Councillors are being asked to send a plea to the Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig asking for ways to allow council to continue to levy ratepayers a drainage charge.
Under Water management rules, council can not levy the drainage charge after June 30, 2026.
So Council wants the Minister to let them charge the ratepayer for the service under the Local Government Act.
IPART – Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal made the ruling as part of its 2022 determination of price rises for Coast water.
“IPART’s view is that stormwater services provide benefits to the entire community not just specific customers and therefore should be funded through local government rates like other services that benefit the whole community such as maintaining public parks, roads and bridges,” the report to the councillors for the March 25 meeting states.
Council also states: “If this proposal is successful ratepayers/property owners will pay no more (apart from annual IPART indexation) across their combined water and rates bills.”
It’s worth almost $20M a year.
Council is hoping the MInister will agree to the request, otherwise it will have to apply for a special rate variation and all the processes involved in that, including consulting the community.
The paperwork has come about because Central Coast has been in a unique position of a council also running the water business.
In August 2024, the State Government made legislative changes that brought Central Coast Council’s water supply and sewerage services in-line with all other local governments across regional NSW.
The report doesn’t mention if all other local governments levy a drainage charge.
The report will be tabled at the March 25, 2025, meeting.
