2020/21 financial year is currently being assessed as additional data on the amount of income lost, requests for rental relief and rates hardship applications are received. As noted in General Manager’s Report No.GM8/20 (8 April 2020 General Meeting) further information of the financial impacts on the 2020/21 Financial Year will be provided to Council at the 10 June 2020 General Meeting.

Community Welfare

As most of the disruption events in relation to COVID-19 have only emerged since March 2020, the full extent of community welfare impacts is not yet known. At a State Government level, the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) moved to operational status on 17 March 2020 in response to COVID-19. The SEOC has representatives from 22 State Government agencies, including the Office of Local Government and will have the capacity to direct resources as required to the areas most affected by the pandemic. As community welfare needs arise within Hornsby Shire, our requirements will be referred to the SEOC for assessment. Planning by Council in the short to medium term may need to prioritise community welfare programs to aid those in need. Council’s Community Development Team are currently researching gaps in the area.

Business Continuity

Business continuity planning is expected to shift over time as the impacts of the pandemic affect different parts of the organisation in different ways. This may be due to health impacts on work teams directly associated with the COVID-19 virus, decline in workloads in some areas but increased workloads in other areas due to changing social needs, or as a result of changing economic circumstances.

The PCT and EXCO is convening daily via Skype to promptly address any emerging business continuity issues to refine our future course of business.

Community Engagement Activities

A significant program of community engagement has been planned across a wide range of Council initiatives, studies and projects in the coming months. Due to the social distancing requirements and inability to meet in groups, the scheduled community engagement for a number of programs will be postponed or moved to an online format. Upcoming engagement on the various strategies due to be presented to Council will be reviewed and reported to Council accordingly.

All engagement activities will be assessed against the following principles:

1. Council will ensure that legislative requirements and grant conditions are met.

2. Council will continue to respond to the immediate needs of the community.

3. Council will ensure that public participation seeks out and facilitates the participation of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision. Where this is not feasible, decision-making and key initiative milestones will be put on hold.

4. Council will ensure that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.

5. Council will properly consider the impacts of COVID-19 on future priorities and resource availability.

Major Projects

Council has several major projects that are currently in development. These include the redevelopment of Hornsby Quarry, Westleigh Recreational Area, Public Domain Improvements, tree planting, Sportsground Strategy and a major review of Hornsby Town Centre Plans and Strategy.

Considering the overall and emerging risks to Council from this pandemic, consideration will need to be given to where Councils priorities and capacity will best be utilised. Future monthly reports to Council on COVID-19 impacts will continue over the coming months. In short, we will need to be aware of financial delivery and ongoing risks arising from these projects and ensure that other priorities have not emerged as a result of the pandemic. Currently, staff will continue on the development of these major projects cognisant of the fact that progress will ultimately need to occur in balance with our capacity to engage with stakeholders in a meaningful way and in alignment with resource availability and priorities.

Recovery Actions

Following the meeting of the National Cabinet on Friday 8 May 2020 and the subsequent announcements by the State Government there is now further clarity on impacts to our services and facilities.

The following Principles will underpin each and every decision in relation to when our services and facilities will be re-opened:

1. Health and safety of the public and staff aligned with State Government advice.

2. Facilitating recovery and reopening of services to the community without unnecessary delay.

3. Acknowledging financial and resource limitations and uncertainty in the period up to 30 June 2020 at least.

Taking into account the above, the following actions are proposed:

Administration Centre

The Administration Centre Customer Service counters are now being prepared for reopening to public access on the basis there are no more than 10 persons gathered in the foyer area at any one time (including staff). Opening hours will be scaled back initially as there will be insufficient staff-hours available to provide continuous customer facing contact throughout each day. This is due to the fact that 3 members of the Customer Service team are still required to be physically separated from the Administration Centre to protect the continuity of this business function, and the staff are also taking additional leave in support of the voluntary staff commitment to achieve a 20% reduction in working hours until 24 July 2020. The re-opening date and roster of hours will be advised to the community via Council’s website, social media platforms and signage prior to re-opening.

Our Risk Assessment process has also identified a variety of measures which are required to be implemented before public access is restored. This includes the installation of screens at the various counters, provision of public hand sanitiser stations, and floor decals which outline the social distancing requirements. These physical elements are now in production and will be installed prior to opening.

Playgrounds, Skate Ramps and Picnic Shelters

The easing of restrictions to allow gatherings of 10 people in public places, subject to observance of ongoing social distancing and hygiene measures, will enable Council’s playgrounds, skate ramps and hired picnic shelters to be formally opened. As there are 140 playgrounds across the Shire, the onus will be on users at each playground to regulate their behaviour in accordance with COVID-19 requirements as Council staff will not be able to effectively regulate this activity. Signage will be erected to inform users of the current requirements from Thursday 14 May onwards, however, the existing signage advising of the closure of each playground and skate ramp will remain in place until such time as new signage is installed. The signage changeover is expected to be completed by Friday 22 May 2020.

As the playgrounds and skate ramps (with the exception of Galston) are not currently closed with physical barriers it is expected that members of the community will self-regulate their use of these facilities prior to any changeover of signage in any event.

Public playground equipment has not been routinely cleaned in the past and it is not reasonable or practical to introduce a cleaning regime at all 140 sites for COVID-19. The current social hygiene requirements require regular use of hand sanitiser and Council signage at each playground will reinforce this message.

The hired picnic shelters will be made available for use from Friday 15 May 2020 and the terms and conditions of hire will be updated to require each hirer to comply with the current COVID-19 measures.

