As Kiama Council faces scrutiny over lost developer contributions and project delays, a new question with notice from Councillor Erica Warren is pushing Council to address the root of the problem and adopt basic governance reforms that should already be in place.

At the centre of the issue is the quiet repeal of Kiama’s three Section 7.11 Developer Contributions Plans in December 2023.

These plans allowed Council to collect targeted fees from developers to help pay for roads, stormwater, community facilities and parks in areas experiencing growth.

In Jamberoo, the Section 7.11 charge was $20,050 per new lot or dwelling.

This figure would have applied to a current 50-lot subdivision in the area if a valid plan had been in place.

That’s over $1 million in infrastructure funding now gone.

Once a Development Application is approved, there is no legal mechanism to retrospectively apply updated contribution rates.

Under state rules, councils are expected to review these plans every five years.

The work to prepare a replacement for Jamberoo should have started in late 2022. It did not.

Instead, the plans were allowed to lapse without replacement, and contributions were quietly shifted to the fallback Section 7.12 scheme.

Section 7.12 applies a fixed percentage levy based on construction cost.

While simpler to administer, it is not linked to local infrastructure need, and it typically delivers lower returns in high-growth areas.

In this case, the shift has left the community with far less funding for essential infrastructure and no say in how it should be prioritised.

Cr Warren has now asked Council to urgently engage a specialist consultant to prepare a new Section 7.11 Plan and to include the cost of this work in the 2025–26 budget.

She has also called for a register to track expiry dates and ensure renewal work begins well in advance.

Preparing a new plan typically takes 12 months and requires review by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). Importantly, there is an 8 per cent administration allowance built into the contribution framework that allows Council to recover the cost of preparing the plan.

Cr Warren has also urged Council to work more closely with developers who understand the planning framework and can help ensure that Council captures its full entitlements.

“We aren’t expected to know everything,” she said. “Leaning on those with experience is good practice and another way Council can collaborate within the community.”

These actions are not about fixing a technical oversight.

They are about rebuilding the systems that ensure our community receives its fair share of infrastructure investment when new homes are built.

The call for reform comes as residents voice frustration over a string of governance failures.

The failure to renew contribution plans has already cost the community more than $1 million and contributed to a legal dispute that drained significant Council resources.

Two grants totalling $50,000 for Jamberoo Rural Fire Service were also lost due to missed Council signatures

And now, $2.4m in cycleway funding is expected to be returned due to missed deadlines and coordination failures.

Cr Warren’s question points to a larger issue. Council is not losing opportunities because it lacks resources.

It is losing them because it lacks systems. And the cost is not just financial.

It is a loss of trust, momentum and potential.

The solution is clear. Start early. Work together. And make sure no one forgets to renew what matters most.