Coast gets NSW’s largest federal money grant

The Federal Government gives Central Coast Council the largest amount of money per year in its federal assistance grants (FAG) to NSW councils.

The Coast last year received $31.5M in FAG and this year it is expected to receive $33.4M.

In comparison, Blacktown Council, which has the largest population of any NSW local government area, received $19.5M last year and Canterbury Bankstown, with the second largest population, received $13M.

Those payments are expected to increase to $21.5M and $13.6M respectively.

The 128 councils in NSW all receive differing amounts and increases are based on different percentages.

The Coast has the third largest population in NSW.

Per capita the Coast gets $77.26; Blacktown gets $35.55 and Canterbury Bankstown gets $26.34.

Some remote areas in NSW receive more than $2,000 per capita such as for Bourke but the overall amount is less than $10M for that LGA.

While 65% of the state’s population lives in metropolitan councils, those councils receive only 25% of the grant funding.

Councillor Jared Wright, Chair of Council’s governance and finance committee, explained how FAG works.

“Central Coast Council received a higher allocation per capita than all other metropolitan councils in NSW, largely driven by the fact we have far more assets to maintain,” he said. 

“For the roads component alone, we have about 2,250km of road network here on the Central Coast.”

But he wants Council to become more self sufficient.

“The Office of Local Government has said that the total amount of the annual FA Grant, and whether and when an advance payment is made, is determined by the Federal Government and councils should not depend on these funds to balance their financial statements in future,” Wright said.

“It is external factors like these that reaffirm my belief that Council needs to look at fair and sustainable ways to grow its revenue base, to hedge our financial position against impacts like these that are out of our control.”

Wright said the investment into ticketing technology at Gosford City Car Park was a great example.

“The project will allow us to bring in more people at longer hours and at a fair price point, which will generate revenue that can be put back into the community,” he said.

“Another example is return on investment within our overarching investment portfolio.

“Currently, Council has about $800M ($816M at July 31) in cash and cash equivalents, which has returned about 5.3% in the past 12 months. 

“While interest rate cuts are great for mortgage holders, they are a negative impact on larger institutional investors, such as councils and superannuation funds, as it makes it harder to generate returns. 

“In an environment where interest rates decline, institutional investors would typically pivot their portfolios towards assets that generate a higher return, such as shares in listed companies, noting that in some cases that can mean a greater level of risk.

“Due to the investment guidelines set by the NSW Government, councils are unable to do this, meaning they are often stuck with a lower interest rate return on their cash, which dries up what is a key revenue stream at a local government level. 

“This makes opening up new revenue opportunities critical and it needs to be done in a way that is fair on the community.”

Councillor Rachel Stanton said the FAG money was an acknowledgement of the diverse range of infrastructure on the Coast and the significant costs in maintaining them.

“In terms of critical infrastructure, we have 2,600km of sewer mains, our own water utility, three dams, 560 parks and reserves, 77 sporting facilities and 10 libraries,” Stanton said.

“These are just a few of the services we manage each and every day, to ensure we are delivering essential services to our community.

“I remain steadfast in my view that Council must continue to prioritise spending on infrastructure and these grant contributions are a key funding component. 

“Infrastructure investment is also what our community values most, with basics such as roads and footpaths always being top of the priority list for funding by local residents.”

Merilyn Vale