Mayor disappointed by Lismore MP's 'attack' on council

"HALF of the road complaints I receive are about state roads... (which) need just as much attention as local roads”.

ROAD REPAIRS: Lismore mayor Isaac Smith said council was doing everything in its power to get the roads damaged by the 2017 floods and said half the of road complaints he receives are about the state roads, which comprise all the roads leading into Lismore. Here, road works which took place along Conway Street in Lismore. Photo Marc Stapelberg / The Northern Star. Picture: Marc Stapelberg

LISMORE mayor Isaac Smith has hit back at state member Thomas George for his comments about unspent monies sitting in council coffers to fix the town's roads.

"Our local member is correct in saying that there is money unspent on road repair, but that is only because we finally received that money earlier this year almost 12 months after the flood,” he said.

"I am disappointed to see our state member attacking council on an issue that affects all levels of government, because half the of road complaints I receive are about the state roads, which is all the roads leading into Lismore.”

Cr Smith said NSW was the only state government which doesn't allow councils to fix their own disaster-damaged infrastructure.

"To fix roads in Lismore, we had to wait for the state government recovery process,” he said.

"Once we received the money, we had a long tender process because under the current legislation we are not allowed to fix these road using our own works, we have to use independent contractors.”

The formula used by the state government to fund councils for their maintenance has been inadequate for decades, Cr Smith said.

"State roads need just as much attention as local roads,” he said.

"We have been working hard with the state government on our disaster recovery, we need reform in the emergency management space to get this money back to councils soon after a disaster so our community is not left waiting.”

Cr Smith said while Lismore appreciated the Federal black-spot funding boost over the past two years, it's not been enough.

"Unfortunately (it's) been offset by the freeze in federal assistance grants over the past three years. The NSW grants commission has told us cost state councils $75 million,” he said.

"Twenty years ago the federal government allocated around 1 per cent of its spending through these grants to councils, it's now just 0.4 per cent.”

Cr Smith said residents want government to work to gather to find a solution.

"Roads are our biggest asset, worth more than $1 billion dollars,” he said.

"We are going to speak with our community about how this can be better funded at a council level.”

He said this could see cuts to libraries, sporting facilities, pools, tourism, business support and cultural programs.

"If we don't cut services, we have to raise rates to fix the issue,” he said.

"Given the impact of these cuts to our community, I expect our state and federal members to do their share in making sure the problem is solved.”

The mayor said Local Government NSW estimated $670 million annually in costs has shifted from state and federal government to state councils, with the bulk coming from the NSW state government.

"Is it any wonder that our resources have been stretched?” he said.

"As the Mayor of Lismore I am calling on all levels of government to work together to fix what is an Australia-wide issue.”