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Sep 14, 2009, 8:10:56 PM9/14/09
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LGAM - new forum posts

Council Wikis

Posted: 07 Sep 2009 05:30 AM PDT

One of the first ideas I had when I set this site up, was to list which software packages different Councils were using. I thought this would help any Council planning to purchase a new system, by allowing them to quickly establish which packages were popular, and to find nearby Councils already using a given system with which to discuss the systems pros and cons. I initially concentrated on Geographical Information Systems, Asset Management Systems & Finance Systems, but added a few more lists later on.

One type of software I didn't really think to add until very recently is Wiki software itself. Bundaberg Regional Council has been using MediaWiki for a few years now and as of today the BRC wiki contains over 10,000 pages of information, and it is a very useful resource for Council staff. I am very interested to hear what if any wiki systems other Councils are using. I'd love to be proved wrong, but I have a strong suspicion that not many other Councils are using wikis at all.

Wikis are easy to use, useful, and quite often free, but there are a perhaps a couple of reasons why they aren't being used more. I suspect that being a relatively recent innovation (they have been around since 1995) not everyone knows much about them, how to set them up, how to use them or what to use them for.

Being a "wiki evangelist" I'd love to see them being used more, and I think the way to do that is to show people what they can do, and to make it easy for them to set one up. This website itself is one example of how a wiki can be used, but I think it is only part of the story.

The main reason I set this site up this was to share information that I thought was of general use to Councils everywhere. A lot of it was already documented on the Bundaberg Wiki, and I thought it was a shame it wasn't available to more Councils. On the other hand about 80% of the information on the BRC wiki is Bundaberg specific information that no one else would be particularly interested in, photos and data about assets, Bundaberg specific processes & procedures, and that sort of thing. Although the data itself is of limited interest to others, most people from other Councils and organisations that have seen the BRC wiki, are quite impressed with what we have done, and a few have expressed an interest in setting up something similar for their organisation.

I have thought about this quite a bit recently and I have come to the conclusion that whilst it is easy enough for a Council to host a wiki on their own server and set it up in a similar fashion to Bundaberg, there are a number of advantages in using Wikidot (the site that hosts the LGAM Knowledge Base) to host a network of Council specific wikis.

  1. Wikidot offers a free hosting option that is more than generous enough to host a sizable wiki.
  2. It is possible to clone an existing wikidot site and hand the copy of it to a new user which makes it very easy to start of with a functional wiki instead of a blank slate.
  3. The sites can be configured to be either publicly viewable, or only viewable by wiki members.
  4. Once a few Councils set up wikis it will be very easy for them to feed of each others ideas.
  5. It will allow me easily to help anyone to set up their site and get it going.

To get the ball rolling I have started copying a few pages from the BRC Wiki to a new Wikidot wiki to designed to show the sorts of things that could be included in a Council Wiki - it is early days yet, but if you are interested in having a look, the site address is: http://brc1.wikidot.com.

I have also set up a blank version which I am happy to give you a copy of to get you started - http://extranet.wikidot.com

If you are even half interested in setting up a wiki for your Council, please let me know, and I will help you out as much as I can.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Council Wikis

Re: Problems

Posted: 26 Aug 2009 07:03 PM PDT

Oops and I didn't even notice. Fortunately I was focused on my other Wikis and their activities yesterday. Thanks for the advice.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Problems

Problems

Posted: 26 Aug 2009 01:49 PM PDT

A big SORRY to everyone who tried to access the site yesterday, and got an eror message instead of the page they were looking for. The wikidot servers were playing uo all day and down completely for a few hours over night. I'd like to assure you all that the problems are a rarity and the site is up and running perfectly well more than 99% of the time.

Click here for more information about the problems.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Problems

Re: Newsletter

Posted: 23 Aug 2009 03:53 PM PDT

Wayne
If you have the time for all this, more strength to you.
A newsletter is just more marketing which is what the site (and all other on-line sites) needs.
However, the newsletter to have an impact would need to be interesting and I am not sure how you make it interesting for the broad audience we are dealing with. I will have a think about topics but they either need to highlight the really interesting bits of the site or involve case studies (this could be success stories around site topics or general AM success stories - always a good read if written properly - get some editorial help to "sex up" whatever you put together - it is all in the look and feel).
Perhaps a profile of a key player might interest people. Make it a bit more personal and get people interested in what is a "reasonably boring" topic!!!
Regards
Darron


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Newsletter

Newsletter

Posted: 19 Aug 2009 11:20 PM PDT

I've been thinking that I should create a newsletter that could be sent out to Council's every six months or so, to remind them of the site, and why it is a good idea for them to both contribute to it and use it. I thought the sites first anniversary in mid-October might be a good time to send out edition #1. What does everyone think? Does anyone have any suggestions about what to include?


