Northern Beaches Council rates rise: Community events face axe as part of cost cutting bid
A cash-strapped local council pushing for a 40 per cent rates rise is looking at axing financial support for fun community events in an effort to rein in spending. See what’s on the chopping block.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Community fun events like childrens’ picnics, open air movies and outdoor markets could be dumped or scaled back as part of cost saving measures proposed by Northern Beaches Council.
The council could also close its two school “vacation care” centres for kids as part of spending cutbacks in its draft budget for 2025/26, that’s just been released for public feedback.
Markets for Christmas Day, International Women’s Day and Australia Day — along with its “food truck party” — are on the chopping block.
And the council’s World Food Markets are proposed to be scrapped.
These cutbacks come just weeks before a decision is made by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal on the council’s application to raise rates by 40 per cent over the next three years.
The council voted to make the controversial “special rates variation” bid to boost its income so it could balance its budget.
It said if it can’t collect the extra cash from ratepayers — an average $673 more per year — the council’s “long-term financial sustainability” would be threatened.
Mayor Sue Heins said while the council was “committed to delivering on the community’s aspirations”, some “tough decisions” to reduce some services had to be made to maintain critical infrastructure like stormwater drains, roads and footpaths.
“To do this we are focusing on the basics,” she said.
“Council is proposing $2m in savings next financial year through scaling back events and making changes to the levels of service of the (free) Hop Skip and Jump Bus, the closure of vacation care along with optimising our (vehicle) fleet.
“We are continuing to look for ways to build on efficiencies and savings already made and have made tough decisions to reduce certain services.”
The council said an additional $255m was required over the next 10 years to fill funding gaps including $87m for roads, footpaths, bridges and other transport assets, $69m for open space and recreation assets, $57m for stormwater drains and $42m for buildings.
In its draft budget the council proposed:
– reducing childrens’ Picnic in the Park events from two to one per year
– reducing Outdoor Cinema events from two to one per year
– removing markets for Christmas, Australia Day (including the food truck party), International Women’s Day and the World Food markets.
The draft budget also proposed increasing grants to community groups that organise their own events by $86,000 to a total of $189,000 a year.
But a critic of the rate rise application, independent councillor Vincent De Luca, said the council should also cut funding to other public events including the annual Manly Jazz festival and review spending on items such as the Glen St Theatre at Belrose.
Mr De Luca also suggested that local community groups should run events such as New Year’s Eve fireworks at Manly, Dee Why and Frenchs Forest.
“The rate rise is a grab for cash,” he said. “We have over $215m in cash and investments and $5b in property, plant and equipment … and no cuts in the 111 management costing over $25m in salaries.”
Check out drafts of the budget, Community Strategic Plan 2040 and Delivery Program 2025-2029 on the Your Say page.
Originally published as Northern Beaches Council rates rise: Community events face axe as part of cost cutting bid
Miracle recovery for boy bashed by kidnappers
An eight-year-old boy, beaten over the head with a baseball bat by the same attackers who kidnapped and killed a Bankstown woman, has made a miracle recovery from what were first thought to be life-altering injuries.
Dodgy election guides trying to dupe voters into supporting Labor, Greens
An investigation has uncovered two popular vote compasses being pitched to Australians online and outside polling booths that have dodgy methodology skewed to left-leaning parties.