Yarriambiack in Western Victoria chooses Authority managed services solution Yarriambiack Shire Council, in Western Victoria, went live on July 1 with a managed services solution from Civica, running the Authority local government management software suite. Yarriambiack is a remote, rural local authority, however CEO Ray Campling is confident they now have a software solution to match those run by the larger metropolitan Councils.
Ray Campling says: “The new technology from Civica is enabling us to take a massive step in the right direction. Authority gives us 21st century capability in automating workflow, and will allow us to offer excellent customer services via the Internet. We place a major emphasis on community relations, and Civica’s e-Services will help us to elevate this to higher levels. The system we are installing will put us alongside the larger metropolitan Councils in Melbourne and Sydney in terms of the levels of efficiency and communications we can provide our customers.”
He said that having Civica manage Council’s business applications from the company’s data centre in Melbourne eliminated the need for Council to deal with the complexities of IT infrastructure and the challenge of resourcing qualified technical staff. Plus the managed service solution was cost-effective.
Council conducted an extensive tender process with responses from six vendors, involving numerous presentations and site visits to other Councils.
“The tender process was the most detailed and comprehensive I have ever been involved with,” said Ray. “We were impressed by Civica’s willingness to listen to what we were saying about our needs, rather than just trying to sell us a product. They listened to us, learned what we required, and offered their experience and expertise in explaining what could be achieved.
“I’m not a technical person, and what impressed me about Civica’s people was their ability to speak to our executive team in business terms that we could understand.”
When Council switched their financial systems to Authority in July, staff finished working with the old system on Friday and returned to use the Authority software the following Monday. The easy cutover resulted from close teamwork between Civica and senior Council staff.
Ray Campling said: “We quickly established a good working relationship with Civica, and some of our people did put in long hours over the weekend to help them with the change. Without the strong commitment by our people including Finance Manage Anita McFarlane and Chantelle Pitt, from Customer Services/Rates, we might have struggled.”
Council chose a phased implementation and Financials will be followed by Rates in October and later a broad range of functionality including e-Services.
When the Authority implementation is complete, Yarriambiack staff and customers will benefit from a wide range of new functionality, including automated workflow that will eliminate paper trails and empower people by allowing them to work more efficiently. Powerful management reports will also strengthen Council’s accountability and help with compliance.
Ray Campling believes the new system will also enable Council to comply more effectively with Occupational Health and Safety issues, risk management, and local authority legislation.
He concludes: “Some companies will sell you a product and walk away. But the ongoing service we are receiving from Civica and the strong relationship we have built is a major plus.”
Yarriambiack Shire Council was formed on 19 January 1995 by the amalgamation of the former Shires of Karkarooc and Warracknabeal, most of the Shire of Dunmunkle and part of the Shire of Wimmera. It has an area of 7,158 sq km and a population of 7,520 (2006 Census). Of the population, almost half the workforce is employed in agriculture.
Yarriambiack Shire is the heartland of grain production and handling in the Victorian Wimmera and Mallee. In these areas dry-land farming produces one quarter of Victoria's total production of wheat and barley, and is noted for its lambs and wool. Legume and oilseed crops are very important and alternative livestock enterprises are also well established.