FAGS we cannot give up, costing us $784,000 over three years

A FEDERAL Government decision to pause indexation of grants it gives local government will cost the Clarence Valley $784,000 over the next three years.

A FEDERAL Government decision to pause indexation of grants it gives local government will cost the Clarence Valley $784,000 over the next three years.

To put that in perspective, the amount is more money than the Clarence Valley Council will raise with its pegged rate increase for 2014/15.

On Tuesday the council adopted a report noting the importance the council placed on the Financial Assistance Grants (FAGS) it received from the Commonwealth totalling $10.256 million and that it correctly identify all Commonwealth grant funding in its publications.

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The report came to council in response to a letter from Local Government NSW requesting it join other councils in Australia in a campaign against the pause in indexation.

The pause was a measure in the 2014/15 Federal Budget aimed at saving $925 million over four years.

To achieve the saving the government would not index payments to the CPI from 2014/15 to 2017/18.

Also on Tuesday Federal member for Page Kevin Hogan announced the latest instalment of the grant payment, $2,563,851, to the council.

For the council's director - corporate, Ashley Lindsay, it was another example of the difficulties councils face securing funding for their works programs.

Mr Lindsay will delve more into this issue in tomorrow's Examiner.

Originally published as FAGS we cannot give up, costing us $784,000 over three years