{"id":2258,"date":"2019-04-12T09:21:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T09:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=2258"},"modified":"2019-04-12T09:21:23","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T09:21:23","slug":"new-model-for-business-improvement-associations-to-go-on-public-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/04\/12\/new-model-for-business-improvement-associations-to-go-on-public-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"New model for Business Improvement Associations to go on public exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"

A potential new Business Improvement Association (BIA) for The Junction, reactivation of the Mayfield BIA and up to $100,000 in annual funding for each of the City\u2019s existing four BIAs are among reforms recommended in a report to be considered by Council next week.
\nThe\u00a0Review of Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) in Newcastle<\/em>, which Council will consider for public exhibition on 16 April, recommends that all Special Benefit Rate Levy (SBRL) funding above $100,000 be opened up to the community for awarding.
\nUnder this arrangement, up to $800,000 will later this year be allocated to a free market of ideas to deliver events and projects in the City Centre, Hamilton, Mayfield, Wallsend and New Lambton.
\nIn addition to secured funding of $100,000, BIAs will also be eligible to apply for grants from the contestable funds.
\nCity CEO Jeremy Bath said grant applications will be considered if a community group has a project or event that meets the strict objective of defraying the cost of promoting, beautifying or developing the City Centre (including Darby Street), Hamilton, Mayfield, New Lambton or Wallsend.
\n\u201cAECOM\u2019s report provides a strong rationale for the proposed changes to the BIA structure, which I believe is a necessary and natural step to support the city\u2019s changing economic climate,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cSince the BIAs were formed almost a decade ago, Council has become far more strategic in its planning. It\u2019s critical that the work funded by the BIAs support our Events Plan and Destination Management Plan as well as the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan.
\n\u201cBIAs have the potential to play an important role in partnering with the City to deliver exciting initiatives that stimulate activity in areas including the CBD, Wallsend, Mayfield and Hamilton.
\n\u201cThe BIAs have collectively received more than $8 million from ratepayers since 2012. However, some of the BIAs have struggled to maximise the return on the funds they have been provided. Competition is what is now needed to bring about fresh ideas for how this money is best invested in the activation of these areas.
\n\u201cFinancial information from the BIAs confirm an excessive amount of ratepayers\u2019 money has been allocated to employing staff, paying rent, hiring consultants and even on projects occurring outside their precinct.
\n\u201cBy introducing competition, we\u2019ll see a number of dynamic new events and projects arise throughout the city.
\n\u201cI expect the BIAs to respond positively to the requirement to compete for some of the funds they were previously the exclusive recipient of. The difference is that the BIAs will now need to demonstrate that their ideas are indeed the best ideas.
\n\u201cAECOM has relied on financial data provided by the BIAs to form its recommendations. The financial records of Hamilton and Wallsend show that when administration and contractor costs are removed from their annual expenses, they invest around $100,000 annually into the delivery of local events.
\n\u201cThis means in the case of the Hamilton BIA sufficient funding will exist to continue delivering events such as Beaumont Carnivale, China Week and the Supercars Street Parade.
\n\u201cIn the case of Wallsend, they will also be able to continue funding the Wallsend Winter Fair and the Back in Time Festival.
\n\u201cThe change in funding will however significantly affect Newcastle Now. I\u2019ve previously made clear my expectation that Newcastle Now should be spending their funding on events and projects rather than employees.
\n\u201cTheir audited annual financial statements confirm that approximately $1.5 million has been spent on employees during the past few years. If you need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars employing people to deliver a project then you are delivering the wrong type of event.
\n\u201cAn independent investigation into Newcastle Now last year found four significant breaches of the funding agreement it signed with Council in 2011.
\n\u201cNewcastle Now\u2019s failure to lodge an annual business plan is well known. What is less known is that Newcastle Now is required to hold all funds it receives on trust for Council in a separate trust account. Although Newcastle Now did establish such an account, there was no evidence this account was held on trust for Council.
\n\u201cFurther, the investigation found Newcastle Now has routinely transferred funds from the Investment Account into its working account. This meant that money paid by ratepayers became co-mingled with general expenses.
\n\u201cNewcastle Now was also required to keep accurate records and accounts in relation to its use of the Special Rate monies for at least seven years. The investigation found that there are no records or accounts of actual project expenditure beyond the initial 2 years of the agreement with Council.
\n\u201cNewcastle Now, like any other applicant for the contestable funding, will need to demonstrate that they now have a strong and transparent structure in place that ensures every dollar of ratepayers\u2019 money is used in strict accordance with any future agreement with Council.\u201d
\nTo view the report going to Council on Tuesday, visit\u00a0http:\/\/www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au\/Council\/About-Council\/council-meetings<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A potential new Business Improvement Association (BIA) for The Junction, reactivation of the Mayfield BIA and up to $100,000 in annual funding for each of the City\u2019s existing four BIAs are among reforms recommended in a report to be considered by Council next week. The\u00a0Review of Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) in Newcastle, which Council will … Continue reading “New model for Business Improvement Associations to go on public exhibition”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2258\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}