Local Government, particularly of the size and complexity of Logan City Council, is a very large business operation.

With the size of our business, Logan City’s corporate profile places it, for comparative purposes, within the top ten commercial corporations in the State.

The range of functions, works, services and facilities under Council's control is wide and varied and the Councillor’s role is like that of a member of a Board of Directors. Their decision making power is confined to collective decisions called resolutions. These resolutions are made in formal Council meetings.

Corporate and Operational Planning

The Corporate Plan is Council's primary strategic planning document. It sets out the key outcomes and strategies that Council will apply during a given period, usually five years.

The Corporate Plan is broken down into annual Operational Plans. These plans set the goals and targets to report against as programs and projects during the year. Operational plans align with funding allocation for programs and projects in the Annual Budget.

A progress report is published each year in the Annual Report. For more information about Logan's corporate and operational pans, please see Reports and Publications.

Annual Budget

One of the most important decisions Councillors make each year is in the adoption of the Annual Budget.

While individual councillors are not expected to hold detailed financial and accounting skills their responsibility is to ensure that the finances of the local government are managed sustainability.

This means that the works and services the organisation undertakes are adequately funded and that the local government’s assets are preserved and maintained over the long term.

Getting the balance right between levying rates and charges, generating income from Council businesses and managing responsible levels of debt for capital improvements is important. This requires close cooperation between councillors and the Council’s management team.

The annual budget formulation process extends over several months of briefings and workshops with Council officers.

As there is a large demand for works and services, there needs to be an orderly approach. Annual programs are compiled for each major function like, road construction and maintenance, parks and facilities and community assistance funding to allocate funding in the budget.

Careful consideration of priorities during the budget process is essential. Whilst the programs will have some flexibility during the year it is not desirable to make radical changes to them once adopted.

The role of the CEO and the organisation

Whilst the elected Council decides strategic direction, individual Councillors do not play a management role in operational matters. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and their team of executive staff, known as Directors manage the ordinary day to day operations.

The administrative organisation is divided into departments and branches that manage the ongoing service delivery and interaction with residents and businesses. For information about our Council’s organisation structure, please see Our organisation.

For more information about the various functions undertaken, please see Annual Report.

The role of the organisation is to provide policy advice to the Council. When the Council has resolved a policy position, decided an application or agreed to a program of works the organisation is charged with implementing those decisions.

The CEO and the management team are responsible for obtaining the best results from the effective use of the financial, physical and human resources available to achieve the Council’s objectives.

The management team exercise supervision of all Council staff. Councillors do not have authority to direct or instruct any employees in their duties.

Councillors can direct residents to the appropriate avenue to attend to their requests and service needs. For example, residents’ requests for services and information need to be referred to the customer service centre. This is so they can be recorded in the management system and tracked until the request is resolved.