Two Fleurieu councils have received mixed reviews from the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA).

The Local Government Advice Scheme provides independent, risk-based advice to councils on making long-term financial and investment decisions for the benefit of ratepayers.

ESCOSA gives advice to all councils across a four-year cycle and the City of Onkaparinga and the City of Victor Harbor were among 17 to benefit this year.

It has identified challenges for both councils, finding the City of Victor Harbor’s current and projected financial performance mostly sustainable and the City of Onkaparinga’s current financial position potentially unsustainable.

The report says Onkaparinga council is taking steps towards a position of becoming more sustainable.

In a statement the council says its administration has worked collaboratively with ESCOSA in the development of their report responding to queries and providing data.

While the report identifies challenges to financial sustainability, Onkaparinga CEO Phu Nguyen says the council’s focus since his appointment in July 2023 has been budget repair.

“I was hired with a mandate to achieve tangible improvements in the council’s financial position and our entire team has been working closely with elected members to achieve that,” he says.

“We’re already aware of the issues identified by ESCOSA and we’re actively addressing those in the re-development of our Community Plan, Long Term Financial Plan, Strategic Asset Management Plan and 2024-25 Annual Business Plan and Budget.”

The council will release all four draft documents for engagement on 19 April.

“As we focus on budget repair we’re aiming to diversify revenue opportunities and look at ways to reduce expenditure while still maintaining essential services to the community,” Mr Nguyen says.

“This won’t happen overnight—it will require hard work to return to a balanced budget and long-term financial sustainability.

“This is what I expect as CEO, and I know that expectation is shared by the community and elected members.”

Mayor Moira Were says Mr Nguyen was the ideal candidate to lead the council toward stronger financial performance.

“Phu has over 20 years’ experience in local government in both Victoria and NSW, including eight years as Chief Financial Officer with the City of Melbourne,” she said.

“This experience is the reason he was hired as our new CEO, to apply his financial acumen and drive the organisation toward higher performance.

“Importantly, we need to be upfront and transparent which we have been doing through our recent community plan workshops.

"The review’s recommendations confirm we are on the right track, and we’re now looking to the future to ensure we can deliver for the community in an efficient and sustainable way”.

The ESCOSA assessment of Victor Harbor as mostly sustainable takes into account its operating surpluses over the past 10 years.

It also notes strong infrastructure growth and increasing contributions from ratepayers and government grants, and the planned average rate increases of 3.2 per cent annually per property over the next 10 years.

The report recommends the council consider reviewing the timing, scale and need for the Precinct and proposed Arts Centre and look at recovering the costs via user pay charges instead of general rates.

Full details of the ECOSA reports and recommendations can be viewed online.