A small group of interested community members braved the cool night air to attend the Council Community meeting in Tea Gardens last Thursday night (14 May). General Manager Glenn Handford gave the main presentation and several Council staff were in attendance plus Mayor Jan McWilliams, Deputy Mayor Len Roberts and Councillor Carol McCaskie.
Fit for the Future
Council had commissioned an independent company (recommended by the NSW Government) to assess the implications of a merger with Gloucester Shire Council. No benefits at all to Great Lakes Council were identified from a merger. Council's preferred position is therefore not to support such a merger. There was no overall advantage assessed for Gloucester either so their Council also does not support a merger. Government funds to assist with a merger would also go nowhere near meeting the merger costs identified.
Rate peg
The Government requested councils to budget assuming a 3% rise but then only allowed 2.4% for the year 2015-16. That is equivalent to $24 rise per $1000 of rates. However no one will have exactly a 2.4% rise as property valuations within the Council area have varied considerably up or down over the past year. It is proposed that waste service charges will be kept the same as 2014-15 but with a $2 increase in the annual waste service management fee. No change is proposed in the sewage management fee or the $25 stormwater management fee.
Rate variation
Council is seeking approval for a 3.5% percentage rate increase above the notional pegged 3% rate for 2016-17 and smaller 1.25% increases above the pegged rate for each of the following three years. The bulk of this increase would be used to eliminate the backlog in road works although there are a number of other initiatives.
Jimmy's Beach
Council received $233,000 from Roads & Maritime for Natural Disaster Relief & Recovery to help reinstate the damaged “The Boulevarde” at Jimmy's Beach. Further information is on the Council website.
Boat Ramp & Jetty Investigation at North Arm Cove
Council did not have this item on its list of works to be undertaken with the funds allocated as part of the NSW Boating Now program for 2015-17. It was however a priority identified in the Port Stephens/Hunter Regional Boating Plan. This omission is being followed up.
Local updates.
The sealing of The Esplanade (East) is on the schedule for 2015-16 (from Federal Roads to Recovery funding) and, if approval and funding for joining the parts of the Esplanade up becomes available, this will be addressed then. Funding for work on stormwater drainage in North Arm Cove is on the schedule for 2015-16 (as it was for 2014-15).
Attached below is the draft delivery program and operational plan for Great Lakes which is on exhibition until 5 June. Scroll through to page 62 and check “Total rates $” collected by area. You will see that the amount of rates collected from North Arm Cove (village and surrounds) is just marginally less than that from Hawk Nest/Tea Gardens (excluding Winda Woppa). Both areas contribute around 5% of the total rate income received by Council.
