Federation Council unanimously backed Mayor Pat Bourke’s call to write to the local Federal and State Members to confirm their support for increased financial assistance and stimulus funding for local government to help councils maintain essential services and employment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This catastrophic downturn in economic and social activity is on top of the effects of the crippling drought across 2018 and 2019, and other downturns, such as the loss of events and visitation, created by the effects of Bushfire Smoke, from the fires that devastated much of the East Coast of Australia in late 2019 and early 2020,” he said at council’s monthly meeting on April 21.
“Council is expecting to experience a declining revenue, as more and more ratepayers are forced into financial hardship.
“If additional assistance is not provided, council may be forced to cut services, infrastructure maintenance and staff.”
Suggestions for the funding by the mayor would include increasing Financial Assistance Grants payments to 1% to help councils maintain essential functions and services, immediate financial assistance to support council employees, especially in early education and care, providing stimulus funding to councils for projects that will help sustain Council operations and boost local economies, increased access to TAFE, VET and other apprenticeship opportunities that council staff can undertake to address skill shortages, especially for staff in non-essential services who are unable to be redeployed.