The financial strength of Georges River Council was recognised at Monday night’s Council meeting, with an acknowledgement that Council is now debt-free.
Georges River Mayor Nick Katris said Council had ended the financial year free from debt, in contrast to financial struggles currently faced by a number of other local governments across New South Wales.
The acknowledgment of Council’s debt-free status was made after Council endorsed public exhibition of the revised Draft Georges River Council Loan Borrowing Policy for community feedback.
“Financial sustainability has been adopted as the number one strategic risk facing Council, this news is another step towards financial sustainability,” Mayor Katris said.
“Our strong financial performance and fiscal responsibility is in large part thanks to the hard work of Council staff who have been proactive in ensuring Council’s debt-free status.”
The announcement follows the final repayment in December 2022 of a 10-year $5 million loan used to invest in local infrastructure, including improvements to Mortdale Community Centre.
“Through strategic financial planning, Georges River Council will continue to make prudent decisions to achieve long term financial sustainability while continuing to deliver capital works projects for the community,” Mayor Katris said.
“We are in an excellent position of being able to achieve the objectives of our capital works program and funding key Council projects on our own terms, while avoiding the cost burden of astronomical interest bills.”
Mayor Katris said that while remaining debt-free was Council’s preferred policy position, it was also important to recognise the importance of prudent loan borrowings, debt instruments, and other finance or capital-raising methodologies to fund capital works projects for the community into the future.
“Although there are currently no further proposals to obtain a loan for a particular capital project, it’s important to recognise that ‘good debt’ is a vital funding source for local government to ensure it can continue to fund the acquisition, renewal, and construction of important community assets. Healthy debt can be used as an opportunity to bring unfunded projects forward and ensure the full cost of infrastructure is not borne entirely by present-day ratepayers.”
Mayor Katris said that prior to undertaking any funding decisions related to future borrowing, Council would assess its capacity to repay the loan in accordance with the Loan Borrowing Policy to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and that the community is not burdened with unnecessary risk, including interest rate changes.
“Council manages its cashflow closely to ensure funds are available to support operational requirements and that the timing of capital expenditure both aligns with the maturity of Council’s financial investments and also benefits the community.”
At its June meeting, Georges River Council unanimously adopted the 2023/24 budget, which sets out the Delivery Program and Resourcing Strategy and will guide the work of Council for the forthcoming financial year.
This included an expansion of the capital works program, with over $12 million committed towards upgrades to critical community infrastructure including roads, footpaths, parks and sporting facilities, buildings, and amenities – approximately double the budget allocation adopted in previous years.
Funding was made available for projects already underway including the Hurstville Oval Community Pavilion, Gannons Park Stormwater Harvesting and Treatment Final Works, Former Oatley Bowling Club Master Plan Delivery, Hurstville Revitalisation Program, and the Olds Park Recreational and Sporting Hardscape Precinct.
Some of the new capital works scheduled include the Olds Park Premium Sporting Facility Design, Todd Park Sporting Centre of Excellence Design, Merv Lynch Reserve Play Space Upgrade, Kyle Bay Foreshore Reconstruction, and the Lugarno Passive Watercraft Launching Facility Design. Many of these also include external funding from the state or federal governments.
The revised Loan Borrowing Policy will be placed on public exhibition for 28 days.
Community members can provide feedback on the draft policy using Council’s ‘Your Say’ platform.
