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Proposed Special Rate Variation (SRV) not until Council demonstrates financial accountability
To the Editor,
I am writing in response to correspondence from the General Manager of Hawkesbury City Council seeking comments on the proposed Special Rate Variation (SRV).
I live in Bilpin and own property across several council areas Hawkesbury, The Hills, Lithgow, Bathurst and Mid Coast. While each is unique and direct comparisons are difficult, my general impression is that council rate costs vary widely. Bathurst and The Hills appear to be the cheapest, Lithgow and Mid Coast the most expensive, with Hawkesbury sitting somewhere in the middle perhaps closer to the cheaper end.
On that basis, Hawkesbury Council could probably mount a convincing financial case for an SRV. However, my concern is not whether the rates are too low, but whether Council has the discipline, foresight and management skill to handle a larger budget responsibly.
The previous SRV, from what I could see, went toward expanding bureaucracy and payroll rather than delivering real community outcomes. I fear this proposal will be no different.
Hawkesbury Council lacks a clear vision for the region’s future. Large parts of the western side of the river still have no sewerage, no town water, and miles of unsealed roads and there appears to be no plan to address any of it. It seems Council expects that, even 100 years from now, the Kurrajongs will still be on pump-outs and dirt roads.
In addition, the Council has failed to release new industrial land for decades. Industrial land means jobs, and jobs mean growth. None appears to be on the horizon.
Perhaps most concerning is the $40-million debacle of the cracked rising main. To assume the State Government would simply pay the bill was naïve at best. That money could have been used far more effectively even to purchase Council’s own trucks and tankers for a fraction of the cost.
Ratepayers were assured that the loan would be repaid by customers of the Council’s sewerage scheme, not general ratepayers. Yet those customers have now been transferred to Sydney Water, seemingly without the debt. It does not take a forensic accountant to see how the missing customers, the outstanding debt, and this new SRV might be connected.
Until Hawkesbury City Council demonstrates genuine accountability and a long-term plan for infrastructure, growth and fiscal discipline, it should not be trusted with more of the community’s money.
Sincerely,
Peter Sterelny
Special Rate Variation (SRV) leaves us speechless.
Dear Editor,
Firstly, we would like to thank you for the Gazette’s unbiased and timely reporting of the – now approved – near 40% Rates Hike by the HCC.
To put it plainly, the HCC’s approval of the SVR left us completely speechless. This sort of crippling Rate Hike being approved by the Council, and by a significant majority too, in spite of massive opposition by local residents and business groups is simply beyond belief. It clearly underlines how out of touch the HCC is with the community it’s supposed to serve.
At a time when most families around here are barely keeping up with the escalating cost of basic necessities (like food and electricity, etc.), this additional financial burned imposed on us by the HCC will break many backs. There will be more properties For Sale soon (including our own) and more local businesses going under.
While the approval of this crippling Rate Hike by the HCC would have come as a shock to most Hawkesbury residents, it was the last straw that broke the camels back, as far as our family is concerned. It came on top of our retirement in a quiet semi-rural township being effective destroyed by the construction of a massive roundabout and roadworks right outside our home.
This major project approved by the HCC (under DA0341/23) without any actual consultation with us, the directly affected residents, will effectively force us to abandon our home of 35 years. Having to move out from a comfortable home, well tended garden and a friendly community is never easy, but if you are 75, it’s certainly no picnic.
Thank you again, for your great reporting of the truly important events affecting our community and for listening to our concerns.
Keep up the Good Work!
Kind Regards,
Josef Mach
Glossodia NSW
