Message from the Mayor

I am pleased to present the City’s Annual Report for 2019/2020. It has been a year like no other. For the first nine months we were tracking well – our services were delivering great outcomes for our people and new projects and programs were creating the foundation for future growth. While COVID-19 and the restrictions implemented throughout the State and around Australia had an impact on our community, our solid performance and strong financial management meant we could quickly and effectively respond to the new challenges presented by COVID-19 over the last few months of the 2019/2020 financial year. As with many organisations, COVID-19 has had a major impact on our City. Many of our services and programs, such as our venues, including our performing arts centre, gyms, libraries, pools and leisure centres, had to close temporarily, which reduced our revenue and impacted our customers and staff. The impact on our community was also significant, but the redeployment of City staff enabled us to help and support those in need. We reached out and provided support to those in need from our local families with young children to small business owners and operators to our seniors. I'm so proud of the way our staff stepped up and supported our community and each other, through these unprecedented and challenging times. I’d also like to acknowledge the wonderful contributions of my fellow Councillors. Together we had to make some tough decisions about how best to respond to the financial impacts of COVID-19, and who worked together on a crisis Budget that saw us respond to the immediate needs of the community while laying the foundations for a strong financial and economic recovery. The specific measures the City implemented included: • The suspension of the City’s debt collection process for outstanding rates • Consideration of hardship cases for debtors and creditor payment terms reduced from monthly to fortnightly to assist suppliers with their cash flow • Cancellation of all hall hire applications at no cost • A freeze on fees and charges • Suspension of lease and rental payments for a month to all

City tenants leasing city-owned property • Free and express treatment of small business Development

Applications and Change of

Land Use applications to help small businesses adapt to changing circumstances and food inspection fees being cancelled for three months As we were able to shift focus from the day-to-day to what’s coming next, over the next year we will focus on moving forward a number of shovel-ready infrastructure projects to keep the community moving forward and attract investment while protecting and promoting the amenity and lifestyle that makes the City unique. Looking ahead, we know that things will never be the same again but we know we are resilient and adaptable and we will recover. Stay safe and look after each other. Margaret Thomas Mayor City of Kalamunda