Difficult decision for Gunnedah council on rate rise

It has been a big month for Gunnedah Shire Council’s new councillors.

It is challenging to come into a council where a hard decision has to be made in the first few months, especially when it is a decision that will impact on all of us who live and work in Gunnedah shire.

Last week, council made the difficult but necessary resolution to go ahead with a Special Rate Variation (SRV) application.

It is not a decision that we have made lightly. We have workshopped and discussed every aspect and every option, and looked at how and where more cost savings might be found within council’s operations.

The fact is that cost shifting, rate pegs and big increases in costs have eaten away at council’s continued ability to provide the services people expect it to provide. Something has to be done to make sure we have the financial stability to continue to not only provide the infrastructure and services that help make this a great place to live, but so that we can plan for the future.

None of us want rates to increase. Unfortunately, rates are one of the only avenues open to council to increase our available funding.

Most people would be aware that council had extensive consultation about a Special Rate Variation proposal ahead of the election. The original proposal was for a permanent cumulative 38.88% increase over two years, with an increase of 24% in the first year, and 12% in the second year.

After extensive media and internet coverage, 15 community sessions, a phone poll and call for submissions, it was clear to councillors that our ratepayers did not want a rate increase of that nature but still wanted services and infrastructure to be supplied at the same, or a higher level.

With that in mind, councillors considered six SRV scenarios this month and debated them at an extraordinary meeting last week. We determined to proceed with an SRV over two years that will lead to an overall increase in rate funding of 37.67% but caps the increase for residential, business and farmland categories at 15% per year (32.25% cumulative). The balance will come from the mining rate category.

This will spread the Special Rate Variation more evenly over two years and will mean a lower increase for those who pay residential, business and farmland rates. It is a better result for those who told us the original proposal was too much of a financial burden.

Councillors also voted for council to strive to achieve $930,000 through efficiency gains and operational savings over three years, with a report to council by the end of each May.

Council will notify the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) this month that it intends to submit a Special Rate Variation for the 2025-2026 financial year.

There is still time to have a say about the revised SRV application. A new rates calculator reflecting an estimate of how much each ratepayer is available on council’s website www.gunnedah.nsw.gov.au . You only have to put in your address to find out how the SRV would impact you.

We also invite people to send their feedback on the SRV proposal directly to council at [email protected]

We want to hear what you have to say, so please put your thoughts into words and send an email to council, or drop a letter in to the counter at the Elgin Street offices. Submissions on the current Special Rate Variation proposal close on Thursday, December 19, 2024, and will be considered by council at an extraordinary meeting in January 2025.