Nambucca Shire Council has adopted a change to the way it collects development levies. This change will make more funding available for high priority community infrastructure and cut red tape.
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Council's Mayor, Rhonda Hoban OAM, said Nambucca Shire Council had now joined a number of regional councils* that had already simplified collection of levy contributions on new development utilising a Section 7.12 Contributions Plan.
"Since 1985, Council has raised development contributions using nine (9) different plans," Cr Hoban said.
"Each plan contained a schedule of works and an apportionment of the burden of the cost of new infrastructure between existing and new residents.
"The Council was obliged to maintain separate reserves for each of these plans and was prevented from spending the collected levies until it could fund the required apportionment from existing rate payers."
She said the newly adopted Contributions Plan will allow for pooling of the contribution levies and expenditure across Council's capital works program regardless of where the development occurred.
"The new Plan introduces a developer contribution on all new development applications of 0.5 per cent of the cost of development worth $100,001-$200,000 and one per cent of the cost of development in excess of $200,000. There would be no contribution required for development with a value of less than $100,000.
"Financial modelling shows this approach will net approximately the same development contribution revenue as the existing nine (9) plans, however it will allow the Council to more readily spend the funds on needed community infrastructure."
The Section 7.12 Development Contributions Plan 2019 was adopted by Council at its meeting on 16 May.
* Armidale, Gunnedah, Tamworth and Mid Coast Council.
