Wellington Libraries remain a Council-run service

The review formed part of Council's ongoing program of internal service reviews, which are regularly undertaken to ensure services continue to meet community needs, deliver value for money and remain financially sustainable.

Mayor Councillor Cindy Madeley said Wellington Libraries would remain a welcoming and inclusive service that supports learning, connection and community wellbeing across the municipality.

“Libraries are one of Council's most valued community services, and this review has confirmed that retaining an in-house library service is the best outcome for our community, library users and staff,” Cr Madeley said.

“Our libraries play an important role in supporting people of all ages and backgrounds, and Council remains committed to maintaining and, where possible, enhancing the services we provide.”

Chief Executive Officer David Morcom said regular reviews of Council services were a core responsibility of all local governments, to ensure the best possible outcomes for the community are achieved in a financially responsible way.

“Costs continue to rise faster than revenue, while responsibilities are increasingly shifted to local government without corresponding funding. In that environment, it is essential that we continually look for better, more efficient ways of delivering services,” he said.

“Council delivers more than 100 services and all are reviewed from time to time. If there is an opportunity to improve a service or deliver it more efficiently while maintaining quality, then we have an obligation to the ratepayer to consider it. We would not be doing our job if we failed to assess all available options.”

Mr Morcom added reducing library services was never the objective of the review.

“We have always recognised libraries as one of our most cherished community services. The purpose of the review was to explore opportunities to maintain and strengthen the service, not diminish it.” - CEO David Morcom

Mr Morcom said it was disappointing that the Australian Services Union publicly criticised the review process before Council had the opportunity to consider the findings and make a formal decision.

“A review is not a decision, and while we respect the role of unions in advocating for their members, public speculation about potential outcomes before the review was complete created unnecessary uncertainty for staff and the community,” he said.

The review considered a range of service delivery models, including whether libraries should be streamlined, modified, continued in-house, outsourced, or combined, before determining that a continued Council delivery represented the best outcome for Wellington Shire.

Council will now focus on opportunities identified through the review to further strengthen library services and ensure they continue to meet the needs of the community into the future.

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