May Council Meeting Briefs

17 May, 2024  

Council calls for reversal of waste tendering amendments

Gunnedah Shire Council will call on the NSW Government to reverse recent amendments to the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 made by the Local Government (General) Amendment (Tendering) Regulation (No 2) 2023 (NSW) relating to protecting the employment of waste workers. In a Mayoral Minute to Council this week, Mayor Jamie Chaffey noted the changes, approved in December 2023, were made without consultation with Councils. Local Government NSW sought legal advice that found concerns with the amended regulations. Cr Chaffey said the new specifications would increase employment costs, stifle innovation and lead to significant cost increases for Councils and ratepayers, ultimately placing a “manifestly unfair” burden on Council.

Submission to request Financial Assistance Grant funding review

Gunnedah Shire Council will lodge a formal submission to the Inquiry into Local Government Sustainability. The submission welcomes the inquiry, noting local government financial sustainability is one of the top issues for New South Wales Councils, due to constraints including rate pegging and cost-shifting by state and federal governments. Council’s submission requests:

• Consideration be given to the Australian Government increasing Financial Assistance Grants to at least 1% or more of Commonwealth Tax Revenue to ensure effective, sustainable funding for local government. • The Australian Government undertake a review of methodologies used to distribute Financial Assistance Grant funding with the aim of ensuring that: o the “minimum grant” is removed from the general purpose component and those funds are redistributed to regional and rural councils; and o greater equity is delivered to regional and rural councils in the distribution of the roads component resulting in an equal per kilometre rate across all councils. You can view the full submission at www.gunnedah.nsw.gov.au as part of the May Council Meeting agenda.

Expressions of interest sought for Audit Committee

Gunnedah Shire Council is seeking applications from suitably qualified individuals for the appointment of two independent committee members to Gunnedah Shire Council’s Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (ARIC) for a term of up to four years.

The information pack outlining required skills and experience for ARIC members is available on Council’s website at Tenders, Quotations & EOI - Gunnedah Shire Council (nsw.gov.au)

Questions on the role of the Audit Committee and its membership should be directed to Kelly Stidworthy on 02 6740 2100.

Applications close Friday 7 June 2024.