Goulburn Mulwaree Council GM slams IPART rate decision

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has assessed that Goulburn Mulwaree could collect an extra 0.7 per cent annually, equating to $220,000, in general rates.

The decision is based for the first time on population growth but also considers other factors, such as inflation for the sector.

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Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said the rate peg set for each local government area, ranging from 0.7 to 5pc, recognised that some councils faced higher costs from growing populations.

"We have developed a way of incorporating population growth into the rate peg that balances the need to ensure councils are financially sustainable, while protecting ratepayers from excessive rate rises," she said.

But Goulburn Mulwaree Council general manager Warwick Bennett while Goulburn Mulwaree's 2pc annual population growth rate was good news, the 2022/23 rate peg would severely restrict revenue.

"It's a real slap in the face for the community and the sustainability of local government," he said.

"We are continually hammered with state government cost shifting of services and then they put this restriction on us."

Mr Bennett and other council general managers pressed their arguments in a zoom meeting with IPART representatives on Thursday.

"They have said that petrol prices at the bowser have only risen 0.4pc in the past 12 months...Anyone who has filled up recently knows it is more (but) that is part of the dumb methodology IPART is using," he said.

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In addition, councils had also forked out money for COVID, fires, flooding and damaged infrastructure over the past few years. During COVID, they had also made community facilities freely available in an effort to stimulate the economy.

The GM said with the staff wages bill set to rise by $400,000 next financial year, and inflation sitting at 3pc, the council would be "behind the eight-ball."

IPART is advising those councils who don't agree with their limits to apply for a special rate variation.

But Mr Bennett said the report was "cynically" released close to Christmas when most councils didn't have elected officials. With six new faces possible for Goulburn Mulwaree, he said it was too much to expect them to absorb the process around special rate variation applications and make a decision by the mid-February cut-off date.

He has ruled out such a step. Instead, his team will review the rating structure in an effort to address the challenges.

Asked whether maintaining infrastructure had been a financial challenge, Mr Bennett said recent heavy rainfall had staff repairing road potholes all weekend.

While Goulburn Mulwaree had received $15 million in disaster funding over the past two years, it did not alter the fact that even with moderate damage, effecting urgent repairs was "resource hungry."

"But we are managing to keep our heads above water," Mr Bennett said.

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On other fronts, he told The Post that six years ago when he arrived, no Goulburn sporting fields had female change rooms. Improvements have largely rectified this.

Although conceding that IPART had likely considered people's financial situation after two tough years, Mr Bennett said the community also wanted quality services.

Goulburn Mulwaree is one of 43 councils in NSW assessed as experiencing population growth.

Mr Bennett hopes to find out more in coming days about the council's exact rate peg. The limit does not relate to individual rates but the amount of general income councils can raise across its various rating categories.

In 2022/23, Goulburn Mulwaree's operational plan had projected $23,074,975 would be raised from rates and annual charges.

Meantime, Local Government NSW president Darriea Turley said the baseline rate cap was a 'devastating blow to councils' already struggling to recover from droughts, bushfires, floods and the COVID pandemic.

"This is the lowest rate cap in more than 20 years, and less than half the second-lowest cap of 1.5 per cent allowed in 2017/18," she said.

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