Kiama Council is backing a report from Local Government NSW which is calling on the state and federal governments to commit to genuine reform on regulatory changes, proper budget support and fair funding.

An independent report commissioned by LG NSW has found that each ratepayer is being short-changed by around $500 a year due to cost shifting by the NSW and Australian Governments.

All up, local councils in NSW are absorbing a staggering $1.5 billion in costs that have been diverted to them from the higher levels of government for responsibilities such as infrastructure, services and regulation without sufficient funding

Chief executive officer Jane Stroud, Mayor Cameron McDonald and his fellow Councillors Stuart Larkins, Melinda Lawton and Mike Cains represented Kiama at the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra last month where the topic of cost shifting was the talk of the conference.

“Councils are really struggling to do more with less money,” Cr Lawton said.

"These days, it’s not like it used to be - there are more services, more choices, and naturally, communities expect more in return for their rates, especially when those rates have gone up significantly. And fair enough. But the reality is, those increases don’t actually stretch far — they mostly just keep pace with inflation, not the rising costs of delivering the services people rely on.

She spoke to a representative from another local council who said their plight was so dire that they couldn’t even afford to buy a new garbage truck.

Cr Lawton used the fact that Kiama Council now has to foot the bill for the upkeep of Jamberoo Mountain Road instead of the NSW Government as an example of local Councils having to do a lot more nowadays.

Council has been advocating since September 2022 to have Jamberoo Mountain Road reclassified from a regional to a state road.

“When things like this get pushed back onto local councils, we’re stuck. We don’t get the funding to redesign the road in a way that would actually reduce the risk of landslides - we just get enough to patch it up.

"So it ends up happening again, just a few metres down the track,” Cr Lawton said.

“There’s just not enough money to go around.

“It takes away money reserves that we could allocate somewhere else.

“I see this as something that the community could take to and push back at the state election. Relay our current issues to the people who are running - what are you going to do about cost shifting, what are you going to do about these roads that we’ve been given that should not be ours and get some real answers.”

Cr Lawton floated the idea of being more transparent with rate notices to show what percentage stays with Council for their operations.

“If our rates notices can be more transparent about what monies go where, rather than a general line item, then people might see that some of those monies that they’re paying to us, is by-passing local govt and goes straight up the line,” she said.

“People could see that Council’s not getting $500 from me this year; they’re only actually getting $250. These figures as an example only.

“That may explain some of the issues around the fact that we can’t always provide what the community would like.”

Complicating matters for Kiama is the NSW Government-imposed Performance Improvement Order that they are operating under in order to balance the books by midway through 2027.

“Everyone knew it was always going to be a challenge but to date we are looking really positive,” Cr Lawton said.

“Although there’s probably going to be some tough calls to get us to that point, I think the community can feel there’s a bit of security there just by the fact things are being righted by these processes and having the OLG looking over our shoulders.

“It’s great. Accountability should never be seen as an imposition; it can only benefit us in the long run.”

Cr McDonald has described the LG NSW report as a “significant wake-up call” for the higher levels of government.

Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips disputes Kiama Council’s claims in relation to federal funding.

Phillips pointed to the significant Australian Government funding flowing into the Kiama local government area to assist Council with roads and community infrastructure projects.

“The new Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club would not have been built without the $5.5 million federal funding that I delivered,” she said.

“The recently completed car park in South Kiama Drive at Kiama High School would not have happened without federal funding.

“I’ve delivered federal funding for flag poles at the Jamberoo School of Arts, upgrades to Gerry Emery Reserve Club amenities and repairs for cricket pitches at Bonaira, Chapman and Keith Irvine Ovals ... and much more.

“The injection of federal funding reduces the burden on Kiama Council to fund the upgrade of local roads and facilities that are important to our community.

“Without federal funding many of the local projects in Kiama wouldn’t even get off the ground.”

Phillips said that the federal Roads to Recovery program is progressively increasing from $500 million to $1 billion per year, the Road Black Spot Program is increasing to $150 million per year, and $50 million has been added to the new $200 million per year Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program.

“Kiama Council can access funding to help maintain and upgrade local road networks, especially with the severe weather events that have so heavily impacted road infrastructure in recent years,” she said.

“Federal infrastructure betterment funding was also provided to Kiama Council to assist with building three disaster-impacted roads back better, including Jamberoo Mountain Road.

“I encourage Kiama Council to be proactive and apply for federal funding, and to engage with me about grant opportunities that are available.”