WEDDIN Shire Council have hosted their ordinary monthly meeting on Thursday, 15 May where they discussed the motion to investigate other scenario options to solve long term sustainability prior to any consideration when applying for any Special Rate Variation (SRV).

Councillor Paul Best said it was important to note that while council is working on their finances, at this point there is no move to apply for a special rate variation.

“The only thing the council’s done which I think is prudent is to start putting a little bit of money aside so that we do have some in kitty so that if it comes in the future we decide to go to that path, we’re not trying to find funds out of the road works or out of the economic development fund, or pulling money out of something else to try and prop up to do this process,” he said.

After discussions, councillors voted against the motion.

Cr Best said he doesn’t think it was necessary and would be a lot of staff work when the council hadn’t applied for an SRV and there was no movement in that area.

Councillor Jan Parlett brought the motion to council and spoke on the issue, saying it had always been her concern that Weddin is a small rural council with limited resources.

Council recently placed its draft 10-year long term financial plan on public exhibition and one of the scenarios modelled enhanced asset management funded by a special rate variation.

But council staff explained it was a legislative requirement that this long-term planning contain multiple financial scenarios.

“The inclusion of an SRV scenario does not mean an SRV will be implemented,” the report said.

Applying for an SRV – an increase above the rate peg limit set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal - would require months of work including community consultation and specialist reports.

In speaking to her motion, Cr Parlett said she had observed for several years how management has dealt with the limited income, funding and remain sustainable.

Cr Parlett said her notice of motion was to look further at fees and charges, productivity cost savings, options to increase grants and reducing services to achieve long-term sustainability.

“Given the cost of living pressures many are facing in current times and the possibility of more drought conditions we need to be mindful of the choices we are making so that we do not place our rate payers in a position of hardship,” Cr Parlett said.

She said she appreciates the work the staff has done, and that she would like to add to the recommendation that council have a workshop with an experienced administrator to look at options.

Cr Parlett referenced several of the staff comments listed on the business paper which stated a number of the proposed scenarios involve strategic decisions such as staff redundancies, asset sales, charging market rent for specific properties and reducing specific services, which staff cannot determine as these are strategic decisions that must be identified by councillors.

“This is tough for councillors to do but we are here to make the tough decisions that affect our community sustainability and service provision,” she said.

Cr Colleen Gorman said there could be opportunities where they can cut or save various things but in her understanding they were not intending to bring in a special rates variation in this term.

“My understanding was that when it was written as a scenario in our business paper that was because there’s a template for the presentation and the writing of a business paper, and it’s one of the things that governments expect,” Cr Gorman said.

“I know there’s a lot of people out there who are hurting a lot more than we think and we have to consider that.

“I don’t want rates to increase and I think the staff here are doing great work in terms of looking at the budget and the detail that we’re seeing is just enormous,” she said.

Weddin Shire Council’s General Manager Noreen Vu said in terms of the information provided it’s very important to note that the three scenarios were planned, conservative and optimistic, and that’s a requirement of the integrated planning reporting framework.

Ms Vu said in the workshop that the majority of councilors did attend they went into detail around the scenarios.

She said the wages uplift is in alignment with the amount of grant funding they have received.

“We’ve seen an uplift in grant funding when it comes to natural disaster funding and the road grant fundings that we have received, we’ve seen an uplift with Roads to Recovery,” she said.

Ms Vu said if they don’t use council employees to do those roadworks, they will have to use contractors.

“It is acknowledged that within the long-term financial plan itself there is an uplift in alignment to the funding that we know and then there will be a slight drop off and the employees wages as well, you need to be mindful that there are award increases that council has no choice but to actually adhere to. It’s the law in terms of those employees costs increasing,” she said.

“In terms of those employees costs increasing, we know that superannuation is also increasing. We know that workers compensation and those types of insurances also have uplifts every single year.

“So in terms of that process it’s all well and good to say that we can reduce employees costs down and that is a concern.

“But we also need to ensure that all the grant funding that we’re receiving that we can actually deliver the work, because there’s no point in actually putting it on our operational plan at the beginning of the financial year and then get to the end of the financial year and not deliver those projects, and hand that funding back,” Ms Vu said.

Cr Wezley Makin said he feels it would be a little unfair if the executive team went through the different scenarios where a lot of them such as productivity, options for increasing grants, reducing services are unknowns.

“Also how do you decide scenario of reducing services, who gets the short straw of ‘okay we’re going to cut down’?” He said.

Cr Gorman said she doesn’t think council is employing more people than they need to and there is more than enough work for everybody, who are doing the best under the pressure of what has to be done.

“’I’m worried that yes we’re being swamped by a lot of people who think we’re going to do an SRV and they’re scared because they can’t afford it,” she said.

Cr Best said it is important to note council does not have a notice of motion in front of them, and never agreed to a Special Rate Variation, either with the current or previous council.

“So whether there’s talk in the community about a Special Rate Variation, that’s a different thing. The council has never agreed to adopt and go forward with a Special Rate Variation,” he said.

Though, he said he is concerned this is taking them down a path to Special Rate Variation.

Cr Jeanne Montgomery said she was under the impression that even if they did go ahead and organise a Special Rate Variation, but if the community objects, it would all go out the window anyway.

Ms Vu said IPART look at six different criteria process on Special Rates Variations.

This includes looking at the financial need and if council is justified in increasing its rates, community awareness, council’s integrated planning and reports, the reasonable impact on rate payers and their ability to pay.

Ms Vu said a concern she has is this process is being lumped into the long-term financial plan and they should actually be separated.

Ms Vu said they have also proposed a second scenario around increasing the annual charges as a potential modelling.

“But regardless in terms of whether or not we do a Special Rate Variation it’s a legislative requirement that we need to do a service review process for our services, so mapping out all the different services and functions that we actually do and undertake a service review process.”