ANNUAL REPORT 2010/11 - Parramatta City Council

RAISING AND SPENDING SPECIAL RATESCouncil is required to levy rates and charges in accordancewith the Local Government Act 1993 to fund its essentialservices. The types of rates that Council levies are known asordinary and special rates, with Council raising almost 50 percent of our total revenue from this avenue.While the ordinary rates paid by ratepayers are leviedannually to fund services provided by the Council, specialrates may be levied at the discretion of the Council to payfor particular purposes and must only be spent for thesepurposes. These special rates are paid by ratepayers who willreceive some benefits from the services and facilities fundedby them.KEEPING PACE WITH RISING COSTSEach year Council faces rising costs in delivering itsservices and the limitations of operating in a ‘rate pegging’environment which restricts councils from recoveringadequate income from rating revenue to address majorinfrastructure backlogs.The Minister did not approve the 1% extra that was soughtfor 2011/12 to 2013/14.In 2011 Council submitted a new application to IPART,addressing the parts of its previous application not approvedby the Minister. IPART approved Council’s application in full.INFORMATION ON RATES AND CHARGESCouncil provides ratepayers with a rates notice which setsout the types of ordinary and special rates levied as well aswaste management and stormwater management charges.Anyone requiring more information about how the rates arecalculated can call Council’s Rates Section on 9806 5441.SPECIAL RATES EXPENDITUREThe table below shows how we allocated rates in 2010/11,and some of the expenditure highlights.Council’s playgrounds benefit from upgradesAs part of Council’s strategy to achieve financialsustainability, in 2010 it sought the Minister for LocalGovernment’s approval for an extra 2% in addition to ratepegging in 2010/11 and for an extra 1% in the following threeyears.Council also sought approval to extend the special rates thatfunded the CBD infrastructure and economic developmentprograms.SUBURBAN INFRASTRUCTUREENHANCEMENT SPECIAL RATEOPEN SPACE ACQUISITION ANDEMBELLISHMENT SPECIAL RATEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTSPECIAL RATETotal Expenditure$1,046,000Total Expenditure$2,426,000Total Expenditure$661,000During 2010/11 we spent $322,000 of this special rate on waterways restoration,$293,000 on civil construction, and $255,000 on flood mitigation and drainage.During 2010/11, we spent $361,000 of this special rate on restoration of naturalareas, $493,000 on playground replacements and $440,000 on sportsgroundmaintenance and replacements, $424,000 on Council’s Pavilion program and$256,000 on bushland maintenance.During 2010/11, we spent $323,000 from this special rate on economic developmentprojects including staging the Economic Development Forum, the Transport Forum,the State of the City Address 2011 to Parramatta’s business community, theParramatta Dining Guide 2011 and Discover Parramatta Official Visitors’ Guide 2011.During 2010/11 we spent $336,000 of this special rate on City centre streetscapesand $258,000 on the major upgrade to Jubilee Park with the construction of acorporate-style park including pedestrian lighting, sandstone seating walls, landscapeplanting, pathways, tree planting and uplighting, high quality seating, bins, bollards,benches and drinking fountain.Without this extension, the special rates would have expiredat the end of 2009/10 and around $2.4 million revenueannually would have been lost. The Minister approved theadditional 2% for 2010/11 and the extension of the specialrates but placed a time limit of three years on the approval.CBD INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIALRATETotal Expenditure$911,000PARRAMATTA CITY COUNCIL - ANNUAL REPORT 2010/1133