Glen Innes Severn Council Mayor Margot Davis and General Manager Bernard Smith attended the NSW Country Mayors Association (CMA) meeting last week where regional councils gathered to discuss critical issues affecting local government.
As a key advocacy body for regional NSW the CMA provides an important forum for councils to engage directly with state decision-makers. The meeting featured discussions on financial sustainability, grant funding, electoral processes and upcoming changes impacting local government.
Presentations were delivered by Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) Chair Carmel Donelley, NSW Local Government Grants Commission Chair Linda Scott and NSW Auditor-General Bola Oyetunji each highlighting financial pressures and funding challenges faced by councils across the state.
The Minister for Climate Change Energy the Environment and Heritage Penny Sharpe MLC addressed the forum on environmental priorities while NSW Electoral Commissioner Rachel McCallum provided updates on electoral processes. The Minister for Local Government also spoke on impending legislative changes affecting councils.
Mayor Margot Davis said the focus on financial sustainability was pertinent and timely considering the challenging financial position Council currently face and are working hard to solve.
“The pressures on communities such as Glen Innes Severn are significant and growing in areas such as health and housing, and local governments are grappling with cost-shifting, shrinking grant opportunities and increased expectations – all while financial support from other tiers of government fails to keep pace.
“Since the new Council started in September 2024, we have been working hard to find ways to pull back spending, find service improvements, prepare our Long-Term Financial Plan whilst still delivering services to our community. We have also invested in our financial systems which are broken and have been causing auditing issues for over two years now.”
“We have been advocating for an increase to the Federal Assistance Grants (FAGs) alongside the CMA and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to seek an increase of 1 per cent of taxation revenue. This would massively relieve the financial stress and burden on local councils and reduce the need for Special Rate Variations (SRV’s). The hard reality is that the 1 per cent Federal funding could be five to 10 years away, so we have to continue to find ways to reduce spending and increase revenue whilst delivering to our community,” Cr Davis said.
Mayor Rick Firman OAM, Chairman of the NSW Country Mayors Association (CMA) has bemoaned the major parties’ lack of commitment to Local Government and their failure to address funding shortfalls that were clearly identified in the Interim Report into Local Government Sustainability.
“Despite on-going calls from all Local Government peak bodies and from individual councils for the annual Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants to increase 1% of taxation revenue, not a single party has addressed the issue” Mayor Firman said.
“Do they think that if they ignore us, we will just go away? Not likely!”
Mayor Davis added, “Following the April Council Meeting we will be consulting with the community on entire Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP &R) Suite – this includes the 10-year Community Strategic Plan, four-year Delivery Program, Operational Plans and Budget and the Resourcing Strategy encompassing an updated 10-year Long Term Financial Plan, Asset Management Strategy & Plans and the Workforce Strategy.”
“We will be out in the community talking about the plans and ensuring that those plans represent what is good for the community and good for Council,” she said.
Council encourages all residents to stay informed and engaged by subscribing to Council’s news and media updates, following the official Glen Innes Severn Council social media pages and reading the upcoming resident newsletter that will be delivered to every household.
Community participation is vital to shaping the future prosperity of the Glen Innes Severn region.