First, it was an extra meeting, not the regular monthly one; second, it was attended by more than 70 vociferous residents opposed to the single item on the agenda, the application to the NSW Independent Regulatory and Pricing Tribunal (IPART) for a Special Rate Variation of 6 per cent (inclusive of the rate peg) over the next three years.

The crowd filled the chairs, lined the walls, sat on the floor, spilled out the door.

They made such a ruckus, despite being warned by mayor Cr Dominic King “there can be no comment from the gallery” that within six minutes he had adjourned the meeting and asked them to leave, saying “we will reconvene when we get some respect”.

Derisory applause and shouts followed.

The group calling itself the Bellingen Shire Ratepayers Association (BSRA) had earlier sent an email to notify council that they would be attending and requesting permission to address the meeting.

However, this notice did not comply with meeting protocol as it did not include the name of the person who would be speaking or a phone number, and a reply sent by council requesting the necessary details was not responded to by the deadline of midday on Tuesday, so the request was denied.

Cr Steve Jenkins moved if a representative of the BSRA was present that they be allowed to speak, but the mayor said “they have to follow the procedure”.

When the meeting was formally closed, there were shouts of “You won’t get me out”, and “What time is morning tea? We pay enough rates for it”.

Cr King repeated his request and said if people did not leave, the police would be called.

Some people complied, while others stayed put.

The meeting reconvened at 9.20am and a discussion by councillors about the application to IPART proceeded, with only the occasional interjection from the gallery.

If approved by IPART, the rates increase will commence in the 2018/19 financial year for the specific purpose of implementing and partly funding the Sealed Road Resurfacing and Bridge Renewal Programs.

Two councillors, Cr Steve Jenkins and Cr Garry Carter, spoke against, citing community opposition and incapacity to pay.

General manager Liz Jeremy noted that council was facing a major infrastructure issue and if the rate rise was not approved the money would have to come from reduction in services.

Deputy GM Corporate and Community Michelle McFayden said there would be a gap of $271,000 per year and councillors would need to decide what should be cut.

Library services, swimming pools, the Youth Hub were all mooted as possible casualties.

The motion to submit the SV to IPART was eventually put to a vote and passed, with Cr Jenkins and Cr Carter voting no; Cr King, Cr Fenton, Cr Klipin and Cr Harrison voting yes, and Cr Toni Wright-Turner absent.

The meeting closed at 10am.