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Special Rate Variation

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Consultation has concluded

Council has a 10 year plan for the Bellingen Shire to ensure our future is secure over the long term providing quality services to our community. In order for Council to achieve this, we need to live within our means while balancing the delivery of the best possible services.

Like many other NSW councils, our community assets like roads and bridges are aging and need to be upgraded. We know that our community places a high value on these assets, in particular, our road and bridge network. Our assets in their current state are continually deteriorating and need significant investment. To improve our public assets we need to spend more money on renewing and upgrading them to ensure they meet the future needs of our community.

While we understand a rate rise is never welcome, we believe it is an important conversation we need to have with our community. We are seeking your feedback on a proposal to apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a special variation. We encourage you to read through this important information to understand why we are asking you to consider this proposal.

Submissions for the proposed Special Rate Variation have now closed.

Council has a 10 year plan for the Bellingen Shire to ensure our future is secure over the long term providing quality services to our community. In order for Council to achieve this, we need to live within our means while balancing the delivery of the best possible services.

Like many other NSW councils, our community assets like roads and bridges are aging and need to be upgraded. We know that our community places a high value on these assets, in particular, our road and bridge network. Our assets in their current state are continually deteriorating and need significant investment. To improve our public assets we need to spend more money on renewing and upgrading them to ensure they meet the future needs of our community.

While we understand a rate rise is never welcome, we believe it is an important conversation we need to have with our community. We are seeking your feedback on a proposal to apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a special variation. We encourage you to read through this important information to understand why we are asking you to consider this proposal.

Submissions for the proposed Special Rate Variation have now closed.

Consultation has concluded

  • IPART Announcement of Special Variation

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    21 May 2018

    In February of this year, Bellingen Shire Council (Council) made an application to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a Special Variation to rates and today received formal advice of its approval.

    Mayor Dominic King said, ‘While the decision to make a submission to increase rates is never an easy one, I welcome the decision as it means we can continue with Council’s plan to address long term infrastructure issues impacting on our community and ensure the Council continues to deliver outcomes that we know are priorities, for our community”.

    The decision to apply for a special variation is part of a broader, long-term plan around community priority and financial sustainability. The revenue generated by the special variation means Council will be able to fund important infrastructure renewal works as part of its sealed roads resurfacing and bridge renewal program and reduce its infrastructure backlog.

    Council’s adopted Long Term Financial Plan demonstrates that the Special Variation will be spent only on (road and bridge) infrastructure and over the next 10 years, Council will be able to invest $20 million on a bridge renewal program and $8 million on the roads reseal program.

    IPART’s approval means Council will be able to consolidate its efforts on improving Bellingen Shire infrastructure, while focusing on longer term resilience and financial sustainability which is of critical importance in our current economic and operating environment.