Special Rate Variation Community Engagement Report - Shoalhaven City Council

the merger proposal. A number cited the impact on Council’s sustainability as a
reason for not supporting the proposal.
A key feature of the engagement and cited by a number of submissions was
Councils need to remain financially viable and that the proposed merger would
impact on Councils financial position. :
“To be 'Fit for the Future', Shoalhaven City Council had proposed a 21% special rate
variation over two years from 2017-18 which would provide approximately $20 million
additional revenue. After taking into account the $10 million that the NSW Government is
making available to merged councils, there will be a shortfall in the order of $10 million
towards making the Shoalhaven sustainable and 'Fit for the Future'. “ ( Shoalhaven City
Council Merger Submission p 6
http://shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/demosite/agm/Shoalhaven_City_Council_Merger_Propos
al_Submission-25th-Feb-2016.pdf )
6 Stage 3 ‐Your Rates Everybody’s Future
Following the previous discussions and engagement with the community, on the 25
October 2016 Council resolved to move forward with a Special Rate Variation. The
resolution of that meeting was:–
MIN 16.792 That Council:
Authorise staff to notify the IPART of its intention to apply for a Special Rate Variation
Application for the following three (3) models of rate increase:
a.11.5% over 2 years (plus the rate peg)
b.6.27% over 4 years (plus the rate peg)
c.5% over 7 years (plus the rate peg)
Work on any anomalies within the rating categories that would possibly produce
additional rate income
Receive a report modelling the community’s capacity to pay for rate increases.
Council undertake an extensive community engagement program explaining the
reason for the rate increase and seek the communities comments.
6.1 Community Engagement Purpose
In response to the Council resolution of the 25th October 2016 a Community and
Stakeholder Engagement Pan was developed to support the community stakeholder
engagement during the consideration of the rates proposal. The key purpose of the
engagement was to:
Inform the community of the proposal to increase rates by:
o 11.5% each year over 2 years (plus the rate peg)
o 6.27% each year over 4 years (plus the rate peg)
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