Council News 18 April 2018

Council News 18 April 2018

COUNCIL NEWS 18 APRIL 2018

The 2018/2019 Operational Plan process is in progress with an estimates workshop held on Thursday 29 March, 2018 and an extra-ordinary meeting held Thursday, 12 April 2018. The meeting was held to determine priorities and funding for various projects and facilitate the development of the draft 2018/2019 Operational Plan. 

The draft Operational Plan will be presented to the May 2018 Council meeting before being placed on public exhibition and presented to the June 2018 Council Meeting for formal adoption.

A very important component of Councils revenue in the Operational Plan is rates revenue and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) has announced a 2.3% rate pegging limit for Councils for the 2018/2019 financial year.  

The rate peg is determined by IPART using the Local Government Cost Index (LGCI) with the main contributors to LGCI over the year ending September 2017 being:  

an increase of 2.5% in employee benefits and on-costs, measured by the ABS wage price index for the NSW public sector an increase of 11.7% in electricity and street lighting charges, measured by the ABS consumer price index for electricity costs – Sydney, and an increase of 1.2% in construction works – roads, drains, footpaths, kerbing and bridges costs, measured by the ABS producer price index for roads and bridges construction – NSW.

The rate pegging limit of 2.3% is up from 1.5% for the 2017/2018 financial year which reflects the increase in the LGCI.

It needs to be noted that the LGCI only reflects movements in underlying costs. It does not reflect increased costs arising from the need to expand services to meet growing demands or the need to increase infrastructure spending to address backlogs or growth. These needs are to be met by way of special rate variations (SRV) under the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act) which allows a Council to increase its general income by more than the rate peg.

In this regard the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has previously approved a special rate variation application from Council to increase our income above the rate peg from 1st July, 2015.

Council subsequently received approval from IPART for four (4) consecutive increases of 6.4% in 2015/2016 and 7% in each year from 2016/2017 to 2018/2019 which all include the rate peg. This has been generating additional revenue which is assisting Council in funding the new Grenfell Aquatic Centre and Grenfell Medical Centre which are and will be great assets for our community.

It has been previously illustrated that Weddin Shire rates have been historically much lower than surrounding Shires. If we were to remain financially sustainable or viable in the long term it was critical that we applied for and gained approval for this special rate variation.

The decision to apply for a special rate variation was a very tough decision. However, the decision clearly demonstrates that Council is serious about our long term financial sustainability, upgrading our infrastructure assets such as our Aquatic and Medical Centres and remaining as Weddin Shire Council in the long term.

The Rural Financial Counselling Service NSW Central Region have advised Council that Financial Counsellor, Peni Usumaki, plans to visit Grenfell on the first Thursday each month. 

The Rural Financial Counselling Service provides free impartial and confidential services to farmers and small agricultural businesses.  They also provide information and assistance with farm innovation funds, natural disaster assistance and can assist in helping clients with a better understanding of their financial position. 

Peni is scheduled to visit Grenfell on Thursday 3rd May 2018 and will be located at the Local Land Services building 20 Warraderry Street, Grenfell.

Appointments are necessary and can be made on Ph 1800 940 404 or mobile 0408 973 723.

The Rural Assistance Authority have advised that drought assistance concessional loans are now available. Loans of up to $1 million are available to eligible farm businesses for any combination of the following purposes:

Debt restructuring New debt for operating expenses New debt for drought preparedness activities or Drought recovery activities.

Eligibility criteria, terms and conditions apply. Applications close 30 June 2018 or earlier if funding is exhausted. 

For more information on the loans and how to apply, visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au or Ph 1800 678 593.

Shoosh for Kids awareness week will run 14 – 20 May, 2018 where there will be a focus on encouraging positive behaviour at sport throughout the whole sporting season.

The purpose of the Shoosh for Kids campaign is to address issues such as:

Promoting positive behaviour at junior sport issues arising from poor behaviour at junior sport, including: abuse of officials and players, reduced volunteer numbers and reduced participation rate (due to poor experiences/non-enjoyment/focus on winning).

A range of resources including social media content, media announcements, images, web banners, ground announcements and more can be accessed by registering as a supporter via sport.nsw.gov.au/shooshforkids 

Council has received advice that applications for the NSW Family Energy rebate are now open. NSW Families with dependent children who may be eligible are encouraged to apply for 2017-2018 Family Energy Rebate of up to $180.

The Family Energy Rebate is one of a number of NSW Government energy assistance programs to help eligible households reduce the impact of energy costs.

For more information visit https://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/energy-consumers/financial-assistance/rebates/family-energy-rebate or to fill out an application form go online to www.applications.fer.trade.nsw.gov.au   

Applications close Thursday 21 June 2018.

The Grenfell Picnic races were held last Saturday 14 April, 2018 and were an outstanding success with a very large crowd in attendance at the Grenfell race track. 

Congratulations to the organising committee who put in many hours of hard work prior to and on the day of the races to ensure the outstanding success of the event.

The new exhibition at the Grenfell Art Gallery is "Shared Observations " by local artists Nina Roderick, Allen Crowe and Kathleen McCue which opened yesterday Tuesday 17 April 2018 and is on display until 1 June 2018.

Each artist portrays different mediums ranging from portraits of both human and animal forms, photography, painting and sculptures.

The exhibition is well worth a visit to the Art Gallery to see.

  

Dates to Note

Friday 20 April 2018 –Recycling Collection (Grenfell East)

Monday 23 April 2018 – Recycling Collection (Grenfell West)

Street Stalls

Friday 20 and Saturday 21 April 2018 – Grenfell RSL

WEDDIN SHIRE COUNCIL

ACTIVE TRANSPORT PLAN

A draft Active Transport Plan for the Weddin Shire has been developed and is on public exhibition for comment.

This plan has been prepared to deliver high quality and innovative solutions to pedestrian and cycling issues between 2018 - 2028. Council is encouraging members of the community to view and comment on the draft plan by providing comments via email to or by attending Community Consultation workshops which will be held at:

Grenfell Community Hub Building 24th April 2018 - 12:00 to 2:00 pm and 5:00 to 7:00 pm

Submissions will be accepted until 4:00 pm on Friday 4th May 2018. The draft plan can be viewed at Council or on the website www.weddin.nsw.gov.au

WEDDIN SHIRE COUNCIL

PROPOSED RENAMING OF HARDEMANS LANE

Council is seeking comment on the proposal to rename Hardemans Lane as Hardmans Lane.

Comments should be submitted to the address below by Wednesday, 26 April 2018.

PO BOX 125                                                                                                AUTHORISED BY

GRENFELL                                                                                                   GLENN CARROLL

                                                                                                                     GENERAL MANAGER