Fees and charges up 4.2%
While Council’s child care charges are proposed to increase by 10% many other council fees and charges are going up by 4.2% from July 1.
Some costs are being done away with all together, such as daily fees for circuses and carnivals and some costs are not increasing such as dog registration fees.
The fees and charges comparison document is 139 pages and allows residents to see the proposed increases.
Residents can give feedback to councillors before the March 28 council meeting where the budget will – or won’t – be adopted to go out on public exhibition.
After public exhibition, the suite of documents will come back to the councillors for final adoption and the new fees and charges will come into effect on July 1.
What other increases are in the documents?
Rate rise:
The operational plan includes a rate rise proposed to be 3.2% plus the drainage charge transfer from the water rates currently with IPART which would mean the rates actually rise by about 12.8% on average.
Domestic Waste Charge increase
Domestic Waste charges are proposed to increase by 4.2% in line with the estimated Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase but council notes that the Domestic Waste charges have been established based on fuel prices as of February 2026.
”Considering the impact of the current geopolitical conflict, the charges may be subject to an increase resulting from changes in the Terminal Gate Price for Sydney for diesel fuel and Consumer Price Index,” the report notes.
Water rates rise
The water and sewer directorate also has a proposal with IPART to increase water rates by an average of 8% plus inflation.
The draft operational plan also lists what council will spend its money on.
It includes
Road renewal: $203m over four years.
An additional $1.15m in 2026-27 and then $1.5m per year over four years for road patching: not sure what the total spend will be..
Pathways: $1m over four years to deliver additional pathways.
Roadside vegetation maintenance: A further $1.4m per year for the next five years to increase mowing frequency and improve roadside safety and presentation. Not sure what the current spend is. A councillor might know?
An extra $0.2m per year invested across the coast for tree planting.
Implementation of the Open Coast Coastal Management Program:
Tuggerah Lakes dredging program $1m per year for four years.
$3.5m over 4 years, ($0.5m in the first year) in capital works to support implementation of the Coastal Management Program and seek 2:1 state government funding.
$1.2m over four years to accelerate the urban renewal of Gosford City as the principal centre of the Coast and the key location for the growth of higher order jobs.
An allocation of $60K per year from 2027-28 to support actions from the adopted Biodiversity Strategy.
Buy Mackillop Oval, Kincumber: $2.7m. The ownership of the land has switched from a church entity to a private operator. ‘’It is prudent to secure this heavily used community asset, also noting that Council has funded all improvements on this land for many years,’’ the report states.
Over the Delivery Program period, funds of $4.5m will be allocated to commercial property improvements, including the Old Gosford Library Adaptive Reuse project and works at Azzuro Blu, The Entrance, a Skate Park/BMX Track/Pump Track at Picnic Point, feasibility and design works for a Indoor Regional Sporting Facility, and Stage 1 of the Toukley Community Centre.
Reduced spending on:
# visitor economy and marketing activities,
# scaled back Australia Day events,
# a temporary pause in the Façade Improvement Program while its effectiveness is reviewed.
Additional income
# ‘’Reviewing pricing’’ for car parking at Terrigal and The Entrance,
# early education and learning services
# Improved compliance activity is also expected to increase revenue, and expanded operations at the Buttondery Waste Management Facility will generate additional income through a broader customer base.
‘’Further savings have been identified through service efficiencies, including changes to staff training approaches, reduced reliance on external consultants, improved procurement practices, and increased use of digital communications,’’ the report states.
Capital Works Program
The 2026-27 Capital Works Program is targeted at renewing existing assets, with
$169.4m, or 49.4% of the Program, allocated to renewal works, and
$124.9m, or 36.4% to upgrade existing assets to provide additional capacity or functionality.
$48.8m, or 14.2% for new assets where the project predominately provides additional capacity or function.
Explaining the screenshot;
The B means that the ”Price charged for this good/service reflects full cost of providing the goods/services plus a margin”. This year’s price is $285.35 for the daily fee and the security bond of $7,191.06. The next line where it’s $0 is the proposed new price and the next line is the percentage decrease. 100% decrease. Further down you can see temporary licensing of a trade or business also goes to zero.
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