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Newsletter

Milestones

Posted: 12 Aug 2009 11:04 PM PDT

A couple of minor milestones today.
1. The site is now exactly 10 months old
2. At the time of writing it contained exactly 1800 pages.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Milestones

New Header

Posted: 09 Aug 2009 11:08 PM PDT

A change is good as a holiday, so I thought a change in the site header might be in order.
It is a little bit narrower which means a little bit more information on your screen, which is a bit of a bonus when you are looking at a long page.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: New Header

Re: We are not alone.

Posted: 02 Aug 2009 07:26 PM PDT

I had a look at this Wiki - very early days - not much content. It will be interesting to see how it builds. I joined as a member of the Wiki and seems like I am # 3.
However looking at the Munigov web site (not the Wiki) they seems to be a reasonably large organisation (I assume a bit like IPWEA).

It will be interesting to watch this site and see how it progresses.
Darron Passlow


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: We are not alone.

We are not alone.

Posted: 02 Aug 2009 05:02 PM PDT

Whilst there are quite a few Public Sector Knowledge Sharing Initiatives already in existence, until recently the Local Government & Municipal Knowledge Base, was the only one that was;

  1. Local Government focused
  2. Open
  3. Trying to build an encyclopedic knowledge base for Local Government

BUT, as of yesterday, we are not alone.

Munigov an online community for US Local Government employees has just set up a wiki aimed at "allowing local governments to pool their knowledge in an effort to collaborate and share ideas, practices, policies, standards, and experiences". Those stated aims are very similar to ours.

I am hopeful that the Munigov Local Government Wiki will become a very good resource for local governments in the USA and around the world. I'll be supporting it as much as I can and I am hopeful that both sites will be able to learn from each other and prosper into the future.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: We are not alone.

Re: Nine Month Aniversary

Posted: 22 Jul 2009 11:21 PM PDT

This is a really good effort by a few people to make this the success it is today. My congratulations go out to Wayne Eddy for the entrepreneurial approach to setting up this site and his innovative approach in keeping the site active and interesting. Well done Wayne and all other contributors and readers. Tell your friends about the site and lets get our membership up to a critical mass so that this site and its content will be self-sustaining (and not depend so much on the active few!). Happy anniversary. Darron Passlow


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Nine Month Aniversary

Nine Month Aniversary

Posted: 14 Jul 2009 10:44 PM PDT

It has now been nine months since the Local Government & Municipal Knowledge Base was set up.
There are now 1600 pages of information and 131 site members.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Nine Month Aniversary

Re: $25 million Local Government Reform Fund

Posted: 29 Jun 2009 12:05 AM PDT

I have also been thinking about how we can take advantage of this LG Reform Fund.
Is there any indication of who will administer it and who will approve projects and how projects should be presented?
In the debate surrounding the National Asset Management Framework and its subset in NSW - Integrated Planning and Reporting which includes Asset Management Planning & Reporting (as a key component), I have already recommended (at State level) that a few good, representative Councils should be chosen and they should attract significant funding to pioneer Good Asset Management Practice ('GAMP') in Local Governement - this would include (as you suggest) building appropriate templates and systems and checking out their applicability and functionality - completely documenting the procedures, practies and policies involved. A few leading lights with the where-for-all and the initiative to move forward at an appropriate pace (fast-track) and bring the rest along with them.
I saw the need for several participants across various Council sizes (e.g. large, medium, small) as requirements and capabilities differ significantly based on size and revenue base.
I saw Wingecarribee being an example of a medium sized Council (350 staff, 40,000 residents) and certainly with the entrepreneurial spirit to take a project like this forward with gusto. However I also saw the need for this to be a competitive process where the best team/Councils get the guernseys, once they have agreed to basic T&C including sharing/publishing the findings.

I am happy to start this initiative again. I am happy to work with others (of similar size). I am happy to be involved but would need a good reason (financial and technical) to take this initiative to the executive team here at WSC.
I am open to suggestions.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: $25 million Local Government Reform Fund

Re: $25 million Local Government Reform Fund

Posted: 28 Jun 2009 04:14 PM PDT

I've had a bit of a think about the above over the weekend, and I am going to try and write a submission advocating that the money be spent in a way that optimises the benefits to Councils, and doesn't just end up in the pockets of consultants and industry groups. Here is what I've got so far.

The National Asset Management Framework should incorporate;

  • Open standards for asset registers, that clearly specify naming conventions, table structures, etc. The standards should take into account all State & Federal Government reporting requirements, and ensure that data can be easily imported and exported between compliant Asset Management Software Systems.
  • Free, open & universally accessible Asset Management Plan templates for all asset classes.
  • Free, open & universally accessible Asset Management Manuals. These should not be PDF copies of word documents, they should be constantly updated web based versions, suitably indexed & hyper-linked to make it easy for Council Staff to find information quickly.
  • Support for the development of an open source asset management system capable of delivering a minimum level of asset management functionality.

Data collection and analysis.

  • All raw data collected should be published in an open format and made freely accessible to all interested parties.

