Federation Council today welcomed the decision by the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to approve its application for a Special Rate Variation (SRV) of a permanent 69.94% increase to general rates over two years. It is important to note that the above increase effectively includes the temporary increases of 19% applied in 2023/24 and 17% in 2024/25, inclusive of the ordinary maximum rate peg increases allowable, in those years and further increases to be applied subject to Council endorsement, of 19% for 2025/26 and 11.8% in 2026/27, including ordinary maximum rate peg increases allowable for those years.
In addition to the additional rates sought, Council has continued with its productivity and efficiency program, and as evidenced in the application, has delivered over $800,000 of savings/efficiency improvements in each of the previous five years, with further commitments noted and sought for future years. Unfortunately, savings and productivity and efficiency improvements alone are not enough to arrest years of underfunding, with this being a systemic issue across many rural and regional councils from years of rate pegs being set too low.
Federation Council Mayor, Cr Cheryl Cook said Council's application for the SRV was driven by the need to more responsibly and sustainably deliver services to the community and manage the assets needed for those services, through continuing to improve financial sustainability. This includes making hard decisions such as seeking to raise rates, to take a longer term view of the management of assets, many of which are ageing and not in an acceptable condition including large areas of our road network, from years of underfunding, increasing traffic loads, and extreme weather events.
"As a Council, we want the Federation Council community to prosper into the future, and for this to happen, we need a firm financial foundation to deliver our services well," Mayor Cook said.
"Our Long Term Financial Plan for 2025-2035 outlines how we can achieve this, and the SRV is just one of the many important actions Council has undertaken, and will continue to undertake."
Mayor Cook said she acknowledges that by Council implementing the SRV, the community would see a rise in rates, coming at a time when many are feeling financial pressure.
"Council is very conscious of the hardship that rising rates can cause, and for those residents experiencing hardship, you are encouraged to contact Council to seek any options for assistance that may be available, including under Council's hardship policy," she said.
"I want to emphasise that we take our responsibility to manage public funds very seriously. As a responsible Council, we want to assure people that we remain committed to continuing the highest levels of service and reporting to the community on our progress of delivering the services and initiatives they value and appreciate."
IPART rigorously assessed Council's application against specific criteria, and the full approval signifies Council successfully demonstrated:
The need for the additional income;
Evidence that the community is aware of the need for and extent of the proposed rate rise;
That the impact on affected ratepayers is reasonable;
Exhibition, approval, and adoption of relevant planning documents; and
Explanation and quantification of the council's productivity improvements and cost containment strategies.
With IPART's approval received, Council will now consider this decision as it meets to vote on adopting its draft strategic documents, which are currently on public exhibition. These documents are scheduled for consideration at Council meetings in June.
