CITY traders’ groups are calling for greater appreciation, less red tape and more money after a six-month investigation found they were undervalued and underfunded.

Reproduced courtesy of the Adelaide City Messenger via http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/traders-plea-for-cut-...

The groups have supported the findings of a City Council-commissioned study, carried out by KPPM Organisational Strategists, which found the council receives “significant value” from the the city’s eight precinct groups but its appreciation for them is declining.

The study also found:
Diminishing opportunities for the groups to access funding despite increasing expectations on them to carry out a range of duties;
The council needs to further fund and guide the groups rather than slash finances and maintain a “low level of interest”;
The council cannot expect more from the groups without boosting funding; and
The loss of the council’s precinct co-ordinator - made redundant last October - had slashed the value it receives from the groups.

The City Messenger has been told the study also valued the work the groups carried out annually at $100,000 each - five times more than the $20,900 yearly sum the council allocates to each group.

Grote Business Precinct vice-president Bill Marles said improved access to grants, reinstating a precinct co-ordinator and cutting back on paperwork for grant applications would help.

“(The) council was picking up that some of the volunteers were starting to get a little annoyed with feeling under-appreciated,” Mr Marles said.

“(Council) administration thinks we are sitting there doing nothing.

“If we are going to donate our lives for free and for the greater good, beyond the odd invite to a council function and a glass of champagne, we want the council administration to understand and value the investment they have got over the years.

“For us to get a $5000 grant to run a little marketing project can take us up to 20 hours in administration.”

Adelaide West End Association president Andrew Wallace agreed slashing red tape and increasing funding was the answer.

“The amount of outcomes they get from volunteers within precinct groups is far in excess of what we receive in funding and sometimes we do not feel that has been as widely appreciated as we would like,” Mr Wallace said.

“We are burning money through administration when we should be delivering good results for the local community.”

East End Co-Ordination Group spokeswoman Julie Wrobel said funding was the key.

KPPM principal consultant Kristine Peters, who met with each group as part of the study, did not return the City Messenger’s calls, but told last month’s council meeting the groups were extremely valuable.

“They are putting an awful lot of effort into things like street parties and Clipsal parties which add vibrancy to the area and would take several council officers to co-ordinate,” Ms Peters told the meeting.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood agreed with the report’s findings.

“I share that view that they have historically been undervalued but also historically they have not been used to their full potential,” Mr Yarwood said.

“I am really keen to come up with a model to empower groups and get more people involved.”

A final report is due to go before the council next month.