'Hard decisions' lie ahead in wake of rate decision: Mayor

Cuts to services, maintenance levels and possibly jobs are among the considerations in the wake of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's (IPART) decision on Tuesday, May 14. IPART approved a 22.5pc rate rise for the council in 2024/25 but did not extend the requested 51.2pc hike over three years.

It means an extra $5.4 million in general rate revenue rather than the expected $33.2m.

Cr Walker said he was shocked by the decision.

"My aim was not to cut services and jobs. Our request has been denied...Now we will have to reassess," he said.

"We believe that will affect the community far more than the (full) special rate variation (SRV)."

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In its report, IPART concluded the 22.5pc was "reasonable."

"We considered a temporary SRV to allow the council to consider alternatives and identify productivity and cost containment strategies," it stated.

"However, given the size of the council's ongoing operating deficits, (it) is unlikely to find sufficient savings to achieve financial sustainability without a drastic reduction of services and further deterioration of infrastructure assets."

IPART also found that the council's application had "significant deficiencies," a claim the organisation rejected.

Cr Walker said the draft budget would be revised to find savings and efficiencies. This could mean cuts to operating hours for some services such as the library, grounds maintenance and a reassessment of tip fees, to name a few. He would not be drawn on whether there would be a staff organisational review.

A total $4m of the extra $33.2 million to be raised from the SRV over four years was to rehabilitate the Goulburn tip. The mayor said alternative funds would have to be sourced as this work still had to be done. He argued the 'paucity' of state and federal grant funding made this more difficult.

"We just need to go through the process and look at what we've got. I believe it's business as usual until we do that work (but) 22.5pc in year one won't fix the problem," Cr Walker said.

Several state government reviews of councils' funding are underway, including cost shifting, but the mayor says unless there's a wholesale change, these are unlikely to make a material difference.

IPART said its decision allowed Goulburn Mulwaree to move towards a more sustainable position while it undertook work to establish whether it needed a future SRV.

Cr Walker declined specific comment on a future rate rise application.

However he said difficult decisions lay ahead.

"Everything is on the table and it will have to be looked at. I'd like to think this will be before the end of this council term," Cr Walker said.

"If we have to make the hard decisions to be sustainable, I believe we'll do it."

The revised draft budget, factoring in the reduced revenue, will be presented to the June 18 council meeting.