TENTERFIELD Shire Council has adopted a 10-year financial plan which will allow it to seek a rate increase of 45 per cent over four years from the 2014-15 financial year.
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Council’s general manager Lotta Jackson said there had already been some community consultation about the rates hike, but there was likely to be more.
Councillor Blair Maxwell told council he was reluctant to support the move because residents had been led to believe there would be further comprehensive consultation.
“Are we not to apply to the residents of the shire to see if they want us to go ahead with this?” Cr Maxwell asked.
General manager Lotta Jackson said it was currently a requirement for council to consult with the community about the application, but the rules were likely to change.
“We have started the engagement and have flagged a potential rates variation,” Ms Jackson said.
“The community has been part of that journey over 18 to 20 months.”
Councillor Mary Leahy said she had received emails that also showed people were expecting further consultation.
“I realise I may have to cop a fair degree of flack, but I do have some excellent arguments,” Cr Leahy said.
“I mean we need to do it – there is no question. Our rates are 22 per cent lower than other rates throughout Australia.
“I know we have a very low socio-economic base, but throughout Australia people are dependent on government handouts.”
Cr Leahy suggested the financial plan go on public display for 28 days, but was advised by Ms Jackson that regulations stated the plan had to be adopted at the meeting.
Cr Toni Hull argued that Tenterfield residents had been spared significant rates increases for many years.
“The reason we have to do this is to catch up on what was missed out on,” Cr Hull said. “We have had a decade of extremely low rates.”
Ms Jackson told councillors Tenterfield had been asked why it had not already applied for a special rates variation in a recent NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp) report and said council needed to show it was financially viable if it was to stave off amalgamation with Glen Innes Severn.
“There is no evidence whenever you look at amalgamations where the rates are going down,” she said. “What they are looking at is going up by 100 to 150 per cent.
“What we are doing is protecting our community here and showing we can be a sustainable council by raising rates by 45 per cent over four years.”
Cr Michael Petrie said he believed if this did not go ahead, Tenterfield Shire Council would not “be here in 10 years time”.
Council is seeking to implement a 15 per cent rate increase in 2014-2015, followed by a 10 per cent increase in each of the three following financial years.
Council was presented with a submission by the Mingoola Progress Association arguing the increase would “definitely take food off the table in some homes” and would put people off moving to Tenterfield.
The association suggested raising the money through “efficiency savings”.
Councillors voted to adopt the long-term plan, with Cr Maxwell recording his vote against adopting the plan.
