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The City of Boroondara’s Annual Report 2018-19 highlights the achievements and challenges of the past year. It reports on how we are meeting the strategic objectives set out in the Council Plan 2017-21.

Message from the Mayor | Message from the CEO 

A message from the Mayor 

Councillor Jane Addis

I am pleased to present the City of Boroondara’s 2018-19 Annual Report. 

A highlight of the 2018-19 reporting year has been the delivery of community projects that you told us are important to you. These are outlined in the Boroondara Community Plan, which is our 10-year vision for the future of Boroondara.  

In this report Council will showcase a number of the projects completed this reporting year that address each of the 7 priority themes in the Boroondara Community Plan. 

We have continued to invest in our facilities, with more than $57.32 million committed to infrastructure projects throughout our municipality. Of this, we invested $6.66 million on our much loved parks, open spaces and streetscapes and $21.98 million in enhancing community buildings so they meet your ongoing needs. 

Construction commenced this year at Balwyn Community Centre. Benefits of the upgrade include the creation of new and functional spaces for community programs and groups, the relocation and expansion of the Balwyn Maternal and Child Health Centre and enhanced parklands and gardens.

Consultation has been undertaken to inform the complete transformation of the Kew Recreation Centre into a state-of-the-art facility that is suitable for people of all ages and abilities.  

We have also continued important planning for the redevelopment of Camberwell Community Centre and Ashburton Seniors Centre, both of which are expected to be completed next year and will each better meet the needs of our growing and increasingly diverse population.

This year also saw the delivery of the Over 55s section on our website, which hosts over 600 health and wellbeing activities, events and services encouraging those aged 55 years and above to stay happy and healthy in Boroondara.

We continued the work to protect our City’s heritage, with the implementation of the Municipal Wide Heritage Gap Study. This proactive initiative has identified over 5,000 heritage properties that sit outside existing Heritage Overlays across Boroondara for protection.  

It is important to highlight the many vital services that we deliver for our community. These include:

  • $8.22 million spent on library services, providing a 7 day per week service across the City, with more than 1 million visits and nearly 2.4 million loans last year.
  • $3.28 million spent on aged, disability and health services. This includes the delivery of 70,813 hours of in-home care for the elderly and those with a disability and 25,245 immunisations to infants and children across Boroondara. 
  • $2.17 million spent on family and youth services, with 38 buildings also leased to community organisations which provide long day care, occasional care and kindergarten services at little or no cost.  
  • Collecting 67,468 tonnes of waste from kerbside bins.

All of these great achievements cannot occur without the support and partnership of our residents, community groups, local businesses and Council staff. 

So, on behalf of my fellow Councillors and the organisation, I would like to thank you all for your interest and ongoing contributions to ensuring Boroondara continues to thrive. 

Cr Jane Addis 
Mayor 

A message from the CEO 

Phillip Storer

Phillip Storer
Chief Executive Officer

I am pleased with the progress we have made this reporting year. We’ve continued to work hard on delivering what you told us was important to you through the Boroondara Community Plan.

Each year, we use the Annual Report as an opportunity to show our community how we’ve performed as an organisation, sharing with you our successes and also reflecting on areas in which we can improve for the future. 

Strategic indicators for our performance are underpinned by the priority themes you identified in the Boroondara Community Plan. These strategic indicators form the Annual Commitments Council strives to achieve each year. I can report we met 92 per cent of our Annual Commitments this year and our financial position continues to remain sound. 

This year’s Community Satisfaction Survey results are reflective of our achievements, with our residents rating our performance highly. This places us above the state-wide average yet again. 

We are proud of this result; however, we remain focused on making significant improvements to enhance the experience of all residents, business owners, visitors and the wider community. 

The Boroondara Customer First Program has been developed to help us deliver these improvements, which will result in seamless, easy and empowering experiences for our community. This year, we developed a business case to understand the returns that would be generated as a result of continued investment in the Boroondara Customer First Program. It also outlines the various initiatives, associated costs and benefits for Council and our community as a result of the program.  

Our community is already beginning to realise these benefits, with the implementation of our new online permit applications process for residential parking permits, disabled parking permits and new animal registrations. The shift to the digital application process enables our community to interact with us in their preferred way, 24 hours a day at a time convenient to them. It also provides the ability to lodge payments with their application in one smooth, simple transaction. 

The grand opening for the $17.2 million Greythorn Community Hub also took place this year, as the culmination of years of planning and in-depth consultation with our community. The hub is now a one-stop destination for much-needed community services and activities, including Trentwood at the Hub, Greythorn Library Lounge, Greythorn Early Childhood Centre and Maternal Child Health, as well as community support and wellbeing services provided by Access Health and Community.

Sustainability continues to remain at the forefront for Council, with the successful delivery of upgrades in line with the Energy Performance Contract. As an organisation, we have a responsibility to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Works were completed in June this year across seven of Council’s largest buildings, which is expected to deliver $250,000 worth of savings in energy consumption costs and over 1,760 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions.

These achievements would not be possible without the help of our engaged, enthusiastic community. On behalf of Council, I’d like to thank you for your ongoing support and feedback which shapes the important work we do every day.

I’d also like to thank our dedicated Council staff whose contributions and continued hard work allow us to deliver the services and infrastructure our community needs and deserves. 

I look forward to another year of working together to deliver for Boroondara.

Phillip Storer
Chief Executive Officer

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