While Kempsey Shire Council's (KSC) Special Rate Variation (SRV) was not completely ignored like many community members would have liked, the rate hike increase will not hurt as much as what the council has originally planned.
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The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) granted a partial approval of council's application for a special rate variation.
Rather than the 42.7 per cent increase over three years that council applied for, it has been given permission to raise rates by 24 per cent over the next two years.
Council originally proposed a 7.9 per cent increase in property rates for the first year, followed by 15 per cent increases over the following two years.
As a reaction to the potential substantial rate rise, Kyle Arnott founding a community group online, Figure it our KSC, opposing the SRV and suggesting council find other measures to deal with its forecast deficit.
Mr Arnott's Facebook page has grown to 2,300 to date.
A public meeting was held online with Figure it Out KSC members on May 14 to discuss the SRV announcement and to celebrate their small win.
"Although the first two years will hurt a lot of people in the community, we no longer have the 15% rise in the third-year looming over our heads," Mr Arnott said.
"We must take this as a win."
Call for transparency
The overall consensus of community members is they just want to be listened to.
"We didn't get the SRV dropped like we wanted, but we got as close as we could with everything we have done up to this point.
"Now, just like the community has, Kempsey Council needs to listen to what we said in the beginning and tighten their belts.
"The best part [is] IPART even made suggestions outside of cutting services to the community to work with, outlined on age 49 of the final report."
Mr Arnott says despite IPART's approval of the initial two years of council's SRV application, the final report highlights councils' lack of meaningful and transparent communication.
In IPART's report, it states the vast majority of respondents to the tribunal's feedback form expressed concerns about the community consultation conducted by the council, and some stakeholders who made submissions said that during presentation sessions by the council, many questions were taken on notice without being addressed, which they say indicated disregard for genuine community feedback.
The report also mentions some said the council should 'live within its means' and provide greater transparency about the use of the General Fund.
IPART stated it found the material the council provided to ratepayers about the proposed SRV was limited. It did not clearly present key information ratepayers needed to understand that the underlying need for the proposed rate increases is to fund essential services and infrastructure maintenance, and without rate increases the council would increase its borrowings to fund this expenditure.
"This confirms what the community has been saying when we say we didn't feel heard or acknowledged," Mr Arnott said.
"The Figure It Out group is not going anywhere. We will continue to give the community a voice, and hold Kempsey council accountable for [its] work, the councillors for their decisions, and ensure that future communications and information meets the needs of those that live in our beautiful area."
Mr Arnott thanked the group members and wider community for their support.
"They are the ones that need to pat themselves on the shoulder and thank themselves for fighting for their own financial futures," he said.
In response to the strong opposition expressed in its consultation with ratepayers in 2023, the council applied for an SRV of 42.7% rather than one of the higher increases it consulted on, which ranged from 51% to 94%.
" Alone, I am just a guy. I work, I study, I'm a father and a husband. I could not have succeeded in all of this without the people of our shire.
"This extends to those in the media as well, because without them our message would not have gained the ground that it did."
Council's Long Term Financial Plan and 2024-25 budget is currently on public exhibition with members of the community invited to provide feedback before Sunday, May 19.
Feedback submitted will be taken into consideration before the June Ordinary Council Meeting, where councillors will decide how to proceed with the rate increase.
