MESSAGE FROM OUR GENERAL MANAGER

Each financial year provides council with an opportunity to outline its commitments for the upcoming 12 months and explain to the community how we will continue shaping Maitland into the city we all love.

As we move into the next Operational Plan, we continue to focus our efforts on achieving the objectives, actions and projects set in our Delivery Program 2022-2026.

The core services of Council are critical to ensuring the liveability of our city. Our workforce of more than 540 people delivers maintenance across a full range of facilities, plans for city growth, asseses development, collects and disposes of waste, undertakes inspections to ensure public health and safety. They repair and improve our roads; provide events and great experiences for residents and visitors; operate our libraries, aquatic facilities, Gallery and Gaol; and much more in each and every year.

A major change in this program is the accelerated delivery of infrastructure funded by development contributions in the expanding suburbs of Thornton/ Chisholm, Lochinvar and Gillieston Heights. Programmed over this council term are new multipurpose centres, parks and playgrounds, sport facilities, road widenings and intersections.

Our city is one of Australia’s fastest growing inland cities with an annual growth rate consistently above 2.4%. We welcome around 2,000 new residents each year with the population expected to grow to at least 144,550 by 2041.

Our Long Term Financial Plan reveals the impacts of this continuing and rapid greenfield growth on Council’s financial sustainability. While there may be a community perception that Council significantly benefits from additional rate revenue as new homes are built, in practice this is not the case. Our Delivery Program forecasts that for every dollar spent on Council services, rates will contribute approximately $0.55, with remaining required funds coming from grants, developer contributions and other revenues such as user fees.

These growing pains are not uncommon. Local government industry estimates show that greenfield development comes at six times the cost of infill development This results in significant financial impacts as newly constructed roads, footpaths, drainage, community, recreation and sports facilities are handed to Council for operation, maintenance and ultimately renewal over time. These developments provide residents with improved liveability but significantly increase Council’s operational, maintenance and depreciation costs.

With this in mind, a key focus of council is to continue on the path of financial sustainability and deliver the many essential services expected of local government and our community within the tight constraints of the rate peg. The current rate peg methodology is based on changes in the average costs faced by NSW councils and each council’s population growth. Maitland’s rate peg is 5.9% which includes a growth factor to accommodate the high population growth we are experiencing.

Over the next few years, we will address the challenges of and explore solutions to ensuring our ongoing financial sustainability. We will be open about how maintaining Council’s existing services and service levels to an expanded community will require additional revenue.

Lastly, I would like to thank the entire Maitland City Council workforce for their role in creating this plan and their commitment to delivering it. We are incredibly fortunate to have a workforce so committed to delivering on the community’s vision.