The support for collaboration between Councils should include;

  • a Federal Government hosted or supported suite of web 2.0 collaboration tools, including wikis, social networks & wave servers.
  • education about the advantages of using Creative Commons licensing in Local Government.

Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: $25 million Local Government Reform Fund

$25 million Local Government Reform Fund

Posted: 27 Jun 2009 02:06 AM PDT

At the June 2009 Plenary Meeting of the Australian Council of Local Government a $25 million Local Government Reform Fund was announced.

The media release states that:

Over two years, the $25 million Local Government Reform Fund will:

* Assist councils implement new asset management and planning consistent with a national framework;
* Fund the collection and analysis of robust data about councils’ infrastructure assets; and
* Support collaboration between councils on a regional basis for service delivery and planning.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: $25 million Local Government Reform Fund

Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government

Posted: 26 Jun 2009 03:14 PM PDT

The Australian Federal Government has announced $8 million in funding for the new Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government. With a bit of luck the consortium behind the centre will be in favour of free & open knowledge sharing between Councils.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government

Re: Adaptation to Climate Change

Posted: 25 Jun 2009 02:11 AM PDT

Hi Thanks for the contribution. The file uploaded OK, but it wasn't visible because you somehow attached it to an non-existent page!!
I have moved the file to a new page I've created about the ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Adaptation to Climate Change

Re: Adaptation to Climate Change

Posted: 25 Jun 2009 12:15 AM PDT

Well, the file upload didn't seem to work - perhaps Wayne could seek out where a file called BiodieselReport_LOcalGovt..pdf is and make it available. Otherwise go to:
http://envirofuel.com.au/2007/10/23/new-report-on-australian-local-government-use-of-biodiesel/ .


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Adaptation to Climate Change

Adaptation to Climate Change

Posted: 25 Jun 2009 12:06 AM PDT

As a freelance consultant I have assembled a considerable body of literature sources and have authored some papers which may be of interest to members of this wiki. For example one of the best studies I have seen with respect to the use of alternative fuels is the LG Report on Biodiesel. A link [http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=229] that I have found usefull will unfortunately be closed next week so I have uploaded the .pdf report. If anyone has a special interest in alternative fuels, slow pyrolysis and soil carbon, please let me know and I will endeavour to provide papers and links. I have also posted some NT specific material at www.geocities.com/cspnt01 .


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Adaptation to Climate Change

lg adaptation to climate change

Posted: 24 Jun 2009 11:32 PM PDT

My LG (Darwin City Council) is really dragging the chain on climate change policy. Has anyone got details of leading edge LG policies that I can forward to them in an attempt to show what they SHOULD be doing ?


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: lg adaptation to climate change

Google Wave

Posted: 22 Jun 2009 08:05 PM PDT

I'm looking forward very much to the release of Google Wave later this year. I think it will be a fabulous tool for collaborative initiatives like this one. I can see it being used for virtual meetings, as well as replacing forums and e-mail lists. Has anyone else watched the Developer Preview video or been following the various discussions about it? What does everyone think? Will it change communications big time, or will it be a bit of a fizzer?


Forum category: General / Mailing List
Forum thread: Google Wave

Government 2.0 Taskforce

Posted: 21 Jun 2009 07:40 PM PDT

The Australian Federal Government has just announced the formation of a new body called the "Government 2.0 Taskforce".
One of the objectives of the Taskforce is to "promote collaboration across agencies with respect to online and information initiatives — to ensure that efficiencies, innovations, knowledge and enthusiasm are shared on a platform of open standards."
It will be interesting to see if the taskforce has an interest in projects like this one that promote cooperation between Councils.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Government 2.0 Taskforce

Page Count hits 1500

Posted: 18 Jun 2009 11:01 PM PDT

The site now contains over 1500 pages of information. Not bad considering it is still only 8 months old.
The number of new members joining the site has dropped off a bit in the last few months, but the current tally is up to 127 never-the-less.
The lasted major addition to the site is the Waste Management section. Only a few Waste Management pages so far. but stay tuned for more.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Page Count hits 1500

Plan Register Structure

Posted: 26 May 2009 06:41 PM PDT

Bundaberg Regional Council has just finished scanning all its hardcopy Engineering Drawings & Plans, and is in the process of registering the plans in a Plan Register. The Plan Register is an in-house developed Postgres database. We have included "asset" & "facility" fields in the database to make it easier to search for plans related to a specific asset. I am interested to hear how other Councils index their Engineering Drawings and what software they use.


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Plan Register Structure

Re: Open Source Local Government Software Suite

Posted: 21 May 2009 07:45 PM PDT

Hi, Darron,

I agree with you that there are a lot of barriers to creating an open source software suite for Local Government.
It is hard enough convincing people of the value of contributing to this website, and I think getting an "Open Source Local Government Software Suite" project up and running would be an order of magnitude harder again.
And you are right about the idea not being a new one. I was doing a bit of research the other day, and I found a post on another forum making a similar suggestion about 4 years ago, that nothing much seems to come of.
Still you can't stop a man from dreaming, and I think the dream is a good dream.


