Shoalhaven Council will apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a Special Rate Variation following a vote at its ordinary meeting.
Councillors resolved to seek a rate increase of 12 per cent, including the 3.8 per cent rate peg, from 1 July 2025.
The decision follows a period of community consultation where residents were invited to provide feedback on the proposed SRV options of eight or 12 per cent.
“After careful consideration of the individual responses from more than two thousand residents, we strongly believe this rate increase strikes the right balance,” said Mayor, Patricia White.
“While the 12 per cent rise will assist Council to prioritise some of the backlog of maintenance across the city, it also recognises the financial pressures being felt by many in our community at this time,” Cr White said.
“I’d like to thank all the residents who took the time to engage with us about this important issue over the past month to help inform our decision.
“While IPART considers our application, we will continue our work finding ways to reduce costs and increase revenue internally,” she said
Council will submit its application to IPART in early 2025 with a decision anticipated in April or May 2025.
Staff recommended the Council endorse an SRV following an independent review of the organisation’s finances in November 2023 which identified an annual shortfall in the general fund of up to $35 million dollars.
Council has since embarked on a range of initiatives to reduce costs and increase revenue. During the past year, the organisation has made $3.2 million in savings through a range of measures, including workforce initiatives such as cuts to overtime, reduced recruitment, budget control measures and changes to operating hours of services and facilities.
As part of this work, Council is conducting a thorough condition assessment of local roads and community buildings to understand the true cost of renewal. This information will inform discussions in 2025 about the amount of funding needed to repair and renew these assets.
