By NF1 convenor Warwick Erwin

Neighbourhood Forum’s submissions to Council for the Draft Budget and Operational Plan, with Council’s responses, were presented at Council’s meeting of 24 June 2024.

Pensioner’s discount on Council rates

This has remained at $250 for 35 years. It is not a percentage of the Council rates, which go up with CPI rises. The relationship to the discount to the cost of the Council rates has decreased in value and this has an impact on pensioners. Thirty-five years ago the relationship to the rates for Northern Illawarra residential property owners was approximately 23%. Today the relationship is less than 11%. The Council is capable of increasing the discount and locking it to the CPI.

To quote the current Minister of Local Government, The Hon Ron Hoeing MP: “Each NSW council also has the discretion to provide further concessions above the maximum concessions for pensioners. Decisions to assist in these circumstances are made at the discretion of each council, and the cost of providing further concessions must be met entirely by the council.”

WCC Response: "The provision of mandatory pensioner rate rebates is required and prescribed under the Local Government Act and Regulations. The maximum amount of $250 has been in place for many years as described. 55% of the rebate to pensioners is funded by the State and Australian governments. Council and Local Government NSW hold the position the funding of pensioner rebates is a function of other levels of government and have continually called on them to both increase the rebate and fully fund the cost or increase pensions to fund the rates payments that support the provision of Council services to its community. Increases in pensioner rebates would need to be funded by increases in other non -pensioner rates if not funded by the other tiers of government responsible for this function."

Council Rate increase

Council should not increase rates but hold them at last year's values for many reasons that impact on residents. The rates should only be held constant for owner-occupiers and landlords that have not raised rents in the past year. Impacts on owner-occupiers include but not limited to: 

• Rise in the Valuer General's valuations of owner occupier’s land,
• Cost of living impacts,
• And in the 2508 area the impact of Council’s delay in completing projects (Helensburgh Town Centre Plan and Helensburgh swimming pool upgrade) and total lack of listening to the local community (Helensburgh Community Centre and Library).

It is believed by many residents that the northern suburbs of Wollongong (including 2515 and 2508 areas) pay the highest rates in the Local Government Area and get the lowest response and actions from Council. Many residents give Helensburgh Town Centre Plan as an example of a project not carried out correctly from the beginning (eg, flooding of footpath in Parkes St and flood in the supermarket in heavy rain) and the time frame taken to complete the project.

WCC Response: "We can understand and do acknowledge the impact that changes in rates have on our community. Rates play an important role in helping Council to make the City of Wollongong an extraordinary place to live, work and play.

"Our income from rates contributes to Council’s total income and together with income from fees, charges and government grants and return on investment, rates are used to benefit our community in many ways. This includes roads, paths, parks, playgrounds, sports fields, libraries, youth centres, pools, patrolled beaches, cemeteries, memorial gardens, tourist parks, public art, festivals and much more.

"The amount of rates Council can and is raising in 2024 -2025 is restricted by a State body called the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal NSW (IPART). It caps the pooled amount a council can collect from ratepayers to determine what is known as the ‘total general income’. To work out each property’s rates, we start with the ‘total general income’ and then calculate the portion each ratepayer contributes to this. So, the 5% rate increase you have referred to in your submission is the percentage increase allowed in Council’s ‘total general income’ from rates this year.

"This process is driven by the Local Government Act, 1993 (the Act), which sets out the rules by which Council can determine rates. The Act does provide Council with some discretion in structuring and pricing rates between different categories of rates, such as Residential, Farmland, Business and Mining. It also allows the base charge to be used up to a maximum of 50% as applied by Council. The application of the base charge at the maximum level works to minimise the impact of valuation changes and lowers the cost for properties with higher valuations, in your instance is working favourably."

Maintenance of Council’s Infrastructure

Council is requested to increase the maintenance of its infrastructure, including stormwater drainage, road surfaces and buildings. Examples include gutters blocking up with leaves causing gutters to overflow especially the gutter bridges at the pedestrian crossings; Helensburgh Community Centre water issues not addressed for over a decade causing closure of the building due to health risk to the community; road structure with The Ridge and Whitty roads being good examples.

Engagement with community before the planning of a project and listening to the knowledge of the community: Council engagement before a project is designed would save mistakes being made due to the lack of local knowledge of Council officers assigned to the project. The Ridge, Parkes St drainage and retaining walls, Walker St drainage work for the Town Centre Plan works and Helensburgh Community Centre water issues being a few examples. Council’s engagement, having a single point of contact for the project would assist the community in trusting that council is serving the community equally across the whole Local Government Area.

WCC Response: "Council is currently reviewing Asset Management Plan (AMP) which review required maintenance budgets for all Council infrastructure assets and any gaps between this required level of investment and current level of investment. The AMP is programmed to go on community exhibition in July-August 2024. Council’s Community Engagement Policy guides engagement and consultation with the community. Draft Asset Management Plans to be exhibited for community feedback.

