Kevin Brooks, leader of the Ratepayers’ Choice group of Independents set to run for the Gosford West ward at the September 14 election, is opposed to Council plans to make permanent a temporary rate increase introduced in 2021.
The temporary rate increase was approved in the aftermath of the financial crisis for emergency short-term purposes, principally the repayment of emergency loans.
Council CEO David Farmer has recently stated Council intends to extend the temporary rate hike indefinitely, and has included this assumption in the Council’s Long Term Financial Plan.
Brooks has reiterated his opposition to this at candidate forums and is calling on other candidates who are yet to say where they stand on the issue to state their position.
He said with one of the emergency loans already having been repaid there was no need for the Temporary Rate Increase to continue.
“Council will save $11-$13M per year in debt servicing costs once the loans are repaid,” he said.
“There was always an expectation that money would be returned to the ratepayer.
“CEO David Farmer’s plan to extend the rate hike is an admission that he hasn’t fixed underlying problems that contributed to the financial crisis in the first place, namely poor management, inefficiency, low productivity, and bad culture.
“Instead of continuing to slug ratepayers, a newly elected Council needs to focus on improving efficiency and productivity.
“For example, an annual efficiency target of just one per cent per year starting in 2024/25 would liberate about $30M per year in savings from the General Fund alone by 2031/32.
“That is the same amount raised by the temporary rate increase.”
Brooks said a similar efficiency target could be applied to the Water and Sewer Fund.
“Throwing ever more ratepayers’ money at a poorly managed Council is a strategy that isn’t working,” he said.
“Rates have increased 39 per cent in four years, yet services have continued to decline in priority areas such as roads, water and sewer, determination times for development applications and customer complaints.
“A different approach is needed focused on fixing underlying problems within the organisation.”
It’s heartening to hear Kevin Brooks tell it as it is. The state government forced merger of Gosford & Wyong created many problems that it (NSW gov.) failed to fix. Kevin is spot on when he says throwing more money at a disfunctual council is only going to make us poorer.