Peta Pinson, Port Macquarie-Hastings Mayor, says residents deserve rate-rise reprieve
More than $340 million is sitting locked-up in Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s vault and Mayor Peta Pinson wants the keys to it before future rate rises are applied to residents.
Mid-North Coast
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Port Macquarie-Hastings Mayor Peta Pinson says years of poor decision making at the council combined with the current financial hardship being felt across the region, has led to her calls to freeze rates and free-up money for cash-strapped residents.
On Wednesday night, Mayor Pinson will table a motion before Port Macquarie Council to apply a rate freeze on future increases set by the regulatory body, IPART, until the council can “demonstrate a commitment to reducing costs within the organisation” and “provide evidence on its delivery of key and critical projects and infrastructure”.
A two per cent rate rise has been applied to all rateable properties across the 2021-22 financial year, which Cr Pinson said will be used to cover operational costs despite there being more than $340 million in the bank.
Cr Pinson said she wants the talk to to stop, the rates to freeze and the delivery to start happening.
“We can’t keep going on this way,” she told The Mid-North Coast News.
“About seven years ago, we had $100 million invested and now we have $342 million invested.
“Our roads are failing, our sewer and network infrastructure is failing, we’re not investing in our region, and we can’t just rely on state and federal governments and expect them to ride in and save the region all the time.
“The thing is, they [councillors] think this [saving] is good financial decision making, I say this is poor decision making. We haven’t used that money and all it takes is a resolution of council to dedicate that money to a purpose.
“The opinion of this council for the last nine years has been to save the money for a rainy day.
“Well let me tell you it’s been raining people and we have problems with our sewer network, our storm water network and these are the things that while not sexy pieces of infrastructure that people can get excited about, they are the bread and butter things that council does.
“We really need to unlock that vault.”
Cr Pinson said there should be no justification for gauging residents with higher rates to pay for the services that council can deliver with a prudent financial plan.
“My opinion is as Mayor is, it’s not up to our ratepayers to cough up with the shortfall of money that the organisation has,” she said.
“We’re seeing businesses really doing it hard with the hard border lockdowns and Sydney lockdowns and no one is coming to the area.
“Local day trippers aren’t enough for businesses to really be benefiting.
“People are really doing it tough. people are fatiguing financially. We’ve had the bushfires, we’ve had the droughts, we’ve had Covid and we’ve had floods.
“If we’re running too fat, and if other people are expected to be lean it times like this, why can’t council?
“This is about ratepayers getting value for their money. As a council, if we can’t support local, who can we support.”
Cr Pinson is asking, through the CEO, that the council demonstrate its commitment to reducing costs within the organisation and provide evidence on how Council will increase its delivery of key and critical projects and infrastructure with the associated resourcing plan.
The motion also suggests that loss of income from a rate freeze would be offset by the ‘unprecedented level of development activity with new rateable properties.’
Provided Cr Pinson’s motion passes, the council will then be required to bring a report to the newly elected Council outlining the actions proposed.
Those people who have rural properties, commercial properties, residential properties they’ll be able just to breath easy and they’ll have a little bit of extra spare cash in their pockets, which then speaks to the supporting local and looking after our own area.
“It keeps people in their jobs, the economy going and the wheels turning.”
The motion will debated at a meeting of Port Macquarie Councillors on Wednesday,
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