It was great to see so many residents with approximately equal representation from all three major centres Urunga, Dorrigo and Bellingen.

The Council really appreciates the time and effort afforded through your attendance and your open and frank feedback. It was great to speak with you face to face. We had the opportunity to talk about the proposed SRV and the reasons it is important.

Many of you took the opportunity to tell us of other issues of importance to you both locally and at regional and state levels which was great.

This reaffirmed my view and that of my fellow Councillors of the importance of meeting regularly and informally with you in our towns so we can understand and capture your issues and take them into account in future planning and decision making processes .

The SRV being discussed forms part of the ‘Fit for the Future’ Local Government reform process that Councils across the state participated in over the past four years,  aimed at ensuring Council maintains its asset base and is financially viable. Council is proposing a six per cent permanent Special Rate Variation for 2017/18.

This is estimated to generate an additional $309,767 income for roads, an increase of $54.24 to the average residential bill based on the 2016/17 approved rating structure.

Whilst rate rises are modelled into future financial years (seven including 2016/17), Council is also actively pursuing other initiatives including productivity improvements, cost savings, shared services, and increased development.

As these other initiatives begin to realise financial outcomes it may not be necessary to implement rate increases in future years. For this reason we are taking an annual incremental approach as opposed to the approach adopted by many other councils involving one large increase.

Fixing our roads and bridges is Council’s No.1 priority. This is not dissimilar to other councils across Australia. If you did attend the drop in sessions you would have seen the sealed roads resurfacing map showing the roads which needs to be addressed.

Your feedback tells us that our community understands it is really important that significant funds are directed to our roads and bridges following decades of underfunding brought about by rate pegging, cost shifting and changing community attitudes and expectations.

This reflects the general sentiment that has been captured previously in community surveys.

The feedback that we received also expressed concerns regarding affordability and Council really appreciates and understands your concerns which reflect the pressure that individuals and families are facing generally around increasing utility costs, housing affordability, wage rates and the pension.

The incremental approach being adopted by Council is designed to take account of affordability concerns. Council is also mindful that 2017/18 is a land revaluation year (carried out by the State Valuer General) and as is the case in the cities, land values are increasing rapidly.

Council is also mindful that the State Government is imposing the emergency services levy in 2017/18 and requires it to be collected by local councils.

Recently there has been information circulated in the community regarding the proposed SRV, council finances, wages, and comparisons to other councils.

These issues are complex and it is important to understand the mix of services provided by Bellingen Shire Council and that wages are directly linked to service provision.

Caution must be exercised when comparing Council’s due to size and the varying mix of services provided using employees versus contractors.

Of Bellingen’s total income of $34M for 2015/16, approximately 32 per cent ($10,838,000) was spent on employee costs. This is comparable to other similar sized councils across the State.

Award wage increases are determined by the State and are not at the discretion of the Council. The award wage determination for 2017/18 which was quoted in the press has not yet been determined by the State. Council’s 10-year Long Term Financial Plan assumes an average industry wage increase of three per cent per annum from 2017/18.

Bellingen has particular demographic and geographical challenges. Fifty-seven per cent of our Shire is not rateable.

The non rateable land is owned in the main by the State Government. If it was rateable it would be a game changer for council and our community.

It is important to compare like with like. Bellingen Shire Council manages almost four times the length of road per capita compared to Coffs City Council, and, 20 per cent more than Nambucca Shire Council.

This means that Bellingen maintains 40m, Nambucca 33m, and Coffs 11m of road per person which translates to more costs per rateable premises to maintain and renew Council’s infrastructure compared to its neighbours.

Our finances are really important. So is our community and our environment and it is important that we take a long term view.

Once again thankyou to those residents who have provided feedback to the proposed SRV.

I hope that this information is helpful and am more than happy to chat with you further as are our councillors and staff.