Special Rate Variation – The Process

Lithgow City Council is one of 14 Councils’ to notify their intention to apply to IPART for a special rate variation in 2019/20. 

The following Councils have notified IPART of their intention to apply for a special rate variation in 2019//20: Burwood Council, Camden Council, Dungog Shire Council, Hunters Hill Council, Kiama Municipal Council, Ku-ring-Gai Council, Muswellbrook Council, North Sydney Council, Port Stephens Council, Randwick City Council, Richmond Valley Council, Sutherland Shire Council and Tamworth Regional Council.  Their letters of notification detailing the proposed amount of their SRV and reasons for applying are able to be viewed at www.ipart.nsw.gov.au.

Lithgow Council will be holding an Extra Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday 29 January to review the application, submissions from the community and to decide whether to proceed with the application process. If Council votes to proceed, then the application needs to be lodged with IPART by 11 February 2019. 

Council values your input and is inviting submissions from the community until Friday 11 January.  The following steps are being taken to ensure that we give our Ratepayers as much information as possible so that you can make an informed submission detailing your reasons for “supporting” or “not supporting” the application for the SRV:

A Special Rate Variation webpage, haveyoursay.lithgow.com has been set up with fact sheets, supporting documents, and a rates calculator. Regular media releases are being sent to all local and regional media which are also published on Council’s website council.lithgow.com and facebook page @LithgowCityCouncil. A letter from the Mayor has been sent to all Lithgow Local Government Area Ratepayers. Staff at the Council Administration Centre and Libraries are available to assist with enquiries and accessing information on haveyoursay.lithgow.com . Micromex Consulting have been engaged by Council to undertake a random telephone survey of residents of the Lithgow LGA to ascertain their level of support for the special rate variation. An online version of the telephone survey will be available for those ratepayers who do not live in the Lithgow LGA or who are not contacted by Council’s Consultants. The survey will be available online from 14 December 2018 to 11 January 2019. Council has developed a Rates Calculator to enable ratepayers to see what the likely impact of the proposed special rates variation will be on their base rate.

Written submissions quoting reference no. SRV19-20 will be accepted by Council until midnight on 11 January 2019 to Lithgow City Council, PO Box 19, LITHGOW 2790 or email [email protected].

Written submissions may also be made to IPART in writing IPART, PO Box K35, Haymarket Post Shop NSW 1240 or online at www.ipart.nsw.gov.au.