In 2020–21, Council achieved 54 out of the 68 commitments in the 2020–21 Action Plan of the Glen Eira Council and Community Plan 2017–2021. Of the 14 items not delivered, six were outside of Council’s control and four were deferred or re-prioritised due to the impact of COVID-19. Across the lifespan of the Plan, Council achieved 173 out of 223 commitments (77.6%). Our major achievements included endorsing our new Glen Eira Our Climate Change Strategy 2021–2025; finalising our Glen Eira Community Vision 2040; adopting a new Classified Tree Local Law; and implementing a Classified Tree Register. A new four-year Council Plan will be endorsed in October 2021.

For more information see Council and Community Plan.

The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continued to challenge us throughout 2020 and into 2021. Our annual Budget reflects this and some of our planned major works have been delayed. We anticipate we will continue to feel the effects of COVID-19 for many years to come. View Council’s response to COVID-19 here.

Although challenging in the COVID-19 environment, we consulted with the community on 31 projects, which included advisory groups and committees; community surveys; questionnaires; feedback submissions; and virtual public forums. Community consultation is a vital part of our planning and decision-making processes. It helps us to understand community priorities and issues, and ensures community involvement. We are committed to engaging with our community through best practice consultation methods to achieve the best outcomes.

For more information see Our engagement with our community.

With COVID-19 impacting face-to-face service delivery, it has been more important than ever to adopt a continuous improvement approach to our online service offerings. This year, 43.5 per cent of transactions with Council were through online channels, including our live chatbot which was introduced in February 2021. To make it more convenient for people to transact, we installed a pilot kiosk at our Carnegie Library and Community Centre. You can book a hard rubbish collection; report an issue; have your say on current projects; view advertised planning applications and more. We have uplifted online support for our local businesses and continue to review our online content for improvements based on community feedback. There has also been work going on behind the scenes to improve service delivery and provide timely outcomes, such as integrating Microsoft Outlook into our systems to enable more efficient tracking of email requests. This will help us connect our customers with the right service to address their needs and communicate with them quicker. We have also used technology to improve how we can support our community to stay connected and active. The GEL Anywhere digital platform allows members to train from home and access pre-recorded material such as GEL Anywhere chat series (psychologist) and GEL Bites (nutrition). We have implemented digital ways to offer arts and cultural experiences for the community to enjoy and engage with. We have a range of exciting online programs and events as well as the Libraries@Home service to extend your ability to access library services. We are continuing to work with the Glen Eira community and use technology to improve choice and responsiveness in our service delivery.

The number of Council’s planning decisions appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has steadily reduced. We have gone from 214 appeals reviewed in 2015–16 to 32 applications reviewed 2020–21. This year saw us reset the direction for the Bentleigh and Carnegie Activity Centres with the decision to prepare a municipal-wide Housing Strategy that will consider neighbourhood character and provide the supporting rationale for revised Structure Plans (see Key Challenges for more information). We commenced community engagement for our draft Built Form Frameworks for three neighbourhood activity centres — Caulfield South, Caulfield Park and Bentleigh East. The draft Frameworks are the first step towards new planning controls to help us manage development in these major activity centres. We have completed three Planning Scheme Amendments to introduce the heritage overlay in parts of the commercial areas in Murrumbeena, Bentleigh and Carnegie as well as residential heritage in Bentleigh. Independent planning panels supported Council’s proposals and the amendments were adopted by Council in late 2020 and early 2021. The East Village Planning Scheme Amendment (C155) was approved by the Minister of Planning in 2020–2021. The Amendment will deliver a significant benefit to the Victorian economy and provide local jobs, housing, open space, community facilities and a second campus for McKinnon Secondary College.

Glen Eira’s 2020–2024 Council was officially sworn in at a Special Council Meeting on Monday 9 November, following the October Council elections. Five new Councillors were elected, and four former Councillors re-elected to represent the Glen Eira community for the next four years. The Glen Eira 2040 Community Vision — a 20-year vision created by the community to help guide Council in planning for the future — was endorsed by Council on Wednesday 19 May 2021. This Vision informs the new Glen Eira Council Plan 2021–2025 that will be adopted by Council in October 2021, following extensive community consultation. Our engagement process was diverse and co-ordinated through a range on interactions, including face-to-face, online, hard copy, email and telephone.

