Published on Monday, 9 June 2025 at 12:00:54 PM
Monday 9 June, 2025
Welcome to the fourth update I have provided as Commissioner.
An immediate focus of my work as Commissioner has been upon Shire finances. This update focuses largely on my work in the financial area for the Shire.
Some residents may be aware that the Shire of Derby/West Kimberley has faced very difficult cash flow issues in recent months.
I am pleased to be able to advise the community of a development that will assist greatly in our current financial situation.
Working closely with the Shire staff and particularly with the support and assistance of senior officers of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), including Acting DFES Commissioner, Mel Pexton, I can report an immediate and significant improvement in our cashflow position. In highlighting this improvement, I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of several Ministers of the WA State Government, notably the Minister for the Kimberley, Hon Stephen Dawson MLC; Minister for Local Government, Hon Hannah Beazley MLA and the Minister for Emergency Services, Hon Paul Papalia MLA. My personal thanks go to them.
We have also secured DFES assistance to provide several staff to work with the Shire in Derby, to undertake some short-term support work with the Shire administration. This will add specific capacity and allow us to more efficiently process the complex and detailed outstanding financial claims for assistance that have resulted from the Flood recovery work we have been involved in. I hope to be able to report further progress in a forthcoming Commissioner’s Update.
The immediate improvement in cashflow, does not resolve the longer-term financial challenges the Shire faces, but it does stabilise the operating situation that will in turn allow us to bring down a prudent financial budget that will head us towards better longer term financial sustainability, without a need to increase Shire debt.
I look forward to bringing down a budget for 2025/26 later this month. That budget, with a series of prudent expenditure decisions, will set the basis for the sustainable delivery of the Shires core services, for the next year and beyond.
It is also worth noting that the Shire has hosted a meeting of the Board of the Kimberley Development Commission in Derby. With presentations from myself and the CEO we have been able to further highlight key development matters facing our Shire’s residents and businesses and our local economy. We will continue to seek the partnership support of the KDC as we move to commence building an Economic Development Strategy. On this work, we expect to soon be reaching out to the community for input into that process.
An early observation I make is that the Shire has an opportunity to be attracting more grants to assist with community projects and services across the Shire but particularly in Derby and Fitzroy Crossing. This requires some significant work, but has the potential to augment Shire finances. I will be working on how we can do more in this area in the future.
We have been stabilising and are now ramping up our partnership with LotteryWest. This will be of increasing importance as we try and maximise the ability of our Shire and Community to secure increased options for grant funding for community infrastructure projects. Several new grants are now closer to agreement.
Building capacity in our Shire to increase the number and magnitude of external grants will remain a priority for me in my role. I strongly believe that this will place future Shire administrations in a better position to deliver against community expectations, whilst recognising the relatively low ratepayer base.
I have also commenced a process to develop commercial service arrangements with local community groups in both Derby and Fitzroy Crossing, that have the capacity to build local employment and assist the Shire with community service delivery. I will be exploring and hopefully securing arrangements that provide sustainable mutual benefits for both the community and Shire.
This update has focused on financial matters affecting the Shire both now and into the future, however, in the coming week I will also be attending a meeting of the Fitzroy Valley Working Group as it transitions its responsibilities into a more usual basis. I also hope to continue the process of meeting Fitzroy Crossing residents as well as Derby residents.
My thanks again to the Staff of the Shire that continue to provide high quality support for me in my role, and to the residents of both Derby and Fitzroy Crossing that have reached out to me with queries and particularly support for our work.
Jeff Gooding
Commissioner, Shire of Derby/West Kimberley
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