'I can't stay': Councillor storms out of rate hike briefing

AS LISMORE City Council prepares to vote on charging residents a special rate variation, one councillor has walked out of an important briefing session.

HEATED DEBATE: At the Lismore City Council's councillor briefing on the community response of he proposed SRV, Cr Gianpiero Battista (second from left) walked out of the chamber. Picture: Alison Paterson

TEMPERS flared during a discussion about Lismore's proposed rate hike at a councillor briefing last night, with one councillor storming out.

Councillors met last night for a comprehensive briefing on the Special Rate Variation, but Cr Gianpiero Battista walked out of the chamber.

He was clearly upset that data he claimed he had requested three times regarding the proposed SRV had not been forthcoming.

He argued with general manager Shelley Oldham and Mayor Isaac Smith about his lack of access to the first round of community responses to the SRV, which was completed several months ago.

The SRV options include sticking to the rate peg set by Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, asking for a staggered increase of 7.5, 9.4, 3.9 and 3.2 per cent increases over four years, or an increase over two years of 17 per cent in the 2020/21 financial year and 6.9 per cent the following year.

"I can't stay here when all my questions were related to phase one of the special rate variation," Cr Battista said.

"Phase one was three months ago... as a councillor I requested the information and it's the job of the general manager to give me the information."

Mayor Isaac Smith said: "You are allowed to leave."

As Cr Battista departed, Cr Elly Bird said, "it's very disappointing you are choosing not to stay."

Ms Oldham said it was vital that councillors did not receive data out of context.

"You need the whole puzzle in front of you in order to make an informed decision," she said.

Earlier in the evening during the public access session, ratepayer Neville King gave what he called "a damning account" of council regarding the SRV.

"Lismore CBD is crisis, there's been 60 businesses that have closed in the CBD and we are sliding into a recession," he said.

"If this continues the Lismore LGA will be in a depression... and council's expenditure is a joke.

"Everything is in the red... councillors don't expect us (ratepayers) to pull you out and the figures which council are showing as the average are misleading."

MicroMex Research and Consulting director Stuart Reeve who conducted the community survey on the SRV options, spoke about their results.

"One per cent of the population is very satisfied and nearly 30 per cent said they are not at all satisfied with the state of the roads," he said."

Ms Oldham gave a detailed presentation which looked at how to encourage more jobs, residents and businesses to town.

"The Lismore CBD saw 269 job losses even before the 2017 flood," she said.

"We have a $54 million backlog... with a decline of young families and an increase of retirees, we need to work on serious strategies."

Councillors will vote on the rate increases at next week's meeting.