10-year Financial Plan to guide Council towards a sustainable future

Published on 30 June 2022

Liverpool Plains Shire Council has adopted the Long-Term Financial Plan (LFTP) 2022-2032 at its June Ordinary Council Meeting. The Plan provides a detailed financial position of Council and outlines how Council will sustainably deliver services and infrastructure to the community.

The Local Government Act 1993 provides that Council must develop and adopt a long-term Resourcing Strategy for the provision of the resources required to implement the Community Strategic Plan. The Resourcing Strategy must include long-term financial planning, workforce management planning and asset management planning. Its preparation must observe the Office of Local Government’s (OLG) Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) Guidelines.

Mayor Doug Hawkins OAM said financial sustainability is a challenge for all Local Governments, particularly councils in rural and regional Australia which are faced with the challenge of maintaining and replacing aged assets, while keeping rates and charges affordable for their communities.

“Council has been careful to ensure projected operating revenues and expenditures, as well as the planned capital works, are reliable and achievable – including the NSW and Commonwealth Government grants we receive. Council will continue to review and refine its LTFP and Assets Management Plans to reflect more accurate costs of maintaining our assets and delivering services. There is a high priority to address the deterioration of the assets that has occurred due to limited financial capacity,” he said.

After extensive consultation previously, the Special Rate Variation (SRV) approved by IPART of 8 percent for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years has provided much needed funding for Council to be able to deliver the works, services and facilities to a standard that the community has come to expect and deserve. However, in the absence of an ongoing SRV into the future, Council’s financial position to meet these community expectations is unsustainable due to ageing assets and increasing demands on services.

“The LFTP, inclusive of modelling an ongoing SRV of 3-5 percent, is expected to contribute considerably to the General Fund cash position which will lead to Council avoiding a cash deficit position and allowing it to address the majority of asset requirements and maintain the cash balance for the General Fund”, Cr Hawkins concluded.