Cynthia Coppock was lured to regional New South Wales by the prospect of a quiet country lifestyle and cheaper house.
What she didn't expect was to stare down a 104.5 per cent rate increase over the next two years, just to maintain existing council services.
Tenterfield Shire Council is among more than a dozen local governments across NSW that have applied to increase rates well above the state's 3.7 per cent "peg" for next financial year.
The scale of the proposed increases has raised questions about the rate capping policy and financial viability of councils, which have become heavily reliant on state and federal grants.
Ms Coppock moved to Urbenville to retire and said she was "flabbergasted" when the council approved a rate rise that would push her annual bill from $3,500 this financial year to $4,566 by 2024-25.
That is nearly double the rates bill on a four-bedroom townhouse currently on the market in Woollahra, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
"It's a huge amount of money to be loading onto ratepayers in a small, remote, rural village like Urbenville, which has a very low population and low value housing stock," she said.
"People move here because of the affordability of the houses."
'A dog's breakfast'
In nearby Tenterfield, Kate — who doesn't want to be identified — is living on a pension and already paying $3,200 in rates a year.
She started crying when she told the ABC she had started looking at cheaper properties outside the shire because she was so worried about the proposed rate hike.
"I'm on a pension, it's just impossible. I'm going to have to go," she said.
"I've been looking to buy a place on the floodplains which is dicey, I know.
"It's a shame because Tenterfield is a beautiful place to live. It's just so expensive."
Tenterfield Shire Council is $5 million in deficit, with a low base of ratepayers and, among other expenses, 146 bridges and a 1,700km road network to maintain.
Chief executive Daryl Buckingham has put the blame squarely on rate pegging — a policy Victoria has also adopted — which set NSW council rate increases at just 0.7 per cent this financial year, despite inflation running at over 7 per cent.
"It's a dog's breakfast. The worst model you could possibly implement," he said.
Services to be cut
It's not only Tenterfield ratepayers facing a triple whammy of inflation, interest rates and now council rate rises.
Queanbeyan-Palerang Council has approved a 64 per cent increase over three years but even with the rates hike, residents are still facing cuts to "non-core services" and possibly higher fees and paid parking on residents.
In Snowy-Monaro, ratepayers are facing a 53 per cent increase next financial year, without which the council has warned it would need to "reduce services and close unsafe facilities".
Cooma garlic farmer, and one-time local government candidate, Vele Civijovski said the council approved the rates rise despite strong community opposition, and had failed to articulate what services and facilities were in the firing line.
He estimated he would need to increase his garlic production by 36 kilograms just to meet the cost of the rates rise.
"Some of the public are really peeved. We need to understand why they really want that 53 per cent," he said.
Living 15 minutes out of town, Mr Civijovski already misses out on council services like garbage collection, and spends his Saturdays transporting rubbish to the local tip.
Local governments rely on council rates and user charges and funding from state and federal governments which is delivered via grants.
Federal Minister for Local Government Kristy McBain — whose electorate covers Snowy Monaro — said councils were doing it "incredibly tough" right now dealing with rising costs and damage from extreme weather events, and it was a harsh reality that services might need to reduced.
"Sometimes if we can't afford to pay for those services, they're going to be cut in our communities," she said.
While there was no simple solution to the funding crisis many councils faced, Ms McBain took aim at the NSW government's rates pegging policy which she said might be "politically popular" but "sets communities up to have to pay more in the long run".
When asked if that model should be viewed as a cautionary tale to other states, Ms McBain said "absolutely".
The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Authority will decide in May whether to approve the rates rises the councils are seeking.
