EXPLAINED: How council came up with project hit-list

SENIOR Lismore City Council staff have explained why certain projects had to cancelled or deferred to help plug the $6.1 million budget black hole.

Lismore City councillors have voted to cancel or defer a number of projects to help address its $6.1 million black hole.

SENIOR Lismore City Council staff used a councillor briefing to explain why certain projects had to cancelled or deferred to help plug the $6.1 million budget black hole.

• Projects saved, others cancelled at 'tough' council meeting

On Tuesday night acting executive director of sustainable development, Peter Jeuken, took councillors through a report which ranked projects as maintain, defer or cancel.

The briefing was held ahead of the extraordinary meeting called to debate the 12 projects recommended to be cancelled and 21 to be deferred.

"We are here because of due diligence and meeting our reporting commitments," Mr Jeuken said.

"This is a high risk level that needs to be addressed to meet our financial commitments."

Councillors went through the projects one by one and agreed to move three projects from defer to be re-submitted: Review and update Crime Prevention Plan, develop a passive recreation of Lismore Lake Project and Aboriginal and Dual Naming.

Two projects, installation of mid-scale renewable energy and demolition of the lake pool, were moved into the cancelled list.

The council's general manager Shelley Oldham said they were having conversations with the Office of Local Government and New South Wales Treasury Corporation, which is the central borrowing authority for the state of NSW.

She said the council needed to make decisions in order to get the budget balanced.

"These conversations are ongoing," she said.

"It is not optional that we do not take action."

Mr Jeuken gave several examples of projects which need more rigour, including the update of the Floodplain Risk Management Plan

"It's a critical project but has no identified budget plan," he said.

"Is it a $10,000 or $20,000 commitment? This is not identified."

Ms Oldham said the council wanted to "have more discipline and rigour" around projects.

"Councillors, please note we only delivered 23 per cent of the items on this list in the past 12 months," she said.

Mr Jeuken said with the cancelled or deferred projects, "we either stop doing / pursuing it altogether or revisit the project in development of operational plans of the next two years".

"Another possibility was council accept the consultants' reconsiderations to defer or cancel plans as listed in the attachment to the report," he said.

"And that projects nominated as deferred be resubmitted for to draft budget deliberations through annual operational for 2019/20."

Mr Jeuken said projects needed to be better quantified and qualified to ensure they can proceed.

"We need to discuss and clarify concerns regarding processes and time-frames in response to consultant recommendations," he said.

He reminded councillors the Imagine Lismore Development Plan needed to be adopt by June 30 for activities in 2019/20 so the council can meet its existing financial commitments.