Council this week revealed 497 people completed the online survey - with around 25,000 ratepayers in the Greater Taree local government area - it delivers to council the opinion of just 1.988 per cent of the population. If you were to calculate community participation in the survey on the number of residents - around 49,000 - the figure plummets to just 1.01 per cent of Manning Valley residents.

Council also launched a second public consultation process and surveyed 400 people independently by telephone.

A council spokesperson said council was "currently analysing this information, some of which we have only received in the last 24 hours, and determining the best response."

Community consultation, education and feedback is a requirement of the Independent Regulatory and Pricing Tribunal (IPART) as part of any application by a NSW council for a variation in rates.

The process requires council to demonstrate three key elements in its application:

o the importance of the SRV for the Greater Taree region;

o the impact to our roads without the SRV; and

o the level of ratepayer support for the SRV.

Information gathered by council staff at its pop-up SRV shopfront in Manning Street, and from its online and telephone survey will be used by council to demonstrate to IPART the level of ratepayer support for the proposal.

The deadline for council's application to IPART is early 2016 and if it is approved, the SRV will begin in the annual rates notice issued in July 2016. It will have the following impact on rates, according to council - "the average weekly increase, for someone currently paying annual rates of $1000 will be $4.83. This starts at $1.15 per week in year one, and increases each year, up to $9.03 in year six."

Council's senior staff manned the SRV shopfront when it opened for five days during the consultation process. Council's senior leader property and procurement Dan Aldridge, was one of many staff who talked to members of the community and he shared with the Manning River Times that his conversations with residents revealed 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.

Mr Aldridge worked with other senior staff at the shopfront, including general manager Ron Posselt, to put council's case for the SRV to about 500 people who visited.

Council staff worked to address key issues in their conversations with members of the community; that council currently spends 40 per cent of all annual rating income on its roads and bridges - with the average NSW council spend being around 16 per cent. Staff revealed that council would be able to increase the amount of money dedicated to its roads to 50 per cent without impacting any other services if the SRV was given the green light. The additional revenue would be "channeled directly into maintenance and renewal projects such as drainage management, heavy patching, resealing and shoulder grading."

Council staff responded to community questions about other funding sources, such as State and Federal government grants with the advice that "these make an important difference but are available on a project basis only" and are "mostly suitable for reconstruction and rehabilitation works" and promoted the fact that it had been "successful in winning in excess of $14 million in grants" in the last financial year.

Council intends to "continue to lobby the State and Federal government for a change in the distribution of Federal Assistance Grants which are currently allocated on the basis of population density."

In advocating the need for the SRV, council argued "the impact of allowing our road network to continue to deteriorate has far-reaching consequences" and cited risks to road users of failing roads, a poor impression left on visitors to the Manning Valley, a negative impact on the cost of freight, a reduced appeal to businesses looking to relocate or invest in the Manning Valley, and reducing value of properties.

ainslee.dennis@fairfaxmedia.com.au