Hornsby Infrastructure Levy
Hornsby Council needs to improve ageing infrastructure and build new facilities to meet the changing needs of its community.
Council has decided to pursue a one-off infrastructure levy, which if successful will commence in July 2010. This will cost the average ratepayer about $60 - $70 more in rates per year. The funds generated will be spent on infrastructure, namely upