A group of regional councils in the Spencer Gulf are being recognised for ‘Excellence in Cross Council Collaboration’.
The Flinders Alliance was formed in 2021, and consists of Port Pirie, Mount Remarkable, Orroroo Carrieton, Peterborough, Northern Areas, and Flinders Ranges Councils.
The Alliance is a finalist in the Local Government Professionals SA’s 23rd annual Leadership Excellence Awards.
CEO of Mount Remarkable Council Sam Johnson says he’s proud of what the Alliance has achieved, and no regional councils have won in this award category.
“It is a common practice within metropolitan areas in some capacity, particularly in tendering and a little bit of job sharing across neighbouring councils – but to the scale in which it’s been built here, we definitely believe it’s one of a kind,” CEO Johnson says.
The Councils’ collaborative efforts have seen some significant benefits.
“Some of the big efficiency wins we’ve been able to achieve is using the buying power of those six Councils coming together in a number of strategic tenders where we’ve been able to maximise some fairly significant savings – in the millions over the last couple of years – in the things that we do everyday.
“Things like electricity contracts, and things like plant equipment purchasing, and Diesel contracts.”
Finalists will be celebrated and winners will be announced at a Gala Dinner on Friday, 10 May.
