Council asks community to prioritise projects
North Sydney Council has embarked on a consultation to pave the way for another rate rise discussion – and get advice on what services should be cut until more money is in the budget.
Rates regulator IPART rejected council’s special rates variation (SRV) request of 87% in February on the grounds council had not sufficiently proven why it was needed – and also because it had not provided evidence that the community understood the reason for the rise.
Mayor Zoë Baker said the financial position of council hadn’t changed, ‘And we have to find a way through.’ The first phase of the consultation was asking residents ‘what are the levels of services you value and expect.’ “Now it may come back that people say, ‘We want reduced services and we’re happy for very poor assets.’ I suspect that’s not going to be the case.”
Unlike in previous years, external consultants Micromex have been involved in the survey and called 600 residents for their opinions.
While council’s 10-year vision consultation done in 2024 was ‘hugely successful’ with almost 10,000 locals responding, Mayor Baker said one of the issues it faced was a 30% increase in population due to housing reforms – yet no way to survey a future population.
“I think that is one of the weaknesses of the process with IPART,” Mayor Baker said. “The council really tried to do a long-term structural change. The by-product was that even with a steep increase in rates in the first two years, over 10 years people would (have been) paying a lower level of rates.”
The mayor would not be drawn on what level of rate rise she would like to see, but did admit there needed to be a separate levy to address borrowings for the North Sydney Olympic Pool redevelopment, which is costing $122 million – well over the originally forecast $64 million.
“The poor decision around the pool (by a previous council) has exacerbated what had already been 10 to 15 years of neglect of asset maintenance and renewal,” Mayor Baker said. “And North Sydney is not alone in that. A lot of councils have struggled to maintain assets. Sometimes councillors prioritise the shiny ribbon cutting new stuff over the less glamorous, like fixing the sporting field drainage. But the ‘less glamorous’ make a difference to people.”
A second consultation on a rate rise is set for later this year.
