How much longer Bathurst ratepayers could be safe from a SRV

In some good news for residents, that conversation could be at least 18 months away, and, if you ask mayor Jess Jennings, there's a small chance it might not have to happen at all.

In August, 2023, Bathurst council advised the community it was considering making an application to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a SRV that could have seen a cumulative rate rise of 68.6 per cent over two years.

That rate rise, had it gone ahead, would have come into effect in the 2024-25 financial year.

However, in September, 2023 councillors resolved to abandon the required community consultation and not pursue an application.

Instead, the council has looked for other ways to save money and generate income.

Council staff are still highlighting the need to consider an SRV in the future, though, so when could one next be on the table?

Cr Jennings said an SRV absolutely will not happen in the 2025-26 financial year, and the reason is simple: the local government election.

The council will go into caretaker mode in August, 2024, with no major decisions to be made in the weeks leading up to the September 14 election.

It is unlikely the first meeting of the new council will occur before October.

As seen in the 2023 SRV consultation process, the council had a November deadline to advise IPART on whether or not it would be making an application.

There is also a requirement to conduct adequate community consultation before making that decision and later submitting an application.

Cr Jennings thinks it would be impossible for the new council to pursue an application for a SRV that would come into effect in the 2025-26 financial year.

"It's absolutely impossible and won't be happening," he said.

The community consultation, he said, would require more time than would be available.

"There's no way you could fit that in realistically," he said.

"It's such a major process and this council has already resolved not to go down that path to try to make it happen, because the whole council could change, hypothetically, in September and they might throw the decision out. It's just way too uncertain.

"We've done the financially responsible thing of balancing the coming financial year budget, and done it in the fairest possible way, with as minimal impact as possible, and after that, once September elections have come through, the new councillors will be in a position to decide how they want to approach council's financial sustainability."

Based on that timeline, the earliest a SRV could be implemented would be the 2026-27 financial year, but Cr Jennings said there are other factors at play that might make a substantial rate rise unnecessary.

Cr Jennings will be keeping an eye on an inquiry into the ability of local governments to fund infrastructure and services.

The outcome, he says, will be important in determining what size SRV to apply for, if any, to ensure the Bathurst council remains sustainable.

There could also be favourable items in the state and federal government budgets that could ease the burden on the council, or a change in service level expectations from the community.

"We'll just have to see how the state and federal budgets play out and how they affect Bathurst, but if they were positive and beneficial financially, that will ease the pressure on our council," Cr Jennings said.

"We'll just have to see how much that eases the pressure as to whether or not alternative revenue sources are necessary.

"Alternatively, the community might prefer to have a reduction in services and infrastructure provided in future years in order to keep revenue sources off the table."