Strathbogie Shire Council questions Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program for alienating small rural Councils
Strathbogie Shire Council has questioned the Rudd government's recent announcement of an additional $500 million from its stimulus package to the strategic component of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.
Mayor of Strathbogie Shire Council, Howard Myers said, "Given that projects must have a minimum $2 million value and be fully designed up ready to go projects, small rural Councils like Strathbogie either do not have projects large enough or do not have the discretionary funds to react so quickly to have fully designed up projects."
The new $550 million strategic funding available appears to discriminate against small rural Councils with limited resources. In addition the funding criteria for the $250 million dollar allocation announced last year contains a flat funding amount of $100,000 for small rural Councils with populations under 5,000 people and then uses a scale related to population and existing Financial Assistance Grants with large Councils being allocated millions of dollars.
Work undertaken by the Municipal Association of Victoria has identified that the majority of financially unsustainable Councils are located in rural Victoria. Council's concern is that the current guidelines regarding the program would, from a small rural Council's perspective, seem to favour funding towards largely populated Councils. Rather than the small rural Councils who, are financially unsustainable, have the greatest infrastructure problems and with no capacity for the community to take up the large rate increases required.
"Whilst Council is very pleased for additional funds that it received from this allocation, again we feel that small rural Councils of Australia are disadvantaged compared to funding allocations to larger more financially sustainable Councils," Mayor Myers said.
For example, Council is currently finalizing design for the refurbishment of its existing Euroa Library, but this project, at $1 million, would not fit the criteria ($2m) for the strategic funding component. Council would welcome an opportunity to make suggestions regarding amendments to the criteria for the strategic fund to enable small rural Councils across the nation to more easily access funds to fix up aging infrastructure.
Council congratulates the Federal Government for providing funding for this program as it can provide a new source of funds to assist Councils maintain their ageing infrastructure.
Strathbogie Shire Council is a small rural Victorian Council with a major infrastructure back-log ($60 million over 20 years), with small population (9,500), large areas (3,500km), large road lengths (over 2,000km) and small population centres (300 - 2,800) and the third fastest aging Council in the State and much lower than the average State income / asset levels (ABS 2006). Council has implemented a total asset management plan and associated systems, developed long-term financial plans and is actively engaged in pursuing large-scale economic development opportunities to provide new funding / rating opportunities to fix up aging infrastructure assets within the Shire.
For more information: Marli Kelly 0409 410 178