Federation Council has released its latest long-term financial plan to coincide with its draft budget, which has a 17 per cent rates increase, being approved.
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The council gave the nod at its meeting at Corowa on Tuesday, April 30, to the circulation of integrated planning and reporting draft documents for public exhibition.
They include the 17 per cent rate increase for 2024-25, which was approved by the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal in 2023 as part of a two-year special rates variation which began with the 2023-24 financial year.
Federation had originally gone to IPART with a plan for a 74.59 per cent rate increase over four years, but the final two years were rejected because the tribunal did not believe the council adequately informed the community about the change and its need.
The council is now preparing to reapply and has engaged Newcastle University local government specialist Joseph Drew to help with that process that has been branded Future Federation 2024-25.
The first public meeting is at the Corowa Club on the evening of May 14 with others to be held at the Urana Bowling Club (May 15), Club Mulwala (May 20) and Howlong golf club (May 22).
The desired cumulative four-year increase from 2023-24 to 2026-27 is now 80 per cent.
Under the preferred model to achieve that, there would be $649 million operating income over 10 years with rise in roads, footpath and drainage maintenance of approximately $14 million over seven years from the final year of the variation.
Two types of baseline scenario, along with a situation where the cumulative special rates variation totals 112 per cent are also plotted in the long-term financial plan.
The draft 2024-25 budget flags operating revenue of $51.7 million and operating expenditure of $54.8 million, resulting in a $3.1 million deficit.
Domestic waste kerbside collection fees in the south of the shire will jump by 11 per cent and by 33 per cent for those in the north where a three-bin service is being introduced.
Budget cuts are planned for celebration weeks related to youths, seniors and volunteers and the parks and gardens expenditure.
A final submission for IPART is unlikely to be approved by the council until early in 2025, by which time an election would have been held.
Among those who will be standing for council is Corowa district farmer Derek Schoen.
The Beyond Blue board member and former Corowa Shire councillor told The Border Mail he was running "just to try and get some sense out of this lot".
Mr Schoen said there needed to be fundamental changes made to improve the council which was formed from the merger of Corowa and Urana shires in 2016.
"We can't wind back the amalgamation, so we have to look at what we do and how we can recoup the economies if there's a will," Mr Schoen said.
