Hawkesbury City Council has a further opportunity to demonstrate it is “Fit for the Future”, with the council now eligible to nominate for reassessment of its financial sustainability.
The Council failed to meet the financial sustainability criteria in the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) Fit for the Future assessments last year.
Member for Hawkesbury Dominic Perrottet said this was an opportunity for the Council to show it has taken the feedback from IPART on board to improve its financial sustainability and deliver better outcomes for ratepayers.
“I encourage Hawkesbury City Council to take advantage of this opportunity to nominate for reassessment, to give the Council the best chance of delivering the infrastructure and services Hawkesbury residents and businesses need while keeping rates under control,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Should Hawkesbury City Council be reassessed as ‘Fit for the Future’, they will have access to the TCorp borrowing facility, providing lower interest rate loans to help fund important local projects and assist in combating the infrastructure backlog.
“That means better roads, parks, waterworks and community facilities for the ratepayers of Hawkesbury.”
Liberal candidate for the upcoming Hawkesbury City Council election Sarah Richards said, “Being assessed as financially fit will allow the Council to provide infrastructure for the community sooner. The Liberal team will be doing everything possible to ensure Hawkesbury can maintain its independence.”
To be reassessed as financially fit, Hawkesbury City Council would need to meet a range of criteria including:
- establishing that the Council is not overly reliant on capital grants and contributions as a revenue source, and that it has its own reliable sources of revenue; and
- ensuring that its renewal program for building and infrastructure assets does not lag behind the depreciation, amortisation and impairment of those assets.
The deadline for nomination for reassessment is 2 September.