The last year has been a very busy one.

There are many activities, events and milestones summarised in the Meeting Agenda on pages 4-5 as well outlined in more detail within the Annual Report itself included on pages 6-105 of the Meeting Agenda.

Over the last year, we have achieved a great number of things, and this Annual Report provides a conservative and transparent record of other achievements.

Our audited Financial Statements also outline our financial performance.

I note that although we had a healthy operating surplus this year, a lot of this surplus is money that is already committed to delivering projects or held by Council as Developer Contributions to partly fund future infrastructure projects.

I would refer you to the infographic on page 12.

It is amazing to reflect that over 2017/18, there have been

• More than 14,000 new residents moved into Wyndham
• More than 4,600 babies born
• More than 10,000 planning applications received,
• More than 970,000 library visits and,
• More than 1.6 million library items borrowed
• 80 kilometres of new roads, and
• More than 900,000 visitors to AquaPulse

All these evident Wyndham as one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Australia and we need to stay ahead of community needs, and I do not underestimate just how much of a challenge this is.

I also want to reflect on how far we have come over the last year to reach towards our goals of being a Smart City and to ensure our staffs are provided with the tools and systems they need to provide more responsive and efficient services to our community.

The huge list of activities, events and milestones would not have been achieved if it wasn’t for the dedication and hard work of the CEO, and our staffs.

As Council’s Smart City Portfolio Holder, I believe I am in a good position to say that the last two years will be looked back on as critical for the positioning, structuring and resourcing of our organisation to be focussed on the future needs of our community.

As a Council, we’ve made some big decisions to support these efforts, and although these decisions often don’t get a lot of public attention, I for one have noted just how far we have come.