A current issue of great concern is an announcement by the State Government that the NSW RFS will be changing their methodology for fund allocation this financial year, and will now be asking for an annual contribution, based on previous year’s expenditure.
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Our region has always been supportive of a more equitable system for funding emergency services, but the proposed system is inequitable and punishes those Councils who have invested more in their fire services over the past decades by expecting them to contribute significantly more and run the risk of being penalised by subsidising less proactive zones.
The increase has been announced after Councils have already prepared and adopted budgets for this financial year and no-one has anticipated the significant increases that have resulted.
Our member councils are very concerned about the lack of transparency and oversight in this process. Under the new arrangements the RFS is less transparent than they were in the past.
The RFS is, in effect a monopoly service provider which benefits from a legislative arrangement that obligates its users to pay its fees regardless of the service that is provided. The RFS does not appear to be constrained in the same way as other state agencies are in relation to budgeting.
The State Government has also announced they will be implementing a property based emergency services levy to be paid alongside council rates.
The region’s Councils are being asked to administer this process, despite no legislation being passed on the reform, and we are unclear who will be picking up the tab and how bad debt will be managed.
It is unrealistic and unsustainable for local government to be expected to meet the ever increasing costs of emergency services, especially the RFS. This is particularly galling when Councils are being challenged on their “fitness for the future.” State and local governments should equally share the burden of meeting the RFS costs.
Once again Local Government has not been meaningfully consulted and the new system has no appreciation for how Local Government works. At our recent Centroc Board meeting there was unanimous resolve for the region to keep shouting out loud about this issue. Hopefully the State will start to listen.
- Cr Bill West is Chair of Centroc and Mayor of Cowra Shire Council
