2LT Local News
72% increase in election costs unaffordable, says Lithgow mayor
Jul 16, 2019
LITHGOW, Central West, NSW, Australia – There is serious concern about the projected costs of local government elections in New South Wales.
The Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is estimating a 72% increase ($76,000) in election costs for 2020 compared with 2016.
“An increase in this magnitude is simply unaffordable for Lithgow City Council,” Lithgow Mayor Ray Thompson said in a submission to IPART, details of which were released on Tuesday.
“At the same time as Councils being expected to bear more costs, the NSW Government has implemented its Fit for the Future reforms. Councils are expected to be fiscally responsible and to place a focus on managing / renewing their assets. To achieve these goals, Councils have been working hard to improve productivity, save costs and generate revenue to manage the impact of these reforms on services and programs. In Lithgow Council’s case, proposed services and programs were reduced for the 2019/20 year to deliver a “balanced operating result (before capital)” budget as required by the Office of Local Government,” the Lithgow mayor said Tuesday.
“With the increasing cost and budgetary pressures on Councils, IPART’s statement in the draft report that the impact on ratepayers will be relatively modest can be considered to be ignorant of the facts.”
“It is certainly correct that the financial impact to ratepayers of an increase in election costs will be minimised by the rate peg. However, as is the case with other extraordinary cost increases and cost shifting, the impact on ratepayers is inevitably a reduction in the necessary services and programs which Councils are expected to provide,” Thompson said.
Lithgow City Council’s submission to IPART recommends the increased cost to Councils of the 2020 elections be no more than the cumulative rate peg increase from 2016 which reflects Council’s revenue-raising constraints.
Lithgow City Council says it is supportive of IPART’s recommendation that the State Government implement regulatory reforms aimed at facilitating future competition for local government election services.
