Council
10 September, 2026
Council raids reserves to plug cash gap
Wingecarribee Shire Council is preparing to raid $4 million from its Bonds and Security Deposits reserve as part of a $4.8 million move to keep what it calls its “unrestricted cash position” in the black.
Wingecarribee Shire Council is preparing to raid $4 million from its Bonds and Security Deposits reserve as part of a $4.8 million move to keep what it calls its “unrestricted cash position” in the black.
The proposal is buried within a report set to go before councillors on 16 September.
Council staff want approval to "temporarily" release $4 million from Bonds and Security Deposits, $100,000 from the Renwick Asset Management reserve and $741,000 from the Federal Assistance Grant Reserve.
Council says the move is needed “to ensure that Council’s unrestricted cash remains positive” while it waits for disaster recovery funding from government agencies.
The Bonds and Security Deposits reserve stood at about $8.95 million before the proposed release.
The $4 million raid would strip almost 45 per cent from the reserve, leaving about $4.95 million.
But the obligations attached to those bonds and security deposits do not disappear.
When developers or other parties become entitled to have their securities returned, Council will still have to find the money to release them, meaning any shortfall would have to be met from whatever cash Council has available at the time.
The move comes just six months after Council adopted a new Bonds Policy governing cash bonds and bank guarantees lodged by developers and other parties.
The report does not give a date for when, or if, the $4 million will be returned to the reserve, describing the move only as "temporary".
The move comes despite General Manager Lisa Miscamble repeatedly rejecting suggestions that Council is in financial trouble.
It also follows Council’s March decision to lock in another five years of funding for Ngununggula Regional Gallery at $500,000 a year, extending the arrangement from 1 July 2028 until 30 June 2033.
The Southern Wire exclusively revealed on 4 August 2026 that the funding was approved well before the review date in the gallery’s funding agreement had fallen due.
Records show the existing agreement required a review by 31 August 2026, with the review intended to consider the arrangement in the context of Council’s overall financial position.
Instead, Council approved the five-year extension in March — months before the review date and before the community was told Council was considering a major rates increase.
By June, Council had launched consultation on its sustainability options after identifying a structural deficit.
The report in the agenda for next week's meeting says Council's unrestricted working capital position is $6.10 million, if the $4.8m grab is approved. That means Council presently has only $1.3m in working capital.
On Council’s own figures, that leaves an underlying position of about $1.3 million before the reserve raid — around $4.5 million short of its own $5.8 million minimum working capital benchmark.
That $1.3 million is barely more than one week of Council’s wage bill, which its most recent audit report put at approximately $1 million a week.
Councillors will be asked to approve the $4.8 million reserve raid next week.
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