These five things will cost you more under the proposed Lismore council Budget

From photocopies to your rates – it’s all going to cost more under the draft budget for the next financial year, as the council scrambles to make ends meet.

Lismore City Council has raised rates, fees and charges in the Budget for the next financial year.

Lismore City Council faced some tough decisions in what to include, or leave out, of the Budget for the next financial year.

The Draft Budget, to go on public exhibition on Monday, was the result of many months of collaboration between staff and councillors.

Mayor Vanessa Ekins said: “We have been developing the Budget since late last year and it is the most thorough and rigorous budget I have seen in my time at council. An incredible amount of work has gone into it, with councillors and senior management forensically examining all proposed spending”.

The Draft Budget shows an improvement in the council’s cash balance next financial year from a deficit of $458,000 last year to a $207,000 deficit.

But staff and councillors expressed concern about a reliance on capital grants to fill a deficit of $19 million to cover the costs of maintaining assets.

While most agreed the council was on the right path, it was acknowledged the council had a long way to go before it reached financial stability.

To increase revenue, a number of rates, fees and charges will rise next financial year.

Here are five things that will cost you more under the Draft Imagine Lismore 2021/22 Operational Plan and Budget.

1. General Rates

The Budget has been prepared applying the full rate pegging increase of 2.0 per cent.

This will bring the council an extra $642,000 in rates revenue than the previous financial year.

The new base amount the council applies to all rating categories will rise to $423.

An individual base rate is determined by the land value as of July 2019, the rate in the dollar for the particular rate category you are in, plus the base amount (now $432).

Various fees and levies are individually applied on top of the base rate.

For the average urban residential ratepayer, the base rates will increase by approximately $21 to $1293.

2. Waste Management Services

A number of waste collection fees were set to rise under the draft Budget, ranging from a 4 per cent increase for urban business collection, to a 3.51 per cent increase for rural collection.

For urban businesses, this equates to an increase of $16.70, rising to $434.20 from $417.50.

For rural ratepayers, the fee increases by $13.87, from $409.40 per year to $395.53.

3. Wastewater Charges

For 2021/22, it was proposed to increase the residential charge to $977 from $960. This is a $17 or 1.77 per cent increase.

Other wastewater charges and rebates were also set to rise, including those for residential units, non-domestic properties, and connection charges in North Woodburn.

4. Water charges

It was proposed to increase consumption charges in 2021/22 to $4.44 per kilolitre from $4.09 per kilolitre, and the base service availability charge to $325.92 per annum from $300.44 per annum.

This would increase the typical residential bill to $1080.72 from $995.74 per annum. This is a $84.98 or 8.53 per cent increase.

5. Fees and Charges

Many fees charged by Lismore City Council were set to rise.

From photocopying to tip fees, they are all seeing incremental increases.

While a B/W photocopy will cost you 15c more, getting a water meter tested will cost you $18 more, and you’ll pay 30c more to swim at the Lismore Baths, rising to $5.80 per swim.

Dropping off a load of unsorted rubbish will cost you $19.50 more, and a new fee of $800 will apply for the casual hire of a sport fields for an eight week competition (other than Oakes Oval, Crozier Field, Clifford Park and Albert Park).

The cost of burial and cremation is set to rise in the Lismore Local Government Area as well, with a burial plot at Lismore Memorial Gardens or East Lismore Cemetery set to rise from $4602.40 to $4971.

New fees surrounding filming in the region have also been introduced.

Filming on public land with more than 50 crew will attract a fee of $500.

Largely the fees for hiring Lismore City Hall will not change, but fees for hire other halls may.

Some fees associated with development are also set to rise.

The Draft Operational Plan and Budget was presented to Lismore councillors on Tuesday night and will be on public exhibition from May 10 until June 7. Go here to view the Draft Budget and have your say after May 10.