NSW councils are continuing to call on the State Government to provide adequate funding and remove rate pegging so they can fix our roads and streets.
The President of the Shires Association of NSW, Cr Bruce Miller, has recently stated the following:
"Council's manage 85 percent of the road network and nearly all footpaths in NSW. Government funding provides about 30 percent of what councils spend on roads each year.
Approximately 70 percent is left to councils to source through rates. This is particularly hard, when you consider the fact that rates are pegged in NSW by the State government.
We've been warning the State and Federal Government for quite some time that our streets will continue to deteriorate if funding is not increased and rate pegging is not abolished, an issue we again raised at the National Local Roads and Transport Congress in Bunbury last month.
After being in drought for so long, we're very grateful for the recent rain. However, this has contributed to an increase in potholes and damage to our roads.
NSW councils face an annual funding shortfall of $600m to address maintenance needs of local roads, according to research by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia. Across the nation, the Australian Local Government Association estimates the future is as high as $1.2 billion per year."
President of the Local Government Association of NSW, Cr. Keith Rhoades AFSM, said providing communities with safe infrastructure and roads are a key priority for councils and has recently commented:
"Councils are continuously building, maintaining and repairing roads under scheduled work programs and in response to emergency and critical repair needs.
Our communities deserve an excellent road system, and councils are working hard to achieve this, but we can only do so much with the amount of funding currently available.
Especially when councils also provide hundreds of other services with funding from rates - such as libraries, community centres, senior citizen and youth services, public parks and swimming pools.
Given the amount of work required, councils must apply a strict process of risk assessment and prioritisation which is managed by specialist engineers and asset management staff. We're not in a position to be able to address every road maintenance issue instantly - though we're truly trying our best with the limited resources we have."
Col Sullivan,
Mayor