Otford Community Hall

Community engagement yet to be completed before design is defined as promised to NF1 in February 2024 and this project needs to be completed during the 2024-25 financial year. Delay in this project is due to Council’s lack of investigation before designing a refurbishment design. NF1 supports the Infrastructure and Works Director's implementation of full community engagement and learning from the local knowledge during the scoping of a project. Gable roof running north to south and outward opening glass doors (fire exit requirement) has been requested by the Otford community to help meet their uses of the hall.

WCC Response: "This important project is programmed to be constructed in 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. Detailed design has commenced, and Council is looking to incorporate, where possible, suggestions from the user groups and Neighbourhood Forum as the detailed design process progresses. As part of the detailed design process, Council will seek the necessary planning approvals (including Development Application). The community will have the opportunity to provide further commentary on the design when the Development Application for this project exhibited."

Whitty Road reconstruction

Refer to the geotechnic investigation and the inspection by the General Manager and Infrastructure and Works Director. The road has collapsed to the extent that only the width of one land on the southern side of the road can be used and the community is concerned about further collapse. This is a bus route for public transport and school buses.

WCC Response: "Whitty Road Embankment is programmed in the Infrastructure Delivery Program to be constructed in 2024-2025. The scope of works has been extended to include the newly damaged areas."

Replacement Helensburgh Community Centre and Library

The 2508 community is using a temporary building that is more than 50 years old for a library. The building that was the Community Centre was closed by Council due to health risks after Council had not solved the water issue for over a decade.

Promises of a new combined building have been delayed by Council wanting it to be located, against the community’s wishes, in front of the Helensburgh swimming pool. This requires an 18-month development of a Plan of Management for the Crown Lands and submission to the State Government for a change in the permissible uses so that Council can build a new facility here.

Community expectation, when Council bought the two blocks of land beside the existing library, was that Council would build the new building on the purchased properties, based on the Community Services Manager at the time informing NF1 that it would be too expensive to rebuild on the existing Community Centre’s site due to the water issues.

This project needs fast-tracking with engagement with ALL the community, starting immediately with a community advisory committee organised as the interface between the community and Council. The community of 2508 does not want to celebrate 60 years of a temporary library building.

WCC Response: "Council is working to finalise a Scope of Work that includes the location of the new Helensburgh Community Centre and Library. Once the Scope of Work is finalised Council will commence community engagement to ensure that all members of the community are included in the consultation."

Lilyvale Street to Cemetery Road, Helensburgh

A long-awaited footpath, which needs to include curb and guttering to match the current curb and gutter in Parkes Street. Issues resulting from no curb and gutter are: lack of control of stormwater; erosion because of lack of stormwater control; and the parking of vehicles on the shared footpath and Council not being able to enforce no parking on the footpath.

This project confusing the community due to different Council officers presenting different facts of the proposed project. The project need community engagement before definition of the project and complete clear project definition that is presented to the whole community and not just selectively presented to the community.

WCC Response: "This project is programmed to be designed across the 2024-2025 and 2025 -2026. A preliminary concept design will be presented to the community for consideration and comment prior to Council progressing to full detailed design."

Already planned. Concept design to be presented to the community for feedback.

Help volunteers represent community

Neighbourhood Forums are organised and run by volunteers. Community members give up their time to endeavour to be the interface between Council and the communities they represent. Support from Council is needed for the Forums to carry out this work includes:

• Solving the insurance issue.
• Directing all Council staff that they need to keep the local Neighbourhood Forum for the area they are doing work or project in informed.
• Not handing out leaflets in the street about a project and not talking/Informing the Neighbourhood Forum for the area of the project/event because that Neighbourhood Forum is the first place community members go for information about what is happening.

WCC Response: "Council values the input of the community and seeks to engage in a wide variety of ways. Neighbourhood forums are one approach of many that are used to reach our diverse community. Our engagement approach is underpinned by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2 ) guidelines for best practice engagement, and we continually strive to provide engagement that is inclusive, accessible and relevant."

Lighting in Lanes

Old night soil lanes are now front roads for houses after many subdivisions of properties and these lanes have not received street lighting in a lot of cases and are dark streets at night. Council needs to allocate resources to install LED street lighting suitable to each lane. Solar-powered streetlights have been suggested by some members of NF1. An audit of all lanes to determine the ones without lighting would be the first place to start.

WCC Response: "Your request for lighting within the old night soil lanes in Helensburgh has been added to Council's Infrastructure Request list for funding consideration in future programs."

Council Elections in September

Council with go into caretaker mode in August.

The next NF1 meeting will be on Wednesday, July 10 at Thistle’s Club Room.