The subject of just how much growth is needed and or wanted in Palerang will be up for discussion at the ordinary Council meeting to be held in Bungendore tomorrow evening. Now that the Council has been given a Special Rate Variation for one year and the rate has been set, recent suggestions have been that Palerang would need more than 500 rateable properties per year to maintain the level of income from rates.
A report to Council by General Manager Peter Bascomb, 'Growth in Rate Base versus Rate Increases', provides Council with a comparison of the increase in the rate base needed to match any further rate rises.
The report says that "there's been speculation in the media and by some members of the public at Council meetings that Council's financial problems could be resolved by facilitating development and thus increasing Council's rate base. To ensure that any such debate is informed, this brief report provides an indication of the level of growth that would be required to replace any future rate rises.
Council originally applied for a 6.3% special variation for each of 5 years. The Minister for Local Government approved a variation of 6.07%, providing Council with a total notional yield of $5,167,910.
If Council were to apply for another 6.3% increase, the additional revenue provided would be $325,578."
The report provides an example with 23 extra business properties and 508 residential properties making up this amount of rates income.
"This increase in properties equates to 8.9% growth compared with the 2% to 3% growth experienced in recent years," says the report. "It would also equate to about 1,500 additional people in the shire. Remember that to match Council's special variation application, this would need to compound for each of the next 4 years."
"This model of estimated growth is compromised by the assumption that the number of farms will remain the same. In reality, a number of farms would probably need to be subdivided to allow for this growth. Given that this would reduce valuations and hence rates, this model underestimates the growth required."
"Not only would growth greater than 9% be remarkable for this area, it would also bring considerable challenges in developing Council's infrastructure."
The report concluded that "there is also the question as to whether the community would support this level of growth."
The Council Business Paper also reports to Council on the information on the relevant legislation regarding the appointment of Administrators to replace Councillors. "There has been a lot of speculation over recent months regarding the possibility of appointment an Administrator to replace the elected members of Palerang Council," the report says. It sets out the sections of the Local Government Act 1993 where the Governor may dismiss mayor and councillors and how the Governor may appoint administrator or order fresh election.
However, the report says that "a review of these sections indicates that none of the circumstances in which an Administrator might be appointed apply to Palerang Council."
"The circumstances may have existed if, as a recent press comments suggest was a possibility, five or more Councillors resign. In this circumstance, then §257(1)(c) could apply. If this were the case, then consideration would need to be given to interplay between §257(1)(c) and the interpretation of §368, which reads "What is the quorum for a meeting? The quorum for a meeting of the council is a majority of the councillors of the council who hold office for the time being and are not suspended from office."
"This is usually interpreted to mean that a quorum is the majority of Councillors remaining in office. For example, if 2 of Palerang's 9 Councillors resigned, the quorum for a meeting would become 4, being a majority of the 7 remaining Councillors, pending the by-election to elect replacement Councillors. There maybe, however, a threshold below which the Minister may choose to act. Departmental advice has been sought but is not to hand at the time of writing."
"Another piece of misinformation that has been reported in the regional media is that the appointment of an administrator in local government is akin to the appointment of an administrator in private enterprise, namely when a business goes into receivership or liquidation. As can be seen from the legislation there is little or no similarity between the two situations. The only direct financial matter considered in the legislation is whether a Council is able to guarantee its income by correctly making an ordinary rate. Despite the controversy and debate surrounding the process, Palerang Council has been able to make its rate."
The outcome of Class I and II Appeals by Navaroo Constructions against Palerang Council are to be discussed at the Council Meeting. In total, the court dealt with 25 separate appeals.
The report to Council summarises the broad outcomes of those appeals, and provides information on the estimated staff time, costs, and the current state of the development.
It is estimated that staff have expended about 519.6 hours on these appeals at an approximate cost of $52,000 and Council has, at the time of this report, expended $217,214 in the defence of the Class I and Class II matters. This relates only to the direct legal and expert witness expenses for Council. Council is yet to receive the final costings for these appeals.
These costs do not include the costs of the class IV proceeding (i.e. the action brought by the Bungendore Residents Group) against the overall validity of the consent.
Business Papers are available at the Council Offices and www.palerang.nsw.gov.au (Agenda is available on page 11).
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