How councils are
reliant on govt grants to provide basic
services
Lets examine the grip on NSW
councils by the state and federal governments!
Why? Because roads and
infrastructure works, for example, are dependent not only on
Council revenue from rates and fees, but also NSW and federal
government grants.
And considering some grants are
hand-picked by ministers to favour certain electorates (called pork
barrelling), it raises questions around equity and integrity in
governance.
The Echo asked all NSW election candidates
their position on this.
According to Byron Councils Director
Corporate and Community Services, Esmeralda Davis, Grants are a
significant portion of Council revenue, and in 2022, [equate to]
more than Council raises in general land rates.
Grants are split by operating and
capital. If a grant is operating, it is used to fund an activity or
purposes on an operating basis, whereas capital grants are provided
for the renewal of existing assets or construction of new
assets.
A table provided to The Echo
by Davis showed that in 2022, total grants amounted to $33,339,000,
while general rates revenue was $26,863,000. In 2021, grants
totalled $22,505,000 against a general rates revenue of
$26,106,000. Davis says, The big difference between 2022 and 2021
in terms of overall grant revenues is essentially funding
associated with the February/March 2022 flood events, and this will
continue at elevated levels for the next few years, as Council
restores the damaged infrastructure.
In 2022, 26.5 per cent of Councils
overall revenue came from grants, whereas general land rates
provided 21.3 per cent, and conversely for 2021, 19.7 per cent of
Councils revenue came from grants, whereas general land rates
provided 22.9 per cent.
There are currently 72 grants
available from differing sources, including the NSW and federal
governments, and philanthropic programs, Davis said, adding Council
is also not eligible for many of them owing to the grant being
targeted at differing sectors, eg manufacturing, health,
research.
Councillors tabled grant
applications, both successful and not, at last Thursdays
meeting.
Recent successful grants included a
floodplain management plan ($...