Libraries

Libraries are still required to remain closed to public access under the newly announced measures. The Pick n Drop Library Service will continue to provide a library service to the community, however, when libraries are permitted to re-open their doors, there will need to be a one week break where no library service is provided (other than book returns). This time is needed to allow library staff to effectively ramp down the Pick n Drop service and allow the staff to transition towards a reopening of the doors to the public.

It is also important to note that, upon reopening of the libraries, the normal operating hours will be reduced to fit within the permanent staff-hours available. Casual staff will not be returned to work until there is more certainty about the suppression of the COVID-19 virus in the community, there is minimal risk of more severe lockdowns in the future, and Council’s financial position is clearer.

Aquatic Centres and Brickpit Stadium

The revised COVID-19 measures will still require the continued full closure of the Galston Aquatic & Leisure Centre and Brickpit Stadium. The indoor swimming pools and gymnasium at the Hornsby Aquatic & Leisure Centre will also be required to remain closed, however, it would be possible to open the 50-metre outdoor pool, with restrictions.

As the current measures will only allow 10 persons to gather at any one time, and still require the closure of changerooms, it is not considered cost effective or practical to open the 50-metre pool at the present time. The 10-person limit includes staff, meaning that in real terms, only a few swimmers could attend the facility at any one time. The decision to keep the pool closed is consistent with the position taken by other councils in northern Sydney.

It is important to note that when a decision is made to reopen any of the council swimming pools, at least a further week of closure would be needed to heat the pools and re-engage the casual lifesavers who are needed to supervise the pool decks, customer counters and general facility management.

The financial modelling suggests that it is not realistic to re-open Council’s Aquatic Centres until at least Stage 3 measures are introduced in accordance with the Federal Government COVID-19 Recovery Plan. At this point, learn-to-swim, squad coaching, gymnasiums and indoor sporting facilities would be allowed to open. Further review of the opening of the leisure centres will occur prior to 30 June.

Community Halls and Meeting Rooms

The revised COVID-19 measures will still require the continued closure of community halls and meeting rooms. Upon re-opening of these facilities, however, there will be restrictions to their availability due to the increased cleaning requirements for COVID-19. In particular, each hirer will be required to wipe down certain surfaces before their use of the facility and this will limit our capacity to take back-to-back bookings. In order to facilitate this cleansing regime, each facility will also need to be fitted with cleaning wipe stations and hand sanitiser dispensers before they are re-opened.

Community Sport

Whilst members of the community can now gather in groups of 10 to play private games of sport in outdoor areas, the revised measures do not enable community sporting clubs to commence training or competition due to the 10-person limit. Any requests by local Clubs for hiring of our facilities in the future will be closely examined to ensure they demonstrate adherence the COVID-19 guidelines.

Council’s Tennis Courts have remained open throughout the recent COVID-19 restrictions and these will continue to operate as normal.

Public Toilets

There are currently 80 public toilet facilities across the Shire and a further 27 changeroom facilities at sportsgrounds with toilets and handbasins. Although a large number of public toilets have remained open throughout the pandemic, many were closed as they were located at sports fields where no organised sport was permitted. The Safework Australia guidelines on the COVID-19 cleansing requirements for public toilets recommends they are wet-cleaned daily. Previously these facilities were either cleaned daily, 3 times per week or 2 times per week depending on the location. Council does not currently have the staffing resources to meet a daily cleansing requirement across all locations, therefore, it is proposed to maintain the closure of some facilities or consider options whereby sporting clubs would be responsible for cleaning their respective changerooms. Further review of an approach is being considered by staff before decisions are made.

Community Events

The limitation on gatherings of no more than 10 people will not enable any public domain community events to be organised at the present time. As previously advised, Council’s Events Team is launching a new on-line community events platform “Friday Night Vibes” which will continue until the end of June 2020. Council’s capacity to plan for larger public domain events, however, will continue to be assessed in keeping with the latest State Government requirements.

Hornsby Mall Markets

The private operator of the Hornsby Mall Markets each Thursday has expressed a desire to reopen the markets. Council staff have requested the operator to demonstrate how it proposes to satisfy the applicable COVID-19 social distancing and hygiene requirements. Upon receiving this information and being reasonably satisfied with the control measures, staff will grant permission for the markets to resume.

Long-term Overview of Recovery

Over the longer term, some projections suggest that the social and economic recovery from a pandemic may take up to 10 years. Whilst Council will progressively re-open its facilities it is nevertheless anticipated that the previous levels of demand for our facilities and services will take some time to return to normal. Updates on recovery planning will be given when the full impacts can be more comprehensively assessed.

Local Government will be a significant resource in supporting the recovery and rebuilding of our communities and promoting economic activity.

Staff are also compiling information on potential projects that can support any stimulus funding that becomes available in either the immediate future or as longer-term recovery efforts commence. Based on known and adopted priorities, these opportunities are being conveyed to State and Federal Governments.

BUDGET

The budgetary impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic are outlined in this report.

POLICY

There are no immediate policy implications associated with this Report. A number of matters contained in this report, however, will be subject to further reporting.

CONCLUSION

Council has activated it business continuity plans for its operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented the various containment measures of Federal and State Governments. Council’s response to the pandemic is assessed on a regular basis.

RESPONSIBLE OFFICER

The officer responsible for the preparation of this Report is the General Manager – Steven Head.

Steven Head

General Manager

Office of the General Manager

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

File Reference: F2009/00827

Document Number: D07902253