Forum category: Information Technology / Software
Forum thread: Open Source Local Government Software Suite

Re: Open Source Local Government Software Suite

Posted: 20 May 2009 07:41 PM PDT

Wayne
I like your thinking but it is not new!
There are two issues that arise here from your statements above.

1 Should Councils have access to Open Source Software
2 Should Councils have access to a standard set of software that specifically applies to Councils requirements

1 Access to Open Source
Governments have been trying this for years but with very limited (no) success. Why, because although Open Source is a great idea (concept)
in practice the reality is that apart from very simple, generic applications, open source is not sustainable or user friendly. It is also often difficult to get changes made or services around Open Source software because of its generic ownership. Companies have been set up on the back of Open Source software but generally they will modify it, tailor it (to specific requirements), market it, sell it and support it (as their own). This is generally what a client customer requires. So Open Source for Local Governement with the list of applications areas you require is not practical or achievable (or I feel it would have been done). There are areas where LG requires detailed functionality that is guaranteed by the supplier (e.g. Finance and Accounting). LG would not accept an "Open Source" brand witout the guarantees and the ongoing developement and support.
My thoughts on Open Source.

2 Standard Applications for LG
There are two bits to this;
a There are a few large suppliers of systems for LG where their products have been well and truly tested in LG environment.
There are a few suppliers (?) including Technology One who have (are developing a comprehensive set of applications for LG.
I only menton Tech One because we use a number of their products (Finance One, Proclaim, Dataworks, Outcome Manager etc) that Tech One are looking to integrate.
We do not use their Asset Management Software (even though they supply this application).
This is an option for LG (but can be a more expensive options for greater functionality, greater integration, lower risk etc)
b There was a major project a number of years ago where 5-6 Councils got together, threw in significant dollars and had a major (international) consulting firm specify and deliver a solution by presumably combining "appropriate vendors" products and integrating them. I think Parramatta and several other NSW Councils were involved in this "extensive" exercise. The marketing of this integrated solution (and its support) seems to be left to the individual vendors. So we are back with the individual vendor model (and not as effective probably as the "sole" vendor concept described in 2a.)

In summary, I think this would be a nice problem to solve but most Councils are already locked into specific solutions and a major exercise to get everyone on the same page would not be a possibility. Happy to hear others thoughts on this.


Forum category: Information Technology / Software
Forum thread: Open Source Local Government Software Suite

20 May 2009

Posted: 19 May 2009 11:04 PM PDT

I've changed the way that the site handles news updates. The two most recently created threads in the "News" category of the forum will automatically appear on the site's home page. Also you can now subscribe to the news feed via RSS.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: 20 May 2009

Open Source Local Government Software Suite

Posted: 18 May 2009 09:06 PM PDT

It seems to me, that if even a fraction of the money currently being spent by Councils on proprietary software systems was channeled into developing an open source software suite for Local Government, Councils could not only save a huge amount of money, but could end up with a software solution that actually meets their needs.

To be clear, I'm visualizing a system that would eventually contain; asset management, document/records management, finance, GIS & property modules, and any other functionality required by Local Government.

If anyone has any thoughts on how to initiate the development of an open source Local Government Software Suite, or what sought of functionality such a system should have, please let us know.


Forum category: Information Technology / Software
Forum thread: Open Source Local Government Software Suite

Information for Local Government

Posted: 17 May 2009 08:15 PM PDT

I noticed recently that the Queensland Main Roads website has a page titled "Information for -> Councils, local and state government".

http://www.mainroads.qld.gov.au/web/publicCR.nsf/2911b5cc11cfec994a25…

The information on the page is pretty limited, but it got me thinking,
that if every state and federal government department created a page
on their websites dedicated to listing & linking to information and
services that they provide for Local Government it would be very very
useful innovation for Councils.

If done thoughtfully, the information could be aggregated to give
Councils a single page to visit for all government information.

What does everyone think?

I've already left feedback on a couple of QLD government websites, suggesting that they think about a page devoted to Local Government. I'm not sure if it will result in any action, but I think it is worth a try.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Information for Local Government

Re: Goals

Posted: 05 May 2009 03:45 PM PDT

Thanks very much for the positive feedback "Singing Platypus". I'd be rapt if you are able to add one or two items a week. If everyone who visited the site did the same, it would be growing at a huge rate, and would be an even better resource for people new to local government.

I'm interested to hear if you found out about the site through work or through your studies. I have contacted a few universities about the site, because I thought it might be a good resource for students. It sounds like you agree.

One of our maintenance planners here at Bundaberg has done a fair bit of work researching definitions for water & sewerage assets. I will add pages about them today or in the near future.

Lastly, I've just thought of a new goal. A lot of Councils have Induction Manuals & Sessions for new employees. I think it would be great if Councils could mention this site in their Induction Manuals. I think it is a good resource for everyone no matter how long they have been working in local government, but as you have intimated it is probably the person who has just joined a Council that is going to benefit the most.

