COUNCILLOR COLUMN
For Immediate Release 30 September 2025 Authorised by Mayor Brian Ingram
Last week I had the privilege of welcoming eleven new citizens as Australians, in a ceremony held in the Young Council Chambers. Our newest Australian citizens have come from the Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, Iran, Brazil and Taiwan. One of my favourite Mayoral duties is being able to conduct Citizenship Ceremonies, it is a great honour. I sincerely welcome our newest Hilltops locals, you have chosen a beautiful country to call home, and we are proud to have you join us.
At the September Ordinary Council Meeting, Councillors were presented with the Draft 2024–25 Financial Statements for referral to audit. The audited accounts are required to be delivered to the Office of Local Government by 31 October 2025. The Consolidated Financial Operating Result before grants and contributions for the year, as detailed in the income statement, shows a net deficit of $12.45M. The consolidated operating result from continuing operations shows a surplus of $8.53M.
There are some significant movements that have contributed to the change from the original budget of a $4.43M deficit to the final result of a $12.45M deficit.
These include waste charges, which were originally budgeted to increase by 30% across the board. Following community consultation, it was resolved that waste charges would increase 5.1% in line with other increases, and further consultation would be undertaken with the community. That further consultation resulted in a five-year strategy to harmonise waste charges across the Hilltops, with the aim of full cost recovery after the five-year period.
User fees and charges increased due to additional state road works, and additional water usage. Operating grants and contributions were lessened due to the reduced Financial Assistance Grant of $3.1M. This was partially offset by Transport for NSW road works of $2M. The capital grants increase of $3.5M was mainly due to the roads to recovery program.
Employee benefits and oncosts increased against budget. This movement was substantially represented by an increase in employee leave entitlement provisions and workers compensation insurance increases. As we are all aware, insurance costs continue to rise in all areas.
We were also impacted by the Harden storm event in February. Some of these costs will be unable to be recovered by insurance. A large portion of those costs were due to Council allowing residents to take their storm waste to our waste facilities free of charge. As per our waste strategy, Council must then cover the disposal of that waste.
Our borrowing expense has increased by $600,000. This is related to remediation liabilities for tips and quarries. Although it does not make a great deal of sense for this to be recognised as a borrowing expense, this is the accounting standard. Depreciation increased by $2M across the board. The increase is valid given that we have an additional $35M net carrying value of infrastructure, property, plant and equipment.
We had a total equity increase of $33M for the financial year.
We did utilise some cash during the year, which reduced our cash position. This was used to fund the increase in infrastructure, property, plant and equipment, and to pay down loans. The non-receipt of 25% of the Financial Assistance Grant also impacted this result. We budgeted to receive 75% of this grant in advance as per previous years, however the Federal Government only advanced 50% of the total amount. This resulted in our unrestricted cash position being $5M. It should be noted that as at the end of August our unrestricted cash position had improved to $8.3m.
It is not lost on me that we must be very mindful of the way forward and operating within our means. I will ensure this is the highest priority moving forward.
Yesterday, Council’s Director Corporate and Community Sarah Karaitiana and I attended the Police Remembrance Day Ceremony at Young Police Station. We pay our respects to those police officers who have lost their lives to protect us all. I also take this opportunity to thank our local police officers for the great work they do to keep the Hilltops safe.
I wish the Boorowa community a successful Woolfest this weekend and encourage the wider Hilltops community to check out the fun filled program. On the back of this will be the Harden Kite Festival the following weekend, which is also set to be another great event with something for everyone to enjoy.
Mayor Brian Ingram