WA State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement April 2009 Cr Bill Mitchell President WA Local Government Association
Presentation Overview of WA Local Government and the WA Road network Outline of the WA State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement What the Agreement has delivered for Local Government roads Sector wide initiatives funded through the Agreement that support transport and road activities.
The WA Scene 139 Local Governments Tasmania 2.2 Million Population 2.6 Million sq km. 143605 km roads Shire of Murchison:49,500sq km, 110 population, 2000km unsealed, 30km sealed roads
WA Local Roads Local Government: 72% of roads in WA (125, 605km) remainder are State roads 28% of local roads are sealed Replacement value of $15.96 billion Supporting a diverse and varied transport task
Sources of WA Road Funding Figure 1 SOURCES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ROAD FUNDS 2006-07 $450.7 Million State $86.1m 19.1% Private $5.8 m 1.3% Federal $135.3m 30.0% Council $223.5m 49.6%
Shortfall in Road Funding Need Figure 3 SHORTFALL BETWEEN PRESERVATION NEED AND EXPENDITURE $ Millions 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
Why we need funds in the West! Kerb 8 Bit Footpath 8 Bitumen Seal 7.5 Gravel Rd 8 Pavement 8 Pavement 8 7
State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement 2005/06-2009/10 Five year funding and management agreement between State and Local Government 27% of vehicle licensing fees collected by the State Government allocated to local roads Agreed funding allocation methodology and funding categories to allocate money across the State Establishment of nine Regional Road Groups, supported by the State Main Roads staff, to support disbursement of funds on agreed strategic regional projects
Management Structure MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (Equal representation from Main Roads and WA Local Government Association) including the Commissioner of Main Roads and President of WALGA REGIONAL ROAD GROUPS SUB GROUPS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Agreement Principles Agreement Principles: Autonomy by Local Government in the allocation of road funding based on locally and regionally identified priorities; Sharing of revenue from vehicle registrations; Funding certainty for Local Government. Matching State and Local Government dollars for regionally agreed significant projects
What the Agreement has delivered Year Minimum Allocation Funds Delivered 2005/06 $84.968M $86.968M 2006/07 $87.781M $94.072M 2007/08 $91.456M $108.367M 2008/09 $96.533M $116.646M 2009/10 $98.740M $118M? TOTAL $459.478 $524.053
Allocation of funds Category 1 (60%) Direct Grants to Local Government, road project grants for agreed regional projects, strategic and technical support Category 2 (25%) Traffic management and road safety, bridge work, remote Aboriginal community access roads, Category 3 (15%) State initiatives on local roads
Category One Direct Grant to each Local Government Allocated using the asset preservation model Annual positive adjustment based on CPI Road Project Grants 36% to metro road group: 64% to rural road groups Distribution to rural road groups: 75% asset preservation and 25% population Strategic and Technical Support Administration and support activities: i.e. ROMAN, Asset and Expenditure Report, WALGA Transport and Road Activities Supplementary Fund Flood and fire damage
Category Two Traffic management and road safety road marking and pavement markers, statutory signing, traffic signals, railway crossings, safety and traffic improvements State Black Spot program Bridge works and inspections bridge inspection and maintenance works. Remote aboriginal community access roads Funding for access roads to remote Aboriginal communities.
Category Three State initiatives on local roads Opportunity for the State Government to develop local road projects May or may not require matching Local May or may not require matching Local Government funds
Regional Road Groups (RRG) Kimberley Pilbara Gascoyne Mid West Wheatbelt North Wheatbelt South Goldfields Esperance Metropolitan South West Great Southern
Role of Regional Road Groups Assessing Local Government road funding needs; Prioritising Road Projects and Black Spot Projects; Development of a long term plan (5 years) to distribute Road Projects and Black Spot Grants; Monitoring and reporting on program effectiveness; Monitoring expenditure on approved local roads projects; Raising relevant issues with the State Advisory Committee; Development of regional funding prioritisation guidelines based on recommended standards
Benefits of Regional Road Groups Fosters regional co-operation Strategic network planning and investment Sharing of knowledge and information between local governments and with State Government at regional level Regional autonomy and decision making
Strategic and Technical Support Main Roads Administration of the funds Local Government Strategic Projects: WALGA Transport and Roads Advocacy: staff and operational activities ROMAN Road Pavement Management Software System Annual Report on Local Road Asset and Expenditure State gravel supply strategy
WALGA Transport and Road Activities Transport and Road Policy Unit 3 Regional Road Safety Officers Management of a state-wide road pavement management system - ROMAN Production of an annual Report on Local Government Road Assets and Expenditure
Report on the Asset and Expenditure on Local Roads Value of the local road network Source of road funding Application of these funds to maintain, renew and upgrade the local road network Shortfall in funding required to maintain the network Data presented: State, Regional, local level
ROMAN: Road Pavement Asset Management Software System Software package used by all WA Local Governments Road management asset inventory, operations, road network reporting and annual financial valuations. Data used by the WA Local Government Grants Commission for road funding distribution Enables State and Local Governments to manage their network Data aggregated by Main Roads to support State-wide mapping, road management and strategic planning
ROMAN II Replacement software package Delivered by Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) after competitive tender process State wide license for RAMM asset management software, dtims asset deterioration modelling software User support, training and customisation by ARRB Aggregated purchase economies of scale State Road Funding Agreement providing funds for the purchase, customisation of network modelling, asset condition reporting and deterioration models and transfer of current ROMAN data Ongoing support through the Agreement
New Agreement 2009/10+ Challenges facing the sector Towards Zero: New WA Road Safety Strategy Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Urban congestion Freight Management Asset management Bridges and Aboriginal community access roads Global Financial Crises and State Finances
Links to Information The Road Funding Agreement http://www.walga.asn.au/about/policy/infrastructure/docu ments/state_road_funds_agreement.pd ROMAN II http://www.walga.asn.au/about/policy/infrastructure/roma n2 Local Road Asset and Expenditure Report http://www.walga.asn.au/about/policy/infrastructure
Thank you & questions