Significant gains in Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's operating efficiency, community relationships and infrastructure delivery have made for a very successful year.
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Council's financial position has also improved significantly over previous years according to its 2014-15 annual report.
For the first time in 10 years council revenue has covered expenses, and council is looking to continue this positive trend in the current financial year.
"The focus on reviewing our services and delivery methods, reviewing our assets, full implementation of a procurement strategy and benchmarking against industry best practice has played a significant role in reaching this significant financial position," general manager Craig Swift-McNair explained.
Delivery of capital works programs was at a record high in 2014-15, with more than $45 million of work being completed.
"Council has ramped up its focus on delivering vital infrastructure to our region, and since 2010 major projects spending has increased by about 30 per cent, from around $35 million in 2010-11 to $45 million last year," he said.
Roads and transport infrastructure continues to be a high investment priority, primarily in increasing the maintenance spend for our 875km of sealed road network, with resealing and pavement work being completed on 8 per cent of the network in 2014-15, which is considered to be best practice.
"Whilst we are pleased to provide this positive report back to our community, there is still much work to be done and our focus will remain on reviewing our services to ensure we are delivering them as efficiently and effectively as possible," Mr Swift-McNair said.
"I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the councillors and the staff in bringing council closer to the community."
The 2014-15 Community Report Card is a reader-friendly summary of council's key achievements, which is available at customer service centres, libraries and at www.pmhc.nsw.gov.au/annualreport.