Regards, Wayne.


Forum category: General / The future of the wiki
Forum thread: Goals

Re: Goals

Posted: 05 May 2009 05:47 AM PDT

Hi Wayne,
The goals you list for this site are excellent! I started working in a local council about 18 months ago and constantly thought - while I was struggling to understand the world of infrastructure - that it would be great to have a kind of encyclopedia where any newbie could quickly find answers to questions like : what is a gravity or rising main? When does a water pipe become a water main or a service pipe? Are there common definitions or does each council have its own?

It seems that I'll have to do a bit of a brain dump for this site to fulfill at least this basic and very valuable goal of being a quick reference guide.

I am currently studying civil engineering as well, so time is a bit limited, but it should not take long to add one or two items a week to get this moving.

I'll be back!


Forum category: General / The future of the wiki
Forum thread: Goals

Re: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 23 Apr 2009 11:25 PM PDT

I think this rumour might have its origins in the Prime Minister's speech to the Australian Council of Local Government last November, where he said:

"Where appropriate, the Government will consider making resources available for a long term reform fund to support
councils as they improve their asset management and financial plans.

The Commonwealth will also consider making its future infrastructure investments linked to the implementation of
nationally consistent asset management systems.

This is good public policy.

And it will provide the Commonwealth with the confidence necessary to provide further support in the future…"


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Re: Could this site be a good resource for students?

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 08:20 PM PDT

Thanks Fiona, I think that people who have graduated from university and recently moved into the work force, are going to be key users and contributors to projects like this one. I hope so anyway.


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Could this site be a good resource for students?

Re: Could this site be a good resource for students?

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 08:04 PM PDT

I do.

I lecture at UTS casually - in the Local Governmnet Unit, I will include this website in my notes as a resource for the students.

I can also let a few other lecturers know at UNSW, and UTS and Planning at Sydney Uni. I am also reaching out to various Uni Faculties for promotion of the CRC (www.CyclingResourceCentre.org.au). I will send through the info when i have it all together.

Ciao

Fiona


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Could this site be a good resource for students?

$40 Million Funding for Cycle Paths & Womens Sports Management Scholarships

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 07:55 PM PDT

Those of you, who read the Australian Bicycle Council’s - Cycling Resource Centre News, will know that we have been reporting on the progress of the stimulus package funding and waiting for further details on bicycle infrastructure funding. Details of this funding are now available. It is a component of the Jobs Fund which is part of the Australian Governments Economic Stimulus package. Of the $650 million available in the Jobs Fund grants program, the Local Jobs initiative includes $40 Million specifically for the construction of bike paths.

The Jobs Fund will be administered by several government agencies, with the cycle path component under the jurisdiction of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.

The submission deadline is 22nd May 2009 for funding that will start from the 1st July 2009 and not extend beyond 30th June 2010.

Further information: http://www.cyclingresourcecentre.org.au/news_item.php?item=376

Australian Federal Government Scholarships Available

There are scholarships available to women from the Australian Sports Commission – refer to http://www.cyclingresourcecentre.org.au/news_item.php?item=383 for more information. Those of you who are female, and in management / professional positions within local government that plan / design / manage sports facilities and/or venues may well be eligible to apply for this scholarship.

Good luck with your applications.

Fiona


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: $40 Million Funding for Cycle Paths & Womens Sports Management Scholarships

Re: Fitout

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 05:58 PM PDT

Hi Darron,

Thanks for the reply.
That is roughly my understanding of fitout too, but I've been trying to track down an "official" definition.
We have e-mailed the "Building Service Authority" and asked them. If they have industry standard definition I will a note to that effect to the Fitout page.


Forum category: General / Definitions
Forum thread: Fitout

Re: Fitout

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 12:44 AM PDT

Wayne
Most of this is NOT "building fitout" as far as breaking your buildings into components where one component is Building Fitout.
My understanding of Building Fitout (from a Building valuation perspective) is the internal fittings and fixtures (that are permmanently attached to the
building (internal walls, partitions, room partitions etc).
Other items listed above just happen to be in the building and would be contained in their own asset category for valuation and assessment etc.
They would have significant different economic lives and hence require different depreciation and valuation calculations.
Lighting, heating and air-conditioning etc are generally kept under Building Services - a separate Building component category.
Hope this helps.


Forum category: General / Definitions
Forum thread: Fitout

Fitout

Posted: 20 Apr 2009 06:53 PM PDT

I believe that it is a common practice to break up major buildings into a number of components including fitout. Whilst I have a bit of an idea of what "fitout" means I have been struggling to find an authoritative definition.

Specifier.Com lists the following items under the heading office fitout.

  • Office Furniture
  • Office Storage Systems
  • Office Seating
  • Workstations
  • Internal Partitions
  • Office Equipment

There are one or two items on the list I wouldn't have thought would be classed as fitout.

