Gunnedah Shire Council will receive an estimated $6,271,840 from the Financial Assistance Grant Allocation.

These funds are paid by the Australian Government to the state, which distributes the funds to local councils.

New South Wales saw an increase in this allocation, receiving $710 million for General Purpose which is a 4.6 per cent increase from last financial year.

The Local Road allocation is distributed based on a historical formula, with NSW having a fixed 29 per cent share which is $292.2 million – a 4.96 per cent increase.

The council will receive its share with an estimated $4,154,771 to be allocated for general purpose while the remaining $2,117,069 is for local roads.

That is an increase for the council of 5.74 per cent for general purpose and 4.79 per cent for local roads compared to the 2023/24 financial year.

“Any increase to the financial assistance grant is very welcome and hopefully we see further increases in the future,” Cr Kate McGrath said at council’s October ordinary meeting.

“I am pleased to see there is an increase, although we have a long way to go before we reach the one per cent the federal budget targets,” Cr Juliana McArthur said.

This was in reference to the total Financial Assistance Grant allocation falling to half a per cent of the tax received by the government allocated to NSW local governments.

There was an early payment from the Commonwealth Government in June, aimed to help manage the cumulative impacts of the floods and pandemic.

All councils were paid about 85 per cent of the estimated entitlement in advance.

This payment was placed in an internally restricted cash reserve to be used in the 2024/25 financial year to avoid any negative impact on the cash position.

The directors report states the grant “represents a considerable portion of council’s general revenue income and funds employee benefits, materials and contracts associated with service delivery and maintenance of infrastructure”.

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