1 December 2016 – Media Release
Cumberland Council in its short life has moved from an inherited deficit of $4.5 million as at 30 June 2016 to a projected surplus of $100,000 for the financial year 2016/17 through the application of efficiencies and savings as stated within the Quarterly Budget Review presented to the Council Meeting on 30 November.
The Quarterly Budget Review Statement lists savings, including; a higher than anticipated Financial Assistance Grant ($1.9 million), a reduction in employee costs due to redundancy ($2.5m) and a reduction in borrowing costs ($1.6m).
“We are serious about delivering value for money to the ratepayers of Cumberland and our journey has just begun”, General Manager, Malcolm Ryan said.
“When it came to examining the budget we decided that we were not simply going to accept the legacy of the former Auburn and Holroyd Councils and cop another deficit budget.
“While Council is keen to deliver a surplus, it will not be at the expense of services. We aim to steadily improve services for residents while providing value for money,” Mr Ryan said.
At the same meeting the Council’s Independent Auditor painted a rosy picture of the Council’s finances but under questioning from the Administrator Mr Viv May, the Auditor confirmed that the underlining infrastructure assumptions were not audited and he had simply accepted the content of the asset management assumptions of the former councils
After the meeting the Administrator said he was most concerned about the condition of community infrastructure and had called for specialist reports as he intended to be open an honest with ratepayers and residents alike.
“In 2013 the former Holroyd council indicated that refurbishment costs for their three pools would exceed $20 million, however, the financial statements purport that the backlog was $145,000. It is self-evident that the true cost of fixing these assets is not reflected in the Council’s financial statements to the 30th June 2016. It’s time to get fair dinkum with our community,” Mr May said.
“There is no statutory requirement to audit asset management plans. However, for Cumberland Council asset management plans will be fully audited in the future to give residents a true picture of what they own.
“Moreover, the condition of community assets in the Woodville Ward of the former Parramatta City remains a mystery and will heavily influence the Council’s financial future. Negotiations were proceeding with City of Parramatta and hopefully these matters will be resolved before Christmas,” Mr May said.
