Disagreement erupts over North Burnett council treasury lockout

The North Burnett mayor has slammed the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning over whether her struggling council can rely on treasury funding.

A disagreement has erupted between a regional council and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning over whether the severely indebted North Burnett can access the treasury in times of need.

North Burnett mayor Rachel Chambers has been touring her region throughout the past month to alert residents through six information sessions about the severe cash flow shortage the region is experiencing in an effort to brace the community for potential cuts to services.

Mayor Chambers explained the department had advised the council they would be unable to borrow until their $7.8 million deficit had shrunk to a reasonable amount, which remains unspecified.

At this rate, the North Burnett is on track to run out of money as early as 2025 and unless drastic action is taken residents can expect reduced access to pools, libraries and waste facilities, as well as resorting to dry grading roads.

A department spokesman told the Central and North Burnett Times the council were “not restricted from borrowing”.

“The State Government is continuing to work closely with all 77 Local Governments in Queensland to support their financial sustainability and community outcomes,” he said.

“Borrowing applications can be made at any time through the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and are considered on a case-by-case basis.”

However, Cr Chambers said while the council can still “technically” apply for funding, she was informed that any attempt to do so would be fruitless.

“We may be able to apply, and it may be on a case-by-case basis, but they've told us until we make improvements, we will not be able to borrow,” she said.

“That was very clear.

“As early as this year, we went to the state government to talk about whether we could borrow for Biggenden water, and we were told no.”

The department spokesman told Newscorp that councils are responsible for setting service levels and need to ensure these are affordable.

“The state is saying that to us, and that is exactly right, but we‘re saying that the only income available to councils like us is rates,” Cr Chambers said.

“And if we were to be reliant on our rates, as per the Queensland Audit Office report, we could only afford a tiny segment of all our services.”

Noting a recent QAO report on local governments, which revealed one-third of the state’s local councils were at high risk of becoming financially unsustainable, Cr Chamber’s said the council launched a petition to address the “grave inequalities” which currently exist for local governments to deliver services.

The petition, which received more than 1000 hard copy signatures, has now been tabled in state parliament in Brisbane.

Cr Chambers said the petition challenges the state government to define Queensland’s living standards and probes how regional councils can be expected to meet these standards when their primary income is rates.

“It‘s the small population and the high assets. We’ve got $1.1 billion in assets, with under 7000 ratepayers,” she said.

“Why does my community have to suffer just because our rate base does not suffice.”

Queensland Assistant Minister for Local Government, Nikki Boyd MP has confirmed she will soon lead a delegation to the North Burnett.