I am very interested to hear what other Council consider to be included in fitout.


Forum category: General / Definitions
Forum thread: Fitout

Active Transport & Cycling Network

Posted: 20 Apr 2009 03:44 PM PDT

Fiona MacColl the Executive Officer at Australian Bicycle Council is trying to establish a network for Australian local government professionals and elected representatives interested in active transport and cycling.

It will be a no cost collaborative network of professionals from various backgrounds that have cycling (recreational and commuter based) as part of their work spec that may require information, wish to share projects that they have completed (infrastructure / programs / services) or that are just interested in cycling.

If you are interested in coming part of the network you can contact Fiona at a...@austroads.com.au


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Active Transport & Cycling Network

Monthly Update

Posted: 13 Apr 2009 01:53 PM PDT

Hi all, yesterday was the sites six month anniversary, I think for a new site it is going pretty well, but I hope that in six months time it will be even bigger & better.

Here are a few site stats.

1. There are now 103 members. (Up 26 from last month)
2. There are now 1240 pages of information.
3. The sites international Alexa ranking has jumped to 329,543, and its Australian Ranking is holding steady at about 3400.
4. There have been 2,462 unique visitors & 41,100 page views since I set up Google Analytics for the site in November last year.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Monthly Update

Is mowing operation or maintenance?

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 06:05 PM PDT

Hi all, I have just added the Main Roads (Queensland) definition of operations to the Operation page. They cite "Grass Mowing" as an example of an operation activity. We have had a lot of discussion here about whether it should be considered operation or maintenance. It is listed as a maintenance activity her for the moment, but we would like to get a bit of a consensus on where it should sit, so some comments would be greatly appreciated.


Forum category: Asset Management / Asset Management Practices
Forum thread: Is mowing operation or maintenance?

Outages / How to report problems accessing the site

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 07:59 PM PDT

Hi all, a couple of people have mentioned they have had trouble accessing the site recently.

The Wikidot servers were down for a few hours on the 5th of March, but since then, I at least have been able to access the site without problems, from home and work whenever I want to - which is quite regularly.
If you do have problems accessing the site please leave a message here after the event or let me know by e-mail - Wayne...@bundaberg.qld.gov.au and/or w...@darkenfair.com

If the Wikidot servers are down again for any reason, I will post a message to the mailing list & the Twitter account associated with the site as soon as I find out. (Just one more reason to sign up!)

It might be worth mentioning that the site can be accessed using two urls.
http://www.lgam.info & http://lgam.wikidot.com
If one isn't working try the other one. It shouldn't make any difference, but it won't hurt trying.

If all this talk about the servers being down etc. concerns you, don't panic. I am confident that the wikidot hosting option is a good one, and that they will be around for the long haul. They have 300,000 users and are growing quickly. Having said that, I back up the site regularly, and I can move it elsewhere if necessary. In that event the site would retain the www.lgam.info address, but would lose the wikidot one. It would be a pain to do, but be assured I have a Plan B.


Forum category: General / Bugs, Errors & Broken Links
Forum thread: Outages / How to report problems accessing the site

Profile Photos

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 04:08 PM PDT

If you've ever clicked on "Site Members" in the side menu to have a look at who else is a member of the site, you will have noticed that a few people have uploaded a photo of themselves. I reckon I wouldn't be far off the mark if I speculated, that everyone is interested to know what the people they are collaborating with online look like. I know most people's aren't always that keen to post a photo of themselves online, but I think it is a good way to encourage a bit of community building and I would like to encourage a few more people to "bite the bullet" and find a photo to upload. It only needs to be 100x100 pixels in size so most of your wrinkles and imperfections won't show at that sort of scale!!! Lets make next week Photo Profile Week. Come on, give it a go. I did it, and it doesn't hurt that much!!!

Here is how to do it.
1. Find a photo and save it to your computer somewhere.
2. Log in to Wikidot.
3. Click on "my account" in the top right hand corner of your screen.
4. Click on "my profile".
5. Click on "my buddy icon. (avatar).
6. Upload your photo.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Profile Photos

Bundaberg Regional Council Assets Officer Position

Posted: 12 Mar 2009 10:32 PM PDT

Availability: Public
Expires: 31 March 2009
Location: Bargara
Employment Type: Permanent Full Time
Award: Queensland Local Government Officers Award
Level: 4
Agreement: Bundaberg Regional Council Employees Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2008

The Position: Using your post secondary qualification in Engineering Technology, Asset Management, Surveying or Spatial Science and/or considerable experience in one or more of these fields, you will identify, compile, verify and record inventory and status of attributes (financial, physical and spatial) for all of Council's infrastructure assets.

Applications: Further enquiries with regard to this position should be directed to Wayne Eddy, Manager Assets on (07) 4130 4851.

Applications addressing the selection criteria are to be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer and can be mailed to Bundaberg Regional Council, PO Box 3130, Bundaberg QLD 4670 or by email to vaca...@bundaberg.qld.gov.au

Applications close Tuesday, 31st March 2009. Please quote vacancy number: PN/09/0050 when applying for this position.

