Dear Beagle Editor, Looking across our border from the Bega Shire into the adjacent Eurobodalla Shire we note with interest that there are as many differences between our councils as there are similarities. Your Bega Shire readers might be interested in our latest media release. on second-rate service …
If the ratepayers in the Eurobodalla Shire were interested in finding-out by how much their general rates, along with water, waste, sewer & other annual fees & charges, were expected to rise in 2018-2019, they needed only to refer to the first class report tabled by Eurobodalla Shire Council's general manager, presenting the shire’s draft Delivery Program 2017-2021 & Operational Plan 2018-2019 on April 24th, 2018: it was all there in plain sight.
Regrettably, the same can’t be said for the word rich, fact short, amateurish excuse for a report tabled by Bega Valley Shire Council's (BVSC) general manager a month later on May 23rd, which did not include any of that information: information of importance to every ratepayer in the shire.
The first reference that the Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association (BVSRRA) could find to the amount of the general rate increase that would occur in 2018-2019 was on page 125 of BVSC’s monster 130 page draft Delivery Program 2017-2021 & Operational Plan 2018-2019.
To access the rest of the information so readily available to our northern neighbours required a lengthy search through BVSC’s draft report; obviously designed to discourage even the most determined enquirer.
If Eurobodalla ratepayers were interested in gathering a more detailed understanding of their council’s plans for 2018-2019, they could then read the more detailed 89 page report detailing the draft Delivery Program 2017-2021 & Operational Plan 2018-2019.
While Eurobodalla’s ratepayers are presented with a handy comparison of their current rates per category alongside the new rates for 2017-2018 (pages 16 & 17), those in the Bega Valley can see the new rates per category after fighting their way to page 127 of their report. But if they want to compare the new rates with their current rates, they will need to look at last year’s report or dig-out their current rate notice.
And while Eurobodalla inform their ratepayers about the level of increase proposed for other major rates & charges, such as water, sewage & waste collection, BVSC leaves it to individual ratepayers to try & figure out what’s happening.
To help in that regard, the BVSRRA has completed some analysis of the BVSC numbers, revealing that water connection & usage charges are proposed to increase by 3.5%, while sewer access charges are proposed to increase across the board by 2.3% but usage charges are proposed to leap by a whopping 10.7%. The BVSRRA is unapologetic about its refusal to try & analyse what is happening with waste charges & is thinking of offering a public reward if anyone can.
Looking at the aggregate impact of the changes in water, sewer & waste charges raises a number of interesting questions. For example, while water usage charges are proposed to increase by 3.5%, the forecast income from water usage charges is forecast to drop by 1.4%, suggesting that last year’s anticipated Income was significantly overstated.
While sewer access charges are proposed to increase by 2.3% & the usage charge by 10.7%, it is difficult to understand the impact because, unlike Eurobodalla, BVSC does not disclose the number of dwellings accessing its services, which means that it is not possible for ratepayers to calculate the impact of changes in revenue from each component. As it is, Income from non-residential charges is forecast to rise by a massive 37% over last year, suggesting that this year’s budgeted Income was significantly understated.
At the same time, Income from Commercial Waste Disposal activities is budgeted to fall by nearly 32%.
Moving-on, Eurobodalla ratepayers interested in the forecast financial performance of their council can view complete Income Statements at a consolidated level, plus for each Fund (pages 74-77), while the best Bega Valley ratepayers get is a consolidated view (page 121), with a summary only of the other Funds (page 116).
It is worth noting that BVSC provided the full Income Statements for all Funds in last year’s draft but it has now clearly decided that providing less information is better, as it discourages questions & makes it harder to understand the financial implications of what it is supposedly doing.
The full text of this Media Release is available here …
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
