Council bolsters COVID-19 preparation

Published on 24 March 2020

Council wishes to provide an update on the measures it is implementing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

In addition to previously announced facility closures, Council is now advising prospective tourists who contact our Visitor Information Centre against travelling to the city.

The Living Desert and Starview Campsite will also close at close of business today.

Internally, Council has begun training extra outdoor staff in the operation of the city's garbage trucks to ensure continuity of home waste removal.

An off-site call centre is being established at the Civic Centre to ensure customer service will continue to function in the event the Administrative Centre is forced to completely shut down.

Staff in non-essential services are being asked to work from home where practicable, and non-essential staff with large levels of accrued entitlements are being invited to take leave.

Council's General Manager, James Roncon, said staff had reacted admirably to the raft of changes implemented thus far.

"Our staff have been amazing, I met with our outdoor staff this morning and they were quite innovative with ideas around our waste services and bolstering cleaning efforts," he said.

"We've also had a number of staff volunteer to go on leave to help ease the long-term financial burden on Council and help prevent the spread of the virus.

"I realise it's an uncertain time for many in the community, however residents can be assured that our workforce is taking a proactive and united approach during this difficult time to ensure critical Council services will continue in Broken Hill."

Mr Roncon said staff would also use tomorrow's Monthly Meeting of Council to seek relaxed procurement measures to make it easier for Council to spend money locally.

"We'll request that staff be able to prioritise local businesses and spend up to $5000 locally without having to source multiple quotes as is usually the case," he said.

"We'll also look to speed up our turnaround time on creditor payments to seven days where possible to try and get money into local businesses quicker."

Anyone seeking the latest information on COVID-19 is encouraged to visit https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Pages/coronavirus.aspx