An important part of our role is advocating in the interests of our community. The Glen Eira Council and Community Plan 2017–2021 identifies advocacy as an important strategy in achieving a City that is liveable, accessible, safe, sustainable and engaged. Across the last financial year, we successfully secured $16.53 million in government funding. This included $1 million from the State Government towards the upgrade of the new Lord Reserve Pavilion, which will feature environmentally sustainable design initiatives, six multi-purpose change areas with unisex bathrooms, a social space and kitchen/kiosk area, storage areas, amenities for officials and public toilets. In addition to this, the State Government committed a further $1 million to retrofit and enhance the pavilion at neighbouring Koornang Park. These enhancement works are now well underway, which will provide a redeveloped social space with viewing window, consolidated kitchen/kiosk area, improved storage and change areas, and upgrades to the grandstand area. We received Federal Government funding of $4 million and State Government funding of $2 million towards the new state-of-the-art Murrumbeena Community Hub. The new Hub will meet the growing needs of the tenant sporting clubs and provide opportunities for other community groups and organisations.

For more information see our Advocacy priorities.

As part of our commitment to achieve zero net emissions for corporate emissions by 2025 and zero net community emissions by 2030, we have been busy working on a range of initiatives to reduce our carbon emissions and minimise the impacts of climate change. This has included engaging with community members in late 2020 on how we can help them reduce their carbon emissions; adding two new electric vehicles — Bev and Zoe — to our fleet in early 2021; endorsing an Environmental Building and Infrastructure Policy in late February 2021; using reclaimed asphalt pavement in our annual road resurfacing works; and endorsing the Glen Eira Our Climate Change Strategy 2021–2025 after engaging with the community. (See Key projects and activities for more information). We have reduced the amount of food waste going to landfill by around 892 tonnes. This means 1,872 less tonnes of CO₂ equivalent is going into the atmosphere. Our carbon footprint decreased by 18 per cent to 6,888 tonnes CO₂ equivalent compared to 8,399 tonnes the previous financial year. This decrease was due to a further 78.27kWh of solar power systems installed on eight community buildings and an overall decrease in energy use at Council sites with many buildings being unoccupied during lockdown periods. We planted 1,854 street trees (854 replacement and 1,000 additional).

As part of our Community Grants Program, Council provided $345,895 (92 grants) to 85 local not-for-profit community groups and organisations to encourage community strengthening and inclusion. We also provided $376,586 to community organisations experiencing hardship under our new COVID-19 Community Action Grants Program. We accommodated 79 clubs that resumed community sport in-line with COVID-19 directives and delivered more than 61,000 hours of in-home support to more than 2,200 elderly, frail or disabled residents. StoryTime and BabyTime sessions were held online for children and parents until Term 2 of 2021. Glen Eira Leisure, which includes GESAC, Caulfield Recreation Centre and Carnegie Swim Centre, hosted more than 370,000 visitors.

We invested $32.48 million in community infrastructure and community facilities. We expended 80 per cent of the capital budget. The program comprised 66 per cent renewal and upgrade of existing assets, eight per cent expansion and 26 per cent new.

We removed 3,531 square metres of graffiti from private property and 3,284 square metres of graffiti from Council property.

Our business community continued to be challenged during 2020 and early 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To support it through this difficult time, we increased our COVID-19 Response and Recovery Package from $7.3 million to $8.9 million. As part of this increased package, Council introduced a new COVID-19 Response and Recovery Small Business Support Grant for small businesses (with an annual payroll up to $650,000) that wanted to reach existing and new markets through online technology and e-commerce. Council provided support grants of up to $2,000 each to 453 local small businesses. With in-person events put on hold, we held 32 webinars, including a series aimed at strengthening the digital literacy of our businesses and a series preparing them for tax time. Responding to trading restrictions imposed on businesses as a result of COVID-19, we explored opportunities to support increased outdoor dining. This included offering a temporary and streamlined opportunity for extended footpath trading, to existing footpath permit holders who wanted to expand their footpath trading space. Forty-three businesses received an extension allowing them to have a larger outdoor trading space. We also received funding ($500,000) through the State Government’s Local Council Outdoor Dining and Entertainment Funding Package that supported 23 businesses through the provision of dining parklets throughout the municipality. A ‘mega-parklet’ was also installed in Carnegie available for all businesses in the centre to utilise. We engaged with more than 900 businesses to better understand their needs and issues post-COVID and gauge their level of online presence in order to better support them into the future.

