It seemed like a gift too good to be true ... and it was.
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When the NSW Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, announced last month the NSW Government would "cover the full cost of council rates for the third and fourth quarters of this financial year for residents and farmers who have lost their homes, and business owners whose properties have been destroyed beyond repair by bushfires", it was warmly welcomed by everyone.
However, as always, the devil was in the detail ... when it was worked out.
"In announcing the government would cover "the full cost of rates" an expectation was created that fire affected residents would not have to pay anything," Nambucca Valley mayor, Rhonda Hoban said.
"When most residents think of their rates bill they think of the bottom line total. However a rates bill is made up of both land rates and other fees and charges such as tip access fee, waste collection service and On Site Sewage Management charges.
"There was a lack of clarity around a number of issues but we had been advised that the "full cost of rates" included other charges and not just land rates.
"Now however we have been advised this is not the case so council had little option but to resolve to cover the charges so that fire affected residents did not still get a bill they were not expecting."
Accordingly councillors voted to allocate $5586 from the Deductible Gift Recipient Fund to cover the remaining 50 per cent of costs on rates bills. Payment of this will be managed via an agreement with the local manager of Service NSW.
General Manager Michael Coulter said with the Bushfire Recovery this was one example of a tendency for media releases to come out first followed by uncertainty, clarification of details, and occasionally changes in approach.
"My suggestion would be maybe push the media releases a bit further down the road in terms of priorities," Mr Coulter said.
The Bushfire Relief Committee's draft program of expenditure from the $1.416million Commonwealth Government Grant was also finalised.