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20 MAY 2023
Budget for the times The 400 pages of Council’s draft Delivery Program, Operational Plan, Fees and Charges, and Long Term Financial Plan were endorsed for public exhibition at the May Meeting without comment. Mayor Neil Reilly says the reason is simple. “It is because we have been living this budget for the past 18 months. “We have had multiple briefings, input from our appointed financial advisor, our auditors and the Office of Local Government, and the result is pretty much a collaborative result. “There are no surprises in it. We’ve looked at it so closely for a long time and been very open with the public about what we are dealing with.” While the Audit Office did not qualify the recently signed off 2020/1 accounts with a going concern qualification – meaning it does not have the funds to pay its debts as and when they fall due – it came close, and the key priority of all of the financial plans is to ensure Council remains a going concern. The draft budget for 2023/4 shows how crucial the sale of Council’s assets are, with a deficit of $11.9 million for the year unless money comes in from Council’s divestment strategy. The pared down budget for the coming year will see all expenditure for capital works coming from grants or dedicated reserves, and
operational efficiencies. Service reviews are to be conducted into the leisure centre, holiday parks, waste services and Pavilion operations to assess the best way forward. In total, the forecast gain from sale of Blue Haven Bonaira (if reclassification is approved) and six other parcels is expected to bring in $31.2 million, which would result in a surplus of $19.3 million if they were achieved within the 2023/4 financial year. The divestments would improve the working capital position by $14.7 million. As at the end of April, Council had negative available cash of $2.5 million. “Any surplus we arrive at is going to be dependent on property divestments,” says CEO Jane Stroud. “There are a range of properties at market or progressing to market and the two year cashflow times out those sales.” The next off the mark will be the Akuna carpark site, which will be going out to market next week. “Although the sale of key assets such as Blue Haven Bonaira (subject to reclassification of the land) will help restore our immediate liquidity, longer-term we are still running at a deficit, and there is much more work to be done to rectify this,” says Council’s Chief Operating Officer Joe Gaudiosi. The Bonaira sale would also result in a reduction of current liabilities of around $70 million.
However the Long Term Financial Plan says it will still take until the 2026/27 financial year to achieve a balanced budget with positive unrestricted cash movement in it and future years. “Our draft Long Term Financial Plan shows that, if we can work through the divestment of key assets, operational improvements and other initiatives as per our Strategic Improvement Plan 2, the structural deficit should continue to improve, with the Long Term Financial Plan showing a positive cash result in 2026-27,” says Mr Gaudiosi. It will take until the 2032/33 financial year for the cash balance to reach a sustainable level. Council is continuing talks with its banker TCorp to renegote a $15 million portion of the $45 million that falls due in August this year. Council has resolved to pay off $30 million before then, as a sign of good faith. “The way I gauge it is I am sleep more nights than I used to, because we are making progress,” says Mayor Reilly. “We can see where we want to be and how to get there.” Also on exhibition is the draft of Council’s Community Consultation Plan, which sets out a new vision for how it will consult with the community over various issues. Ironically, Councillor Karen Renkema-Lang criticised the way the Plan was being put our for public comment. “It deserves more than a 28 day exhibition,” she said.
Bravery awards for firefighters Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Paul Baxter (right), Station Officer Sean Doohan and Senior Firefighter Peter Bugden
has since made a full recovery and, with his family, is incredibly thankful to his own crew’s efforts on that day. Each firefighter has been recognised with the Unit Commendation for Meritorious Service with Sean also receiving the Courageous Action Commendation, awarded on St Florian’s Day – a day where firefighters come together to applaud volunteers and staff who have gone above and beyond. Two local firefighters repuntangle his colleague. As a firefighter for over 20 resenting Fire and Rescue Pre-emptively preparing years, Sean says the event is NSW, along with 13 Shoala defibrillator, Peter joined right up there with the worst haven firefighters, have been forces with Senior Firefight- scenarios. recognised for their heroic er Ben Ingle, from Bomad“Our training enabled us actions that saved the life of erry, in dragging the unconto do everything we possibly their colleague who collapsed scious firefighter to safety. could to give our mate the while battling a house fire. The courageous trio then best chance of survival, with In mid February, Senior worked tirelessly to perform on scene paramedics doing Firefighter Peter Bugden, CPR and use the defibrillator an incredible job,” says Sean. from Kiama Downs, raised in tandem with police and He is humbled by the recthe alarm that a fellow firearriving fire crews until para- ognition and emphasised the fighter had collapsed inside medics could arrive. importance of teamwork. a Nowra home that was Whilst the distressing “We wouldn’t have been engulfed in flames. Station scene was unfolding, crews able to do it without being a Officer Sean Doohan, from on scene continued to distin- team. The three of us workGerringong, sprang into guish the fire and rescue the ing together is the reason action kicking the rear door several family pets that were why we managed to get him down and crawling through trapped inside. out and keep him alive.” thick smoke and heat to The collapsed firefighter by Cassandra Zaucer
Race for Kids in Care Saturday 6 May 2023 at Kembla Grange Racecourse
Buy tickets at wcfoundation.org.au/events or call 1300 000 WCF
William Campbell Foundation is holding this event to raise funds to continue providing wellbeing programs and camps for children in care and supporting their educational outcomes.
$150 per ticket or $1500 per table of 10 Sponsorship Packages Available