For more information see COVID-19 response and recovery overview.

Our 2020–21 operating position was a $516,000 surplus, which is $4.85 million lower than our 2020–21 budget. Factors that contributed to this include:

• lower than anticipated user fee income $6.5 million;
• reduced statutory fee and fine income $1.84 million; and
• share of the net loss of the Clayton Landfill joint venture $2.23 million.

These factors are partially offset by savings from being unable to run our services during enforced pandemic closures.
Any surpluses from operating activities are invested in areas such as capital works, technology and other service improvements so we can continue to deliver high-quality, responsive and accessible services to the community at a reasonable cost. We continue to charge low municipal rates and have the second-lowest average rates and charges in metropolitan Melbourne.

For more information see Financial sustainability.

As well as being a service provider, we are also one of Glen Eira’s largest employers. We continue to invest in development, leadership and wellbeing programs for our staff. One hundred and fifty three staff members were recognised for the work they have contributed to the organisation above and beyond the normal expectations of their role. Voluntary staff turnover was 13.6 per cent, which includes turnover in our casual workforce. Staff turnover excluding casuals was 12.9 per cent. We have an overall employee engagement score of 68 per cent, which is in the top 25 per cent of the Local Government benchmark. We continued to be challenged across 2020 due to forced lockdowns. We did our best to support staff through this difficult time, including the introduction of new leave entitlements, redeploying as many staff as we could into other areas of Council and continuing our participation in the State Government’s Working for Victoria initiative. For more information see COVID-19 response and recovery overview.

Two major structural changes impacted the workforce this year. The first was a decision to create a dedicated Climate and Sustainability team within the Planning, Place and Sustainability Directorate. This change reflects Council’s commitment to delivering on its ambitious emissions reduction commitments following the declaration of a climate emergency in 2020.

The other change related to Council’s decision in March 2021 to close Spurway Residential Aged Care home and consolidate our aged care service onto our two remaining sites — Rosstown and Warrawee. The closure resulted in 19 staff being transferred to other locations and 22 redundancies.

On Monday 16 March 2020, the State Government declared a State of Emergency in Victoria due to the serious risk to public health posed by COVID-19. The Minister for Health continued to extend this declaration into 2021, which meant some of our key services and facilities were continually shut down. This announcement meant we had to continue to limit staff face-to-face contact, continue to postpone non-essential services, major works and events, and reopen and close some of our key facilities, including the Service Centre front counter at Glen Eira Town Hall; Glen Eira Leisure facilities; Glen Eira Libraries; and the Youth Centre.

At an Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday 16 March 2021, Council resolved not to proceed further with Planning Scheme Amendment C184 (designed to embed Bentleigh and Carnegie Structure Plans within the Glen Eira Planning Scheme) and to instead undertake a reset of the process. A new Housing Strategy will be developed with community input to inform separate Planning Scheme amendments for each of the commercial centres (Bentleigh and Carnegie). The Housing Strategy will provide a clear vision for housing over the next 15 years and provide strategic support for future strategic planning work. Engagement on the Housing Strategy will take place later this year.

Construction for the redevelopment of Carnegie Swim Centre has been scheduled for early 2022, with the Centre to open by mid-2023. Our focus will be on advocating for State and Federal Government grant funding and appointing a builder via a tender process. If grant funding is secured, this will allow Council to redirect funds currently allocated to this project to other community services or projects. We will continue our commitment to taking strong and swift action on the local impacts of climate change through advocacy and investment, and to meet our ambitious 2025 target to produce zero emissions from Council as outlined in the Our Climate Emergency Response Strategy 2021–2025. Providing green and open space will also remain a priority as we develop a number of greening projects to reduce development and protect Glen Eira’s leafy and green character. Our City’s canopy cover is currently less than 12 per cent and through our recently endorsed Urban Forest Strategy, we aim to increase it to 22 per cent by 2040.

Conclusion

While it has been another challenging year for Glen Eira and Victoria, we are proud of what our staff and Councillors have been able to achieve. We would like to acknowledge and thank them for their dedication and commitment to ensuring that the community has remained front of mind — despite the challenges presented in these uncertain times. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with our community in the coming year as we rebuild our financial sustainability and support them in their recovery to ensure that Glen Eira remains a vibrant City of opportunity, where everyone belongs.