Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson says state government claims rates won't rise in a newly merged Dubbo and Wellington council is political trickery.
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"There is no proof or substance in the messaging by state government that there will be downward pressure on rates. It's no coincidence they are saying there won't be forced redundancies for three years and no changes in rates for four years. Because if these happened before the election it would be a political disaster for them (the state government)," Cr Dickerson said.
"They don't want to make unpleasant changes before the state election."
In the last round of council amalgamations 76.9 per cent of the councils applied for special rate variations above rate-pegging with the average increase requested more than 30 per cent.
Cr Dickerson believes the government is out of touch.
"When the state government says it will put downward pressure on rates; improve scale and capacity and make these councils better, the past history shows the complete opposite," he said.
The group representing councils in NSW has told an IPART (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal) hearing proposed freezes on council rates for merged councils would have a dramatic impact on the ability of councils to maintain services and renew infrastructure.
"And what happens after 2019 when those communities are going to do a catch-up after four years?" Keith Rhoades, the president of the Local Government NSW (LGNSW) and mayor of Coffs Harbour, asked.
"It is going to really put a damper and a constraint on being able to move forward with major projects."
IPART will present a report to LGNSW in June over the future of council rate variations and any proposed rate freeze would require legislation.
It's also looking at the possibility of either a slow or fast transition to new rate settings for a merged council.
It also rules out a special rate variation to raise more money for councils prior to an amalgamation.
It says this special income would be included in the "rate freeze" calculation.
Submissions on IPART's issues paper are due by May 13.