Deputy Mayor Wayne McAndrew moved for some of the people who had packed into the council chambers to be heard by allowing for a forum to take place. 

Six ratepayers took the floor, with some taking the opportunity to raise issues around a perceived lack of community consultation on the rates issue, as well as demands for explanations on council’s expenditure and financial management. 

Businessman George Redding said people wanted more information from council on the success (or otherwise) of ventures that had used ratepayer funds, including the Main Street upgrade, the information centre, tourism plan and others. 

“You’re not feeding it back to the ratepayers. We see there are huge things that need upgrading, there’s a lot of work to be done… but you can’t keep digging into pockets,” he said. 

Meadow Flat resident Jennifer Pavey said she had sent a letter to Minister for Local Government Gabrielle Upton complaining about the process, particularly the online survey and poll conducted in the lead-up to the vote.

She said she would, given an opportunity, have advocated for a third option, which would allow the 4.77 per cent rate variation to remain, without the addition of the 4.23 per cent increase proposed. 

“There were only two options that one could vote for, as per the letter... [and] there was no section where one could really have their say,” she said. 

“I felt that the survey, possibly a consultative process between Lithgow City Council and the Micromex Consulting group, was flawed, biased, selective and possibly ignorant, especially regarding no acknowledgement of the properties and ratepayers of Meadow Flat, that are within the Lithgow LGA.”

Portland resident Geoff Welsman said Portland’s roads had not been maintained. 

“Portland itself, the roads are disgraceful, they are dangerous, and probably the next time I have to have a wheel alignment I will send the bill to you, because there are a lot of us who are constantly having to go and get our tyres replaced and also our wheel alignments done because of the gaps we hit in the road.”

Self-described “ordinary ripped-off ratepayer” Tony Churchill said the council had to learn to operate within its budget. 

“Several years ago… you asked for a 4.77 per cent temporary increase. You still haven’t managed to learn to live within those means and you want another,” he said. 

Portland’s Premala Sangarananda took the opportunity to table a petition of more than 400 signatures from Portland residents objecting to the proposal. 

The lone voice supporting the rise from the public gallery was Sue Graves, who stated that while she “didn’t like it”, she understood the reasons a rise was needed. 

“Sometimes, in my own household budget and in other people’s... something that we have not planned for goes wrong and we need to somehow find the money to fix it,” she said. 

Lithgow City Council will apply to IPART (the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal) to approve a special rate variation, which would retain the current 4.77 per cent special rate variation, and introduce a 4.23 per cent increase. This would be on top of the 2.7 per cent rate peg amount set by IPART.

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