Draft Operational Plan & Budget 2021/22 (and Amended Long Term Financial Plan)

Feedback closed 11.59pm 22 June 2021.

DRAFT OPERATIONAL PLAN & BUDGET

The draft Operational Plan & Budget for next financial year has been prepared in accordance with statutory requirements. All NSW councils must adopt their Operational Plan & Budget before 1 July 2021.

The draft plan represents Year 4, the final year of the adopted Delivery Program. It has been prepared based on the financial estimates within the adopted Delivery Program, inclusive of the Special Rate Variation (SRV) program of works. It includes (within the appendix) the draft Revenue Policy and Capital Works Program.

The draft Revenue Policy outlines Council’s proposed rating structure for the next financial year, inclusive of the following:

• residential and businesses rates inclusive of the approved SRV increase (which is will be shown on rates notices as inclusive of the annual rate peg)
• special levies previous approved, including Environmental Levy and Infrastructure Levy applicable to all ratepayers, and the Crows Nest Mainstreet Levy
  and Neutral Bay Mainstreet Levy applicable to designated business ratepayers only (itemised separately on the rates notice);
• continuation of the Stormwater Management Charge (SWMC) - applicable to all ratepayers;
• 1.5% average increase in fees and charges compared to 2020/21 - for more information refer to the Draft Fees & Charges Schedule;
• revenue from user fees and charges e.g. parking meter fees which have not yet returned to pre-COVID levels;
• operating grants have been assumed to continue at similar levels to that received in 2020/21;
• capital grants are generally project specific and are not relied upon as a recurrent source in the budget. Most of the forecast revenue from capital grants is to fund the redevelopment of North Sydney Olympic Pool (NSOP) and Hume Street Park;
• capital contributions (i.e. developer contributions) have been budgeted at $11.8 million; and
• a $16 increase per residential property to the Domestic Waste Management Charge (DWMC) i.e. increase from $404 to $420. The pensioners discount remains 50% of the standard.

The draft 2021/22 Operating budget forecasts a surplus of $5.27 million before capital grants and contributions. Including capital grants and contributions, the operating result is forecast to be a surplus of $28.88 million. $23.8 million of the surplus is attributed to capital grants and developer contributions to partially fund the redevelopment of NSOP, the Hume Street Plaza project and $5.5 million of fair value adjustments to the investment property portfolio. The 2021/22 Capital Works Program also includes increased expenditure on asset maintenance funded through the SRV, continued implementation of the Local Area Traffic Management Plans (LATMS) and implementation of the St Leonards Park Masterplan.

Funding of the draft Capital Works Program will require a $31 million loan for the NSOP redevelopment and a net draw down from reserves of $1.85 million.

An online information session was held on Tuesday 15 June 2021 from 6pm to 7pm. The session provided an overview of the key projects and how Council will fund the plan. The presentation slides are available from the document library.

AMENDED LONG TERM FINANCIAL PLAN

Feedback is sought on proposed amendments to the Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP), a component of Council's Resourcing Strategy. In accordance with statutory requirements, in preparing the draft Operational Plan & Budget 2021/22 the LTFP has also been updated. A summary of the key changes is provided on the covering report available from the Document Library.

The purpose of the exhibition is to inform the community of the update LTFP modelling. It is not to seek community feedback on the financial scenarios, as Council is operating under Scenario 3A as previously resolved, and within the three-year SRV approval. The SRV period ends 30 June 2022.

SUBMISSIONS

Prior to making a submission please ensure you have reviewed the draft Operational Plan and Budget and/or amended Long Term Financial Plan which can be found in the document library.

Feedback closes 22 June 2021

Use the online submission form (below) or alternatively, send submissions to:

Email - yoursay@northsydney.nsw.gov.au
Mail - North Sydney Council, PO Box 12, NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059

For further information contact Council’s Corporate Planning Coordinator, Sarah Malcolm and Manager Accounting Services, Darren Goode on 9936 8100.

Note: The Draft Fees & Charges Schedule and Draft Community Grants & Subsidies Allocation is concurrently on exhibition.

All submissions received will be collated, analysed and reported to the Council meeting scheduled for 28 June 2021.