Does Council have the ability to deliver on infrastructure promises with SRV $?

When Hawkesbury City Council applied for a Special Rate Variation that will increase rates by a cumulative 39.41 percent over four years, residents raised a wide range of concerns during the consultation process.

Some supported additional funding for roads and infrastructure. Others asked a more fundamental question:

Before ratepayers are asked to contribute more money, should Council demonstrate that previous projects have been delivered successfully on time and on budget?

One of the projects repeatedly referenced in submissions to IPART was Fernadell Park at Pitt Town.

According to Bob Gribbin's independent review of the IPART decision to grant Hawkesbury Council's request for a 40% rate rise, Fernadell is part of a broader debate about project delivery, accountability and whether past performance should play a greater role in future funding decisions.

More Than a Park

For supporters, Fernadell represents an important community asset. For critics, it has become a symbol of a larger governance question. The issue is not necessarily the project itself.

Rather, the question is whether residents should be able to examine the delivery, cost, outcomes, and management of major projects before being asked to fund additional infrastructure through higher rates.

During consultation on the Special Rate Variation, submitters raised concerns about a range of projects and initiatives including Fernadell Park, multiple Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant projects still to be started, the Berambing telecommunications tower, Windsor Paddlesports and elements of the sewer scheme. This wide variety of projects represents a pattern of failure to deliver on the part of Council.

Fernadell Park 17 years late; Council received $3m in developer contributions which should have 17 years ago been sufficient to provide playing fields, delayed to include a Community Centre. The Berambing Telecommunication tower funding was lost due to the Council's failure to approve its own DA in a timely manner, as was the case with the Windsor Paddlesports Club.

Many residents argued that these projects should be examined as part of any assessment of Council's ability to deliver before Council is allowed to collect additional funding through a rate increase.

IPART's Response

IPART acknowledged that concerns had been raised regarding specific projects.

However, the Tribunal concluded that questions about project delivery, project management and individual spending decisions fell outside its statutory role.

In effect, IPART's task was to assess whether Council met the legislative requirements for a Special Rate Variation, not whether particular projects had been delivered in a manner that satisfied residents.

That distinction is important. But it also raises a difficult question. If IPART does not assess whether major projects were successfully delivered, who does?

The Accountability Gap

Retired IBM Senior Consultant and business analyst Bob Gribbin argues that this creates a potential accountability gap that NSW Parliament needs to address. Do we need an IPART Compliance Inspector to ensure Council spends the rate increase on the essential infrastructure backlog it has been allocated for, so the money does not go the same way as the other failed Council projects mentioned above?

The Hawkesbury Gazette has asked IPART:

Did the assessment consider the combined impact of Special Rate Variations and sewer-related charges on affected households?
Were suburb-level or community-level impacts modelled?
How does IPART assess capacity to pay where residents face multiple council charges beyond ordinary rates?
Should future assessments provide a clearer picture of the total financial impact of council funding strategies on households?

His report, "Matters Raised in My Submission That IPART's Final Report Did Not Address," is available for download on the Hawkesbury Gazette website.

Readers are encouraged to review the report and draw their own conclusions regarding the assumptions, forecasts and accountability measures underpinning Hawkesbury's Special Rate Variation.