Nambucca Valley Council is one of a number of NSW councils who are lobbying for the transfer of responsibility for emergency management to the NSW Government.
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At their meeting on September 24 the councillors voted in favour of writing to the local state and federal members with this request.
Acting General Manager Paul Gallagher said the original idea came from another council in southern NSW but has been heartily taken up by quite a number of others, seeing it raised as a motion on the floor at the NSW LG conference.
"We all have the same concerns with the ever increasing charges placed onto councils for emergency management, bearing in mind councils are rate pegged and the increases are generally above the rate peg limit," Mr Gallagher said.
In his report tabled at the council meeting, Mr Gallagher included some figures to highlight the increasing cost burden. He wrote the following:
"In May 2019 Council received correspondence from Revenue NSW advising the makeup of the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) which resulted in an increase of $74,000 or 20 per cent in Council's contribution. The invoice arrived after Council had finalised its draft operational plan (budget) for 2019/2020.
Related: Emergency services levy shock
"Other than some generic advice that the NSW Government plans to collect an additional $160m in 2019/2020 to provide workers compensation for volunteer and career firefighters, the Council has not been privy to the actuarial information which has determined this shortfall.
"In May 2020, a report to the Ordinary Meeting held on 28 May 2020 advised there would be an increase of $157,000 in the cost of the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) for Council's contribution, which in 2021/22, will be the equivalent of a 1.5 per cent general rate increase.
"Further cost burden may be shifted to Local Government as the NSW Bushfire Inquiry report makes 76 recommendations for future improvements to how NSW plans and prepares for, and responds to, bush fires. The NSW Government has announced that it is adopting all 76 recommendations with no consultation as to any cost implications for Local Government."
When asked by the Guardian News about the chances of success with this change, Mr Gallagher said:
"At the end of the day the community will end up paying in some format.
"I would like to say a very good outcome will be achieved, however there is a definitive trend of cost shifting from the Government pushing more down onto Local Government ... generally with little to no funding."
He said that while there had been a lot of stimulus funding provided to keep the economy on track post the fires, floods and now COVID 19, he believed there were other funding models the Government could investigate without placing the burden onto Local Government.
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Ute Schulenberg
Journalism was always my plan but plans being what they are, I did not get to realise it until my early 40s ... and have loved every minute since. For me community journalism is the most intimate and honest place to be in this field - telling the stories of people I live with, side-by-side, every day. It is an honour.
Journalism was always my plan but plans being what they are, I did not get to realise it until my early 40s ... and have loved every minute since. For me community journalism is the most intimate and honest place to be in this field - telling the stories of people I live with, side-by-side, every day. It is an honour.
