North Sydney Council proposes to double your rates

Click here to have your say on North Sydney Council's proposed rate rises here

As you may know, North Sydney Council is proposing to dramatically raise rates over the next three years. Residents have reached out to me with their concerns on these rate hikes and their inability to oppose this proposal in Council's own consultation process.

Council reported a surplus in its budget in June 2024 and identified no financial risks in its 2024 Financial Statements. Mere months later it has stated that its "unsustainable financial position" has led to the proposal to more than double residential and business rates starting in 2025.

Locals have expressed concerns to me that Council has not proposed any cost cutting or efficiency mechanisms. In fact, it proposes maintaining existing spending along with increased spending on new items of $57.4 million over just the next three years.

Families who are already balancing tight budgets and local businesses trying to stay afloat will bear the brunt of these rate hikes. Property owners and renters alike will feel these costs passed on even while interest rates are persistently high and rents have spiked at record rates.

WHAT IS NORTH SYDNEY COUNCIL PROPOSING?

Consultation is now underway on Council's proposal, with consultation occurring over Christmas and closing on 10 January 2025.

All rate scenarios propose at a minimum a 50% rate increase in 2025 alone, with the top cumulative three-year increase hitting 111.2%. These are not one-off increases and will be incorporated for perpetuity.

OTHER OPTIONS FOR FISCAL REPAIR

North Sydney Council has not proposed other options for fiscal repair, and in fact has proposed increased spending on a wide range of new initiatives.

North Sydney Council should instead be proposing other options such as:

• Internal efficiency programs and cost cutting

• Deferring new spending proposals which include an additional $57.4 million in the first three years

• Exploring divestment of any underperforming assets that don’t fulfil a core Council purpose within their $53.7 million investment property portfolio

• Staging future capital works and infrastructure programs like IT upgrades

• Accessing low interest NSW Treasury loans

Council should be cutting its own spending first, and assessing the performance of its own assets, before asking residents and businesses to pay more.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

North Sydney Council is currently undertaking consultation on this proposal, however its closed survey does not allow residents to oppose the rate rise or support a lower rate rise.

Thankfully, the full process will take a number of months and Council will need to compile community feedback and then make a proposal to IPART (the NSW regulator that assesses and approves Special Rate Variation applications) in early-2025 with a final determination by mid-2025.

It's my job to ensure that the NSW regulator and the NSW Minister for Local Government hear the views of residents and businesses in our community.

I am ensuring residents can have a say: please ensure you speak up even though consultation has been scheduled over Christmas and Summer holidays.

Sign up here to receive information on how to participate in each step of the process over the coming months.

These rate hikes, if implemented, will place an unnecessary and unfair financial burden on local households and businesses, many of whom are already struggling with the rising cost of living.

Yours sincerely


Felicity Wilson MP
Member for North Shore