Financial services, grants and rates explained
First published 16 June 2023
To make it easier for our community to tap into support for the community initiatives they want to make happen we’ll be exploring ways to partner with Community Associations and local businesses to contribute to making Wingecarribee Shire an even better place to live and work. This will include offering grant writing workshops as well as exploring ways to assist local businesses working with Council. This includes workshops on how Council procures it’s services.
We’ll ensure that Council’s financial position remains strong and sustainable in the long term by prudently managing Council’s financial resources. This includes ensuring that Council’s financial practices are compliant with statutory obligations. We also plan to review our Farmland Rating Policy to provide greater clarity to rate payers.
Council’s Director, Corporate Strategy and Resourcing, Carmel Foster said “Whilst some service charges are set to increase in accordance with a partial or full cost recovery policy, some charges will reduce, offering some relief to our more vulnerable residents. An example is pensioners being excluded from dishonoured or returned payment fees.”
To measure our success against the priorities planned in the draft Operational Plan and Budget for 2023/24, successful grants, workshop attendance, and the number of information sessions with local businesses will be reported on a quarterly basis.
It’s important to note that the 2023/24 Operating Budget has experienced an uptick in interest income, which can be attributed to recent increases in interest rates. This fortuitous situation has helped offset the increases relating to the current economic circumstances. Council will review its financial position every quarter in accordance with statutory obligations.
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