Rates crunch time

By Jonathon Howard

IT’S CRUNCH time for Tweed Shire Councillors to decide whether to apply a proposed special rate variation increase of 2.35 per cent above the rate peg of 4 per cent.

If approved, Council rates will rise by 6.35 per cent. However, it should be noted that the rate peg of 4 per cent applies to council’s general income in total, not to individual ratepayers.

Council is seeking the special rate increase above the rate peg to cover a range of costs in the 2023/24 financial year, which Council cannot pay for without the proposed increase.

Among the costs is the environmental enforcement levy ($288,954), development application times ($360,000), core IT business systems to the cloud ($500,000), cyber security ($268,000) and insurance premiums ($151,000), to a grand total of $1,567,954.

“Council operates in a complex service environment with many funding challenges,” Council’s report reads.

“The following issues (see above) are considered to have the most impact on the 2023/24 and subsequent years’ budget which are unable to be funded from exist- ing sources thus requiring consideration of an application for a special rate variation.”

In September last year the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) announced a rate peg amount — which included the new population growth factor — that would increase Council’s general income by 4 per cent for 2023/24.

Council considered a report in November 2022 detailing a number of issues that are impacting on Council’s service delivery and the budget position for 2023/24 as well as subsequent years, “which are unable to be funded from existing sources”.

“Accordingly, public notice of a proposal for an application for a special rate variation was provided, seeking community comment/feedback on such a proposal,” council’s report states.

A total of 147 residents responded to Council’s public notice of the proposed special rate variation.

The majority of respondents, 126, did not support the variation, 11 supported the increase and 10 were neither supporting or not supporting.

Should Councillors opt not to implement the special rate increase, Council noted that “alternative means of covering the ongoing costs outlined in this report will need to be identified”.

Councillor Reece Byrnes told The Weekly he intended to vote against the rate increase.

“Considering the impacts of COVID-19 and the 2022 floods, combined with the rising costs of living, I will not support a motion to increase rates beyond the rate peg — we don’t need to ask for this now.

“We need to look in house and see where we can make key savings.”

YOUR THOUGHTS: Do you believe councillors should apply the full rate increase of 6.35 per cent? The Weekly would like to hear your thoughts and letters via editor@theweekly.net.au