North Sydney Council couldn't get its rate rise. You might pay for that this summer
Baker told the meeting there was 'no cause for celebration over IPART's decision' and the council would need to slash or defer $12.5 million worth of infrastructure renewals in the next financial year, sell off council buildings or land and reduce or cut service levels for thousands of ratepayers.
The council is considering cuts to services including community transport, verge mowing, street sweeping, graffiti removal and maintenance of parks and gardens, and customer service levels.
It will also explore revenue-raising measures such as increased 'compliance activity' for parking offences, ticketed entry to New Year's Eve events, increased advertising on council property and places – such as selling sponsorship or naming rights to North Sydney Oval – and new or increased fees and charges for using parks and open spaces for events, and for road closures.
Baker said the request to increase rates was an attempt to improve the council's financial position 'without cutting council services, or flogging off council buildings and land as short-term sugar hit to address the liquidity crisis we must face over the next 12 months because of the pool'.
'The devastating impacts of the pool project have generated $61 million in external borrowings but also drained council's reserves of nearly another $49 million.'
Councillor MaryAnn Beregi said the debts of nearly $100 million debt 'have to be paid back, and by allocating internal reserves, we are kicking the can down the road on infrastructure renewals'.
'It was not this council, but a previous council, that committed this community to the disastrous and ill-conceived pool project, which continues to plague us and plague us and plague us.'
Councillor James Spenceley said the elected officials had 'absolutely failed the community'.
'What a mess. We shot for the stars – 87 per cent. And here we are, making service cuts, talking about asset sales, using debt, all the things we should have done to reduce the impact of that proposed rate rise. This is ad hoc decision-making at its worst.'
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Liberal councillor Jessica Keen said the rates decision showed 'the residents of North Sydney were heard', but 'there's got to be other options for our residents so they don't have to face service cuts.'
Councillor Nicole Antonini took aim at Liberal councillors and MPs who stridently opposed the rate rise, and said councillors had to fix the mess left by previous councils.
'It's not just the mess of cleaning up a vanity project of an over-the-top pool that has put our council in debt, but years of ignoring our community assets, allowing them to fall into disrepair.'
'Our only library that floods regularly, a sports centre that's had its roof blow off, an archaic computer system. We now even have engineers checking on our bus shelters, assessing their safety and whether they need to be closed and removed, with no funds to rebuild.'
The pool closed in February 2021 and work started in March. It was originally forecast to reopen in November 2022. The cost of the project has nearly doubled from an initial estimate of $58 million.
Developer Icon says construction on the complex will be completed in October; the council has estimated it likely won't be finished until November and might not open until early next year.
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