19 MAY 2021
ISSUE 239
REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS
Community rally to save our reserves
News
Dick Persson officially retired from his position as Central Coast Administrator on Wednesday, May 12, but not before he took one last parting shot at the suspended councillors. See page 3
Out&About
Decades after gaining his private pilot’s licence at Central Coast Airport, Paul Bennet is returning on the weekend of May 22 and 23. See page 17
Business The groundswell of opposition to Central Coast Council’s sell-off of community land will roll into The Entrance on Sunday, May 23. See page 12
15 percent rate rise approved by IPART Community groups have expressed their disappointment, but also resignation, at the increased council rates which the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) announced this week. Central Coast Council residents will see a 15 percent rate rise next financial year, starting in July 2021. The rate rise comes on top of harmonisation of rates applied at the same time. Rates will be harmonised between the two former council areas of Gosford and Wyong which merged to form the one council in 2016.
This means that after the rate rise and harmonisation, ratepayers in the former Wyong area will actually notice a decrease of about nine percent in their rates, while former Gosford area residents will see increases of about 42 percent. The harmonisation process means that the entire region will now pay the one residential rate of 0.343 cents and their actual rates will be costed on their land valuation. The business rate will be 0.66. The farming rate will be 0.184 and the mining rate will be 17.105. The rate rise will only last for three years and then will be removed, minus the rate caps
of the three years. If Council wants to continue with the rate rise, it will have to apply to IPART again. IPART said Council’s submission only showed the rate rise being used for seven years to pay down Council debt. The fact that a Public Inquiry was being held into the Council was another reason to limit the rise to three years. The Mannering Park Precinct Committee was “very disappointed” that the incompetence of Council had led to the current financial position, Chairman, Andrew Whitbourne, said. “The increase in rates is a
bitter pill for the community to swallow but we don’t think the loss of services that will result from no increase is a viable alternative,” he said. Ourimbah Region Residents Association (ORRA) is also very disappointed with the outcome. Spokesman, Allan Benson, said ORRA campaigned against the rate rise. “We believed that rate payers should not have paid the price for Central Coast council staff incompetence and flawed NSW Government policy.” Gwandalan and Summerland Point Peninsula Improvement Group President, Tony Kirby, said he found it very hard to trust what would happen after the three years were up.
“While the rise is only for three years, it still allows the Council to apply again for another rise,” he said. “Forgive me for being cynical but after being kicked in the teeth by Council over the past few years, I find it very difficult to trust them.” He said the amalgamation was ill considered because of the range of the financial states between the councils. “The councils had different computer systems which took a large amount of money to fix, if indeed it has been fixed,” he said. Continued page 4
Tourism business operators will meet to explore ways to promote ecotourism across the Central Coast region. See page 26
Sport
In the top of the table clashes between the Killarney Vale Bombers and the Terrigal Avoca Panthers, in both the Black Diamond Cup Women’s and Men’s leagues, the southern side has come away with wins. See page 38
Puzzles page 23
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