12 / 156
12 Business View Australia - January-February 2016
PUBLIC WORKS &
Federal funding was received to
promote the skill of councils in man-
aging assets and linking that to long-
term financial planning. All the ef-
forts that were taken by LGAT bore
very positive results. Recently the
Auditor-General issued a report in
which it was declared that all Tasma-
nian councils are financially sustain-
able.
Referring to the Auditor-General’s
report, Clarence Mayor Doug Chip-
man who took over as the new pres-
ident of the Local Government As-
sociation, Tasmania, in September
2015, said, “We have seen consist-
ent improvement over the past few
years and the Auditor-General has
found that all Tasmanian councils
are financially viable. While there is
still room for improvement in some
areas, this is a great result.
“It reflects the strong emphasis
councils have placed on financial
and asset management. For the first
time in nine years, the sector has a
surplus. Councils continue to build
on the improvements made under
the Commonwealth funded Local
Government Financial and Asset Re-
form Project which was managed by
the Local Government Association
of Tasmania.
“All councils want to ensure cost-ef-
fective and sustainable services,