Campbelltown City Council’s Renew-Connect-Revitalise city-wide improvement program is in full swing, with more than 40 kilometres of road improvements already completed, 110 community facility refurbishment projects finalised, and upgrades to nine playgrounds under way and due for completion by June 2015.
Mayor of Campbelltown, Councillor Paul Lake, said that the ongoing works will ensure the future viability of the $1.8 billion worth of public infrastructure assets that Council maintains.
“As our population increases, our community facilities and infrastructure are being used more, and that means they need ongoing maintenance to maintain them to a suitable standard for future use,” Cr Lake said.
“We need to make sure that our community infrastructure is in the best condition possible, because that’s what our residents deserve. Maintaining this level of infrastructure comes at a price, and council has been very active in ensuring that we have the necessary funds to provide the best facilities for our growing community.
“Contrary to previous claims in the media, Campbelltown City Council is not in a weak or distressed financial situation. Since the 2013 NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp) report, which assessed the financial capacity and sustainability of all NSW councils, we have taken a number of steps to improve our long term financial outlook and help secure the future of our great city,” he added.
Council’s rating in the 2013 TCorp report was considered to be moderate, with an outlook rating of negative, which takes into consideration the condition of assets.
Since the report, measures have been taken to improve the organisation’s financial sustainability, including the recent special rate variation, which will generate an additional $5.2 million in revenue to help immediately address the city’s asset maintenance backlog.
Council has also successfully applied for an $8.5 million subsidised loan through the State Government, and has achieved more than $12.1 million in operational savings through business improvement, innovations and cost saving initiatives.
“According to TCorp, to achieve a positive outlook in terms of long term sustainability as a council, we needed to do four things – apply for a special rate variation, adopt a detailed program of maintenance and renewal works to reduce the infrastructure backlog, source additional revenue in the short term, and proactively seek internal cost savings and efficiencies,” Cr Lake said.
“The work we are doing now will go a long way towards ensuring that we address all the requirements of the State Government’s Fit for the Future reform package and that Campbelltown is in a strong financial position, both now and into the future.”
For more information on all the Renew-Connect-Revitalise projects, visit www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/improvementworks.
