Wingecarribee Shire Council are asking for public "consultation" on a proposed 34.4% Special Rate Variation (SRV) alongside massive compounding increases to water and sewerage fees. Ratepayers deserve fiscal discipline, independent oversight, and operational efficiency, not a massive financial burden to fund past administrative mismanagement. The following letter is a formal objection to this proposal, if you agree with what is said, please sign the petition.

Letter​

Claims, Sources & Links

Attention: Wingecarribee Shire Council & Residents

I'm writing as a Wingecarribee ratepayer to formally object to the proposed Special Rate Variation, and to how biased and coercively framed this ‘consultation’ has been.

Presenting residents with only two options "Status Quo" or "Stronger Services" is not a genuine choice. It implies that anyone unwilling to accept a 34.4% increase is also choosing deteriorating roads and declining infrastructure, and ignores an essential requirement most residents actually need before making a decision; proof Council can manage the money it already has before it asks for more. This is not a balanced consultation, it is a false choice, a distraction, and a way for Council to hide it’s own operational inefficiencies, administrative bloat, and history of project mismanagement and public scrutiny under more revenue. 

This “catch-up” increase would not be the Shire’s first, ratepayers already felt a 45.3% cumulative rate rise between 2016 and 2020, which not only saw the Wingecarribee enter the top five highest rate-seeking councils in NSW, but by Council’s own admission failed to alleviate the infrastructure backlog which has since grown worse. 
In 2022 the Council was suspended by the NSW Government after a formal Public Inquiry confirmed the Council’s reputation for project mismanagement, administrative waste, serious governance failures, dysfunction, inappropriate conduct, and interference in operational matters. Since then, it seems, administrators have rebuilt only basic functionality. 
Basic functionality is not a strong enough foundation to stand on when presenting this ‘consultation’. 

The context and lead-up to this consultation has not helped its case either. In March, the Mayor publicly ruled out any special rate rise for 2026/27, but by June Council had reversed course entirely. At the very meeting that triggered this consultation, councillors voted themselves a pay rise, voted down a motion to clearly flag coming increases on our own rates notices, and continued funding $2.5 million in art gallery grants over five years while cutting a promised $200,000 public toilet. 
Council's own consultation material describes it as "financially stable" in one place and its General Fund as "deteriorating" in another. The Council’s deteriorating funds and structural deficit is not a result of lack of revenue, but has to be a severe misallocation of existing resources. According to the NSW Office of Local Government's comparative performance data, Wingecarribee’s average ordinary residential rate is already 43.3% higher than the NSW Office of Local Government’s Group 4 (Regional Towns/Cities) average, and is ~75% higher than the NSW median average rate. These high rates land the Wingecarribee as the 4th highest-rating council in NSW. Moreso, while charging these high rates, the Council’s frontline infrastructure allocation, which is responsible for the upkeep and construction of roads, bridges, and footpaths, (an issue repeatedly referred to by Council and residents alike) is 22.5% below the peer average. Conversely, Council spending on Governance and Administration is 76.1% higher than the peer average.
These actions, among others, in addition to decades of inadequate governance have not provided any assurances to the public that a larger budget would be well spent. 

It is unreasonable to ask local property owners to pay for the council’s past administrative failures. This is particularly true given that the proposed 34.4% rate increase (8.0% in 2027/28, 8.0% in 2028/29, and 3.45% in 2029/30 above the rate peg of 3.9%p.a) is being introduced alongside compounding utility fee hikes, including a 15% annual increase in water access charges, a 26% annual increase in water usage charges, and an 8.5% annual increase in sewerage charges. That is, each and every year for the next three years. These compounding hikes represent an unacceptable cost-of-living burden on local families and retirees.

None of this means our infrastructure funding shortfall and ageing assets do not need to be addressed. Rather, it means the burden of resolving these issues rests on the shoulders of Council staff, not on residents. And certainly not before Council provides compelling evidence that every reasonable internal efficiency has already been achieved, that asset management practices have improved sufficiently since the Public Inquiry, and public trust is earnt and restored.

If Council genuinely wishes to rebuild community confidence, it should begin by withdrawing the proposed Special Rate Variation and focusing instead on internal structural reform before demonstrating and presenting:

• Measurable improvements in operational efficiency.
• Independent benchmarking against comparable councils.
• Detailed evidence that discretionary expenditure has been scrutinised.
• Greater transparency regarding productivity improvements already achieved.
• Genuine consultation that presents a broader range of realistic options, rather than framing the issue as a choice between decline and higher rates.

And before another Special Rate Variation is proposed:

1. A public, independent audit of Council spending (contractors, consultants, discretionary grants etc) should be completed and presented to the public.
2. A transparent account of where the 2016–2020 SRV funds were spent, and why the backlog grew regardless, should be presented to the public.
3. An Independent Finance Committee is given real time and authority to make reports and promote changes.
4. This consultation is re-run with neutral framing and current data (the modelling behind this proposal still relies on 2021 data to judge what residents can afford in 2026).

It is worth highlighting the requests made by the Friends of Wingecarribee in their recent petition, which was unfortunately only circulated as a paper petition. These requests are valid and received support from the community:

1. The commission of an Independent Financial Committee.
2. Ensuring all councillors have accredited governance training through an independent course approved by the State Government.
3. A review of the current General Manager’s performance and contract.

Ratepayers will not accept further rate increases to fund an inefficient administrative structure. The Council must demonstrate operational efficiency and fiscal discipline before asking the community for additional revenue. To state clearly, I do not support this Special Rate Variation proceeding to an IPART application in its current form, and if it does proceed, I intend to make a further submission directly to IPART.