RON Posselt stands in a room humming with conversations about roads, bridges, local government and money.

The general manager of Greater Taree City Council is in council's pop-up shopfront next to Taree Central and is keen to listen and talk to anyone who walks in off Manning Street.

He looks to walls plastered with maps and posters, display boards coloured with charts, and a central bank of computers that deliver quick information to the community about council's proposed Special Rate Variation (SRV) of six per cent per year over six years.

It is early morning and Ron stands ready to spend time with people explaining the state of council's failing road network and infrastructure; he knows it will not be a quick conversation but says it is important, and one that he will happily have again and again as part of council's community consultation process.

Council's proposed SRV seeks to help remedy an infrastructure backlog that has its roots in the 1970s and decades on sees council burdened with 1700km of roads, almost 200 bridges and simply not enough money from ratepayers, the State government or the federal government to maintain them at a level that meets community expectations.

The SRV in its simplest terms is this a base rate in 2014/15 of $1000 will mean the SRV adds an average of $78.26 per year, or $1.50 per week, over the proposed six-year period.

According to Ron, the compound nature of applying the SRV over six years, means the increase continues to grow year-on-year. Based on the current $1000 base rate, the SRV adds $60 in year one, up to $98.70 in year six.

"Spreading the SRV over six years means smaller annual increases and ultimately less impact on households with fixed incomes. At $1.50 per week on average, it may be considered a small price to pay for a road network that can be sustained at far safer levels than we can currently achieve."

Council knows the community expects more of council, particularly in relation to the construction, repair and maintenance of its roads.

Ron says council staff are listening and he wants people to see the pop-up shopfront as "much more than a forum for ratepayers to air their grievances."

"It's a chance for the community to gain an understanding of the challenges our region faces with its infrastructure backlog," he said.

"The estimated cost to rebuild our 1725km road network, at around $1 million per kilometre, is in the vicinity of $1.7 billion.

"The proposed six per cent per year increase on base rates, over six years will deliver $9.961 million.

"The SRV if it proceeds will arrest the decline in the condition of our roads."

Council's senior staff also stand ready to talk to members of the community, and according to council's senior leader property and procurement Dan Aldridge, the conversations reveal recurring themes; concerns about the allocation of money to roads, complaints about the quality of work undertaken by council and contractors on roads; and anxiety about the impact of the proposed increase in rates from pensioners.

He says the conversations are revealing, educational and not short.

"We want to people to walk away understanding the issues and the proposed solution," Dan said.

"People want to know, they are looking for answers and to understand what we do with money that is allocated to infrastructure." Dan says his contact with the community has been positive and at this early stage summarises feedback as being "a 50-50 split; people see the need for the SRV and seem supportive of the proposal and then there are the pensioners who say they simply cannot afford any increase to rates."

The pop-up shopfront will be open 10am to 6pm until Friday, November 20. An online survey is available at www.taree.cc/safer-roads for those people who can't visit the shopfront.

ainslee.dennis@fairfaxmedia.com.au

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