Four Port Macquarie-Hastings councillors have lodged a Notice of Rescission to overturn the council's decision to adopt a rate freeze for the 2024/25 financial year.
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Councillors Rachel Sheppard, Lisa Intemann, Nik Lipovac and Lauren Edwards lodged the notice on Monday, June 24.
The four councillors have been opposed to the 0.0 per cent rate peg which was proposed as part of the draft Operational Plan for 2024-2025.
The motion to adopt the Operational Plan with a rate freeze and the removal of the Town Centre Master Plan (TCMP) was carried in the last council meeting on June 20, due to Mayor Peta Pinson using the mayoral casting vote to put the motion through.
But now the four opposing councillors are lodging a Notice of Rescission to overturn the decision, which requires an extraordinary meeting for the council to vote on the rescission in order to be successful.
![Port Macquarie Hastings Councillors Nik Lipovac, Rachel Sheppard, Lauren Edwards and Lisa Intemann have lodged a notice to rescind the council's decision to adopt a rate freeze. Picture by Ruby Pascoe / Emily Walker Port Macquarie Hastings Councillors Nik Lipovac, Rachel Sheppard, Lauren Edwards and Lisa Intemann have lodged a notice to rescind the council's decision to adopt a rate freeze. Picture by Ruby Pascoe / Emily Walker](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/179373098/964be23a-ab96-4ff2-981b-952e47d28401.jpg/r0_0_1920_1079_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Cr Sheppard said if the rescission motion was successful, the four councillors would move a new motion to:
- adopt the full 4.6 per cent rate peg
- retain the TCMP special rate component
- reclaim the $1.3 million public money previously allocated to pay out the TCMP loan early, and redirect this money to unfunded or underfunded projects in the strategic risk reserve
Opposition to the rate freeze
This rate freeze has been the topic of lengthy debate and community feedback ever since it was first proposed in February 2024, with council meetings in previous years deciding not to proceed with a rate freeze.
Under the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) NSW, the core rate peg for the Port Macquarie Local Government area (LGA) for the 2024-2025 financial year could increase by up to 4.6 per cent.
By not adopting this rate increase, the average rate payer saves $60 per year with council to lose $2.7 million in rate revenue.
In a joint media statement with the three other councillors lodging the notice, Cr Lipovac said the 10-year compounding impact of the rate freeze would be $33 million.
"It is almost certain that a special rate variation- a much higher increase in rates- will be required in the near future to recoup the revenue lost through any rate freeze and associated decisions," he said.
The rate freeze would also see the council adopting a number of mitigation strategies with the Operational Plan proposing a freeze on staff hiring, reducing tree and shrub maintenance as well as community grants no longer being available in the 2024-2025 budget.
"While a clause was adopted to suggest the rate freeze mitigation would not include community grants, there are no funding allocations to community grants from any source for the 2024/25 financial year," Cr Edwards said.
"This will impact community organisations that rely on these grants to plan and deliver services to their members and the wider community."
The General Fund Reserves would also be used to offset the service impacts on road resealing, parks and recreation maintenance, and building maintenance.
Cr Intemann said that the rescission motion was about good financial management and ensuring the council's responsibilities were met under the Local Government Act and due process for governing public funds.
"What's at stake here here is council's financial sustainability and maintaining public trust in the council and its operations," she said.
Cr Sheppard said that she was concerned that Cr Peta Pinson, Adam Roberts, Danielle Maltman and Josh Slade who voted in support of the rate freeze did not understand the immediate or future implications of the rate freeze decision.
"I'm also concerned that Team Pinson Councillors are disregarding advice from key stakeholders, including the community," she said.
"We have clear advice against a rate freeze from relevant authorities including the Office of Local Government Deputy Secretary, Brett Whitworth and Council's own Directors' risk assessment, as well as independent financial specialists.
"We also have the community raising concerns through the engagement process, only for this to be ignored by 'Team Pinson'".
In a media release on Monday, June 24, Member for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams also condemned the councillors who voted for a rate freeze.
"Councillors Pinson, Roberts, Slade and Maltman need to explain to the community why they put their own political agenda ahead of the community by ignoring the hundreds who participated in the recent consultation on the Draft Operational Plan Budget," Ms Williams said.
Ms Williams said that in correspondence to Council CEO Clare Allen, the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Local Government (OLG) reminded councillors that they were overseeing council plunging into net deficit of approximately $8 million from a reported surplus of $6.5 million in 2023.
"...but this advise was totally disregarded when it came to the decision last Thursday on a rate freeze," Mrs Williams said.
"There are a group of councillors who seem to have forgotten their role, as outlined by the OLG, that being to represent the view of the community while making decisions in their interest, demonstrate conduct the community expects and deserves, and plan and oversee the running of a significant and complex business."
"While 'Team Pinson' celebrates a political win with a vote for a rate freeze, council has no choice but to recoup the funds through the reduction in road resealing and maintenance as well as the upkeep of parks and gardens and the slashing of community grants."
Mayoral response
In a joint statement with Cr Adam Roberts, Danielle Matlman and Josh Slade, Cr Peta Pinson shared the following statement on the matter:
"Team Pinson went to the 2021 election with a policy position to freeze rates for the full term of council on the basis of assisting our local economy to recover after bushfires, floods, a COVID lockdown and a cost of living crisis whilst also putting pressure on the council organisation to be more efficient when using ratepayer funds on operational practices," the statement read.
"The decision to freeze rates this year was delivered at the June 20 council meeting knowing full well that with more than 400 million in council cash reserves, it can be afforded at this time. The budget position adopted at the June meeting protected Community Grant funding whilst also embarking on a record spend on infrastructure and projects to the tune of more than 205 million dollars.
"The four councillors who are fighting so hard to raise the rates with the support of the State Member for Port Macquarie, Leslie Williams voted against the budget and operational plan and in doing so signalled to the community their intention to continue to raise rates into the future should they be re-elected.
"Comments made by Leslie Williams, supporting councillors Lipovac, Sheppard, Edwards and Intemann demonstrate a lack of understanding of council's true financial position and amounts to deliberate and unnecessary political interference in the lead up to a Local Government election.
"It would be more helpful to the people of the Port Macquarie region if the Member for Port Macquarie set her focus on fixing the traffic congestion gridlock on the Wrights Road Roundabout and Lake Road intersection and also let the community know when they can expect an overpass at the Houston Mitchell Drive intersection, with both projects seemingly not on the member's current priority list."
At the time of publication, there was no confirmed time or date for an extraordinary council meeting.