Position Description: Assets_Officer.Pdf


Forum category: General / Jobs
Forum thread: Bundaberg Regional Council Assets Officer Position

Re: Milestones

Posted: 12 Mar 2009 08:04 PM PDT

Hi all,

It has been a month since I last updated you on how the site has been going.

1. The site has now been up and running for five months.
2. There are now 77 members. (Up 17 from last month)
3. There are now 1150 pages of information.
4. The sites international Alexa ranking has jumped to 580,969, and its Australian Ranking of 3470 is also a big improvement.
5. There have been 1492 unique visitors & 29,045 page views since I set up Google Analytics for the site in November last year.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Milestones

Re: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 09 Mar 2009 08:55 PM PDT

Thankyou Wayne.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government advised that there has been talk of adopting such a requirement in the future but at this stage there is no date specified. They suggest contact with the relevant Local Government Association as the best place for guidance on what may be required in the short term.


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Re: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 09 Mar 2009 07:10 PM PDT

Thanks Darron. I think you're on the right track with respect to different people having very different ideas of what an AMP is. The 'core' AMP that may be required in the short term won't bare much resemblance to the detailed plans that will ultimately be required in order to demonstrate sustainability, and which will certainly require more development time in order to be meaningful.

I have heard it suggested that AMPs may be required to under-pin rate increase applications and I guess that would be reasonable if the reason for requiring the increase was the scope of asset works required. But for general grant applications, given that there is no current requirement to have AMPs in place (excepting SA I believe), I would think that a demonstration that serious asset management planning is being undertaken would suffice.


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Re: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 08 Mar 2009 08:58 PM PDT

Addition to above post;
Spoke to colleague who has a significant application into Feds for current Infrastructure funding round.
The application required;
A feasability study
A project plan (re his proposal)
Financial expenditure forecasts and timelines.

This could possibly be referred to in the simplest form as an AMP (a plan for an asset), but I would describe this as a specific asset project plan.
The AMP would be made up of this and all other capital, operational and maintenance work across an asset group (as well as demand forecasting, level of service considerations, risk considerations and expenditures (covering 10 years forward) - a bit different


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Re: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 08 Mar 2009 08:46 PM PDT

I think there might be 2 issues here;
1 What is meant by an AMP

2 What are the expectations of various levels of government

1 AMP
All state governments are starting to require (do require) certain specifically formatted AMPs.
In NSW the Dept of Local Government has discussion papers out (and has for a year) describing what the statutory requirements (primarily for reporting) will be - under their Integrated Planning & Reporting.
Their requirements here will initially require a significant "core" AMP that will include (track) key financial performance indicators.
These plans will be required as part of the reporting to government process (local to state).
No deadline for these has been set yet so it will not be June 2009 (most likely June 2010)
As far as the Feds are concerned, I have seen nothing but also I have not been involved in applying for current infrastructure funding.
Perhaps the Feds are asking for something here.
They may be asking for an AMP? This then leads to;
2 What makes an AMP
Simply (and from the Feds point of view), it could be give us a project plan (including expenditure forecasts and timelines) for the work you intend to carry out.

A more detailed AMP (following the IIMM - standard) will require significantly more work and thought.
Even a "core" IIMM AMP is fairly detailed and descriptive (with associated expenditure forecasts out at least 10 years)
Some States (NSW included) could asked for the "all singing, all dancing" "Advanced" AMP - but timelines for this requirement are extended, certainly past 2010 and will logically follow on from "Core" plans.

Hope this helps. I will make more enquiries around Fed requirements for Infrastructure funding.

Darron Passlow AMC/WSC


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Re: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 08 Mar 2009 06:36 PM PDT

Hi Baz,
Welcome to the site, and thanks for the question. The forum isn't being used a great deal yet, but hopefully it will get used more in the future as more people sign up to the site.
The best I can do for you is point you to the Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government's contact page.
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/utilities/contact.aspx
You would think, that they would either have an answer or be able to put you in contact with someone that has.

Regards, Wayne.

P.S. Let me know what you find out, and I will add it to the news section of the site.


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

Posted: 08 Mar 2009 04:00 PM PDT

I recently heard it stated that councils may be required to have AMPs in place by 30 June 2009 in order to qualify for federal infrastructure grants. I haven't been able to find written confirmation of this. Is anyone able to confirm or deny this requirement ?


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Infrastructure grant funds and AMPs

What's New - March 2009

Posted: 05 Mar 2009 08:23 PM PST

Most of the Queensland Council Pages have been updated recently. The large majority of them now have some basic information, like a locality plan, a generic e-mail address and a couple of links. A few have some extra information about the Council, a list of what software systems are being used, and some additional contact details. It would be really useful to have this extra information on each page. If you know someone at one of the Councils where information is missing, it would be greatly appreciated if you could encourage them have a look at the site, and (if they are happy to do so) to sign up and add the missing information. I have been chipping away at the other states as well, but it might be a little while longer before all the pages have the same amount of info as the Queensland pages.

The number of site members is growing slowly. There 73 members at last count. The sites Alexa Rating is also improving steadily, it is now up to 683,179. The number of pages on the site is now 1135.


Forum category: General / What's New
Forum thread: What's New - March 2009

Contractor Control - Safety

Posted: 26 Feb 2009 09:19 PM PST

Does anybody have a policy in place dealing with contractor control, particularly relating to safety issues. eg Maintenance of equipment and vehicles, public safety etc.


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Contractor Control - Safety

Could this site be a good resource for students?

Posted: 19 Feb 2009 02:51 PM PST

I was thinking that this site could become a good resource for students considering a career in Local Government.
Does anyone have any contacts at universities or elsewhere that might, if made aware of the site, be in a position to pass the information on to students/future Local Government employees?


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Could this site be a good resource for students?

Does any one have a good definition for Fully Funded Depreciation?

Posted: 19 Feb 2009 02:45 PM PST

Does any one have a good definition for Fully Funded Depreciation? I have a bit of an idea, but perhaps someone with an accounting background might like to post a definitive definition!?


Forum category: General / Questions
Forum thread: Does any one have a good definition for Fully Funded Depreciation?

Goals

Posted: 18 Feb 2009 10:27 PM PST

I thought I'd nominate a few long term goals for the site, to help people using it understand how I'd like to see it develop into the future. Comments on my grandiose vision are more than welcome!

1. To compile a comprehensive encyclopedia like repository of knowledge about all aspects of Council operations & activities.

2. To have nearly every person in every Council office building across Australia refer to the site on a daily basis, and at least a few officers at every Council contributing information to the site regularly.

3. To have groups of local government employees using the site regularly to collaborate on a wide range of projects.

4. To have groups in other countries & industries using the site as a model for similar sites.


Forum category: General / The future of the wiki
Forum thread: Goals

Re: What's New - February 2009

Posted: 13 Feb 2009 03:08 PM PST

I have modified the home page slightly & added a "Latest News" column, so you can see what's new as soon as you access the front page.


Forum category: General / What's New
Forum thread: What's New - February 2009

Re: Milestones

Posted: 12 Feb 2009 03:47 PM PST

And one more milestone of interest.

The site now contains exactly 1000 pages of information.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Milestones

Milestones

Posted: 12 Feb 2009 02:59 PM PST

Hi all,

We reached a few milestones today.

1. The site has now been up and running for exactly 4 months.
2. There are now 60 members.
3. The site now has a world Alexa ranking of 1,397,203, and an Australian Alexa Ranking of 7396.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Milestones

Re: What's New - February 2009

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 03:31 PM PST

I have created a Facebook Group for this website.
The link is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49682891545


Forum category: General / What's New
Forum thread: What's New - February 2009

What's New - February 2009

Posted: 08 Feb 2009 07:00 PM PST
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LGAM Knowledge Base - new forum posts

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Tutorial Page

Posted: 18 Sep 2009 02:35 PM PDT

I've been thinking about ways of making it easier for people to make contributions to the site. I imagine there are a few people who would like to contribute, but aren't too sure where to start, so I thought a Tutorial page might be a good idea. It is still in its infancy, but the page is here if you would like to have a look. Any suggestions about what to include in the tutorial would be greatly appreciated.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Tutorial Page

LGAM Knowledge Base - new forum posts

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Ways to save money.

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:18 PM PDT

One of the main purposes of this site is to help Councils save money by sharing knowledge and information. Obviously, a very important first step is sharing knowledge about how to save money! If you have any ideas, or have implemented a money saving strategy at your Council, please let everyone know about it here.


Forum category: General / General
Forum thread: Ways to save money.

LGAM Knowledge Base - new forum posts

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Re: Government 2.0 Taskforce

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 06:54 PM PDT

The Government 2.0 Taskforce has set up a Suggestion Box where you can suggest and vote for Government Web 2.0 projects.

If you would like to support this site you can vote for it here.


Forum category: General / News
Forum thread: Government 2.0 Taskforce

LGAM Knowledge Base - new forum posts

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Re: Request for Scada & Telemetry Section

Posted: 19 Apr 2009 07:58 PM PDT

Hi Adrian, thanks for joining the site and contributing to the forum, and thanks for the suggestion.
I have created a "SCADA" page & and "SCADA & Telemetry" page.

Regards,

Wayne Eddy


Forum category: Hidden / Per page discussions
Forum thread: Suggestions

Request for Scada & Telemetry Section

Posted: 16 Apr 2009 03:27 PM PDT

Would it be possible to add a Scada & Telemetry Section to aid in the shareing of information between councils.

Perhaps under the Water Waste Water section maybe.

Regards

Adrian Hope-Hodgetts


Forum category: Hidden / Per page discussions
Forum thread: Suggestions
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