MidCoast Council to seek rates increase

She is referring to Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's (IPART) decision to peg NSW council rates for 2023-23 financial year at just 0.7 per cent, instead of the 2.25 per cent MidCoast Council had budgeted for.

"The current rate peg methodology means our income growth does not match the increase in the cost of providing services, so an overall look at the (rate pegging) system is well overdue," Cr Pontin said.

MidCoast Council will apply for a rate increase of 2.25 per cent for the 2022-23 financial year.

Each year IPART sets the annual increase for council rates and this is normally in the 2.25-2.5 per cent range, Mayor Claire Pontin explained. For 2022-23, IPART announced that councils in NSW would be limited to an annual adjustment to their rates of 0.7 per cent plus a population growth factor which gives the MidCoast Council a 0.9 per cent increase.

"This is significantly below the price increases currently being experienced and would remove $1.2 million from the 2022-23 budget and more than $14m over the next 10 years," Cr Pontin said.

"This is at a time when we are experiencing year on year damage to our roads from rains and floods and costs are generally increasing by around 6-7 per cent - and for the construction supplies we need for these projects we are seeing increases of up to 30 per cent."

As a result of a state-wide lobby by NSW councils, the State government has advised that councils can apply to IPART to increase rates for next year back to the level they have been budgeting for - to a maximum of 2.5 per cent.

Mayor Pontin said based on earlier advice from IPART, council had been expecting a 2.25 per cent rise and had factored this into council's long-term financial plan and budget for the coming year.

She also welcomed the news that IPART will be undertaking a broader review of its rate peg methodology.

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