SINGLETON mayor Su Moore has called on NSW Premier Chris Minns to reverse what she describes as the "unrelenting growth of cost shifting" to local government.
At Tuesday night's council meeting, Cr Moore referred to a November report from the independent, Local Government NSW, that revealed that cost-shifting from the State Government to councils reached $1.35 billion in 2021-22.
That is the equivalent of more than $460 per ratepayer annually.
The top five cost shifts to councils were waste levy ($288.2 million), rate exemptions ($273.1m), development applications and regulatory functions ($208m), emergency services contributions ($165.4m) and libraries funding ($156.7m).
It was unanimously carried by Singleton Council that Cr Moore would write to Mr Minns, NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, and Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig, to seek their support in working with councils to address cost-shifting.
"The pressure on councils to continue to provide services of appropriate standards to our communities is extraordinary - the unrelenting growth of cost-shifting to councils, coupled with rate pegging is increasingly eroding any possibility of financial stability in local government and risking our capacity to deliver tailored, grassroots services as well as maintain vital local infrastructure," Cr Moore said.
"With councils having to fund ongoing subsidies for the State Government, it means our community either gets less or goes without.
"It cannot be overstated how seriously Singleton Council takes our responsibility to sustainable financial management, and cost-shifting by the State Government seriously undermines our proactive approach to ensure our long-term financial viability while still delivering the infrastructure, programs and services our community has come to expect and deserves as we continue to deliver on our vision to 'create community'."
