News
19 June, 2026
Council to push ahead with proposed SRV.
Wingecarribee Shire Council will forge ahead with plans for a Special Rate Variation (SRV) despite widespread community opposition.
Wingecarribee Shire Council will forge ahead with plans for a Special Rate Variation (SRV) despite widespread community opposition.
It also rejected calls for the SRV to be deferred for another year, to allow for greater analysis of council’s financial position.
Council resolved on Wednesday to adopt its Draft Operational Plan and Budget 2026/27 and Draft Fees and Charges 2026/27, the Draft Long Term Financial Plan 2026-2036 and the Draft Asset Management Strategy 2020-2036.
The Draft Long Term Financial Plan 2026-2036 includes the potential introduction of a SRV – pending approval from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to “focus on community assets and contribute to the improvement of council’s financial sustainability”.
The SRV will see a rate increase of 11.9 per cent in 2027/28 and again in 2028/29 followed by a 7.35 per cent in 2029/30.
The only consolation for ratepayers is that council also resolved to establish a Financial Sustainability Committee with membership of two councillors and two independent members of the community.
Cr Smith made the amendment to the staff recommendation “based on community feedback”.
In adopting the four documents, council approved significant increases in a raft of other fees and charges from the start of the 2026/26 financial year and that are not subject to IPART approval.
Water access charges will increase by 15 per cent each year for the next three years (2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29) followed by 2.5 per cent in 2029/30.
Water consumption charges will increase by 26 per cent for the next three years followed by 2.5 per cent in 2029/30.
Sewerage access charges, sewerage volumetric charges and trade wastes charge will all increase by 8.5 per cent each year for the next three years then by 2.5 per cent in 2029/30.
Council will now consult with the community on the proposed SRV before it goes back to council for approval.
IPART will conduct its own engagement before making a final decision.
Wednesday’s debate was marked by a long series of points of order, motions of dissent, points of clarification, amendments, foreshadowed amendments, points of misrepresentation and procedural motions.
Debate on this one item alone took more than three hours – meaning councillors returned to the chamber early Thursday morning to work their way through the remainder of Wednesday’s agenda.
Fifteen people addressed council as part of the public forum which meant it lasted much longer than the scheduled one hour, and the meeting itself started much later than usual.
There were so many people in the public gallery that a second room was opened up to allow members of the public to watch proceedings via livestream.
Cr David Kent said it was simply the wrong time to be talking about increasing rates and suggested it be pushed back another year.
He described the work that had had been over the past 12 months in terms of improving council’s financial sustainability as “good work”.
But he said deferring the proposed SRV for a year would give council the opportunity to examine the underlying assumptions “before becoming another hand in people’s pockets”.
Mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick wanted council to stick with council staff’s original recommendation.
He said it was time to have the conversation about the SRV and this would enable council to explain its financial situation and to get feedback.
“I think it’s a discussion we really have to have at the moment,” he said.
He said council could adopt the staff recommendation but still reject the proposed SRV later this year after engaging with the community.
Deputy mayor Erin Foley said community engagement was “incredibly important”.
She said people had questions about how council got itself it into its current financial position and what it was planning to do moving forward – particularly in relation to the proposed SRV.
“They want and deserve to know more about it,” she said.
“We’ve started this conversation so let’s keep going,” she said.
Cr Heather Champion said she recognised the need for compassion but added that people were ‘generally aware’ of council’s financial position.
She said they had questions and needed the opportunity to have those questions answered.
“Delay is unfortunately a recipe for confusion and distress.”
She said council could make a decision about the SRV informed by community consultation in October.
Cr Smith’s amendment relating to the establishment of a Financial Sustainability Committee resulted in considerable debate (including amendments and foreshadowed amendments) about terms of reference but nevertheless received support.
Cr Rachel Russell - who has consistently called on council to establish an independent financial committee - said council held a responsibility to the community that it could neither “abrogate or delegate”.
“This is not our money – this is other people’s money,” she said.
She said people in the community were struggling and the establishment of an independent finance committee was “the only way to proceed with a clear conscience”.
Cr Russell said it was a case of exploring every option available to get the best value for ratepayers’ money.
She said the burden of fixing council’s financial problems was one that could be shared with an independent finance committee.
“It will be a success,” Cr Russell assured.
Cr Sara Moylan said she supported the establishment of a finance committee but couldn’t endorse terms of reference with only 10 minutes’ reading time.
She said terms of reference were serious and formed “the foundational part of any public enquiry”.
Cr Moylan thanked members of the community for their 289 submissions “in very difficult circumstances” considering the most relevant information had been “very difficult to find”.
She said the community had once again pulled together and had voiced a clear ‘no’ to the proposed increase in rates and other charges.
“You want to keep more of your money rather than give it to council,” she said.
“I stand with you.”
Cr Moylan said council was asking people for more money “when we can’t even give them the basics”.
Cr Therese Duffy said she had read through all the submissions and recognised that people were already struggling and “don’t have money to give”.
She said staff had worked diligently but she couldn’t ‘hand on heart’ vote in favour of the staff recommendation.
Deputy mayor Erin Foley said the problems facing Wingecarribee Shire Council were commonplace and could not be solved “through financial discipline alone”.
She said she also recognised that people were doing it tough.
However, Cr Foley said many of the assets provided by council – libraries, preschools and community halls for example – were used by members of the community in times of hardship and were currently falling into a state of disrepair.
“We have already seen what can happen if we delay too long,” she said, citing Stafford Cottage as an example.
“The cost of delaying is not abstract,” she said.
Cr Foley said delaying a conversation around the proposed SRV would also delay funding opportunities for much-needed works.
She said it was time for council to have some difficult conversations and to listen to the community.
Cr Smith said she appreciated the ‘robust’ debate at Wednesday’s meeting but reassured members of the community that council was already listening.
She said the creation of an independent finance committee was something that she had opposed in the past “but I have heard loud and clear how people feel”.
“We have to do that on a whole range of issues,” she said.
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