|
Residents across the Tweed are invited to attend one of four Community Conversations next week to discuss Council’s budgetary position and the proposed Special Rate Variation.
Council is seeking to apply for a 2.35% rise in general rates (known as a Special Rate Variation or SRV) in addition to the pegged rate rise already approved for all NSW local governments, including the Tweed, by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) – an independent body that determines the level of rates able to be collected by councils across NSW.
IPART has set a 2023-24 rate peg for each council, ranging from 3.7% to 6.8% based on each council’s population growth, with the Tweed’s pegged rate being set at 4%.
The SRV aims to raise an additional $1.6 million which would be used to cover mandatory costs including additional cyber security, environmental compliance officers and the upgrade of Council’s core IT business systems to maintain current service levels.
As part of this process, Council has called for community input on whether they support the SRV or would prefer to see Council find the additional funds required by reducing service levels.
Members of Council’s leadership team will be on hand at the Community Conversations to explain the process and answer any questions residents may have.
Dates and times of planned Community Conversations:
Monday 15 May
-
Tweed Heads - Morning Session
Tweed Heads Auditorium
9.30 am – 10.30 am
-
Tweed Heads – Evening Session
Harvard Room, Tweed Heads Administration Centre
5.30 pm – 6.30 pm
Tuesday 16 May
Residents interested in attending a Community Conversation are urged to register via Council’s Your Say Tweed page at yoursaytweed.com.au/srv.
This page includes additional details on the SRV with a survey for residents to provide their feedback before 4 pm on Friday 26 May.
To find out more about how Council rates are calculated, visit tweed.nsw.gov.au/ rates-explained and watch the animated video.
For more information on the Draft 2022-2026 Delivery Program and 2023/24 Operational Plan, including more details on the SRV, view the report presented to Councillors in their meeting on 20 April 2023 at tweed.nsw.gov.au/council-meetings and tweed.nsw.gov.au/srv-addendum.
* UPDATE: Due to limited demand, the evening session of the Murwillumbah Community Conversation has been cancelled.
|