March mayoral minute proposes additional COVID-19 stimulus measure

A mayoral minute, the eighth since the pandemic began, has been prepared for the upcoming council meeting on Wednesday.

It provides a breakdown of the steps council has taken in the last two years, and also recommends that council contribute up to $2000 to community groups that manage specific council facilities.

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According to the document, there are 25 community halls owned by council that are run by groups, meaning council could part with up to $50,000 to help them.

The money would be earmarked for covering the costs of public liability insurance, which groups will have had a difficult time generating income to pay for.

"Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, community halls across the region were required to close, and therefore where unavailable for hire throughout the duration of the pandemic," the mayoral minute states.

"In most cases, where a council owned community hall is managed by a community group, the community group relies on income from hirers to meet their annual operational expenses, including public liability insurance premiums.

"The vast majority, if not all, of these community groups have not been the beneficiary of any of the stimulus measures provided by council to date.

"... Accordingly, council may wish to consider providing a one-off contribution of up to $2000 to each community group that manages a council owned community hall, towards the cost of their annual public liability insurance premium."

Councillors will be asked to vote on the recommendation on Wednesday night.

The mayoral minute also notes that council, along with businesses and the community, is facing continued pressure from the pandemic, saying that pressure was "certainly significant".

There is little data available about the impact from Omicron but, if the situation is anything like Delta and other variants before it, the economic recovery could be relatively quick.

"It is important to note that while the spending decline triggered by the Delta outbreak was more prolonged than the first wave, the bounce back (like the first COVID wave) was quick," the mayoral minute said..

"By December 2021, Bathurst LGA spending has reach record levels, increasing seven per cent year on year and enabling businesses to regain some the losses experienced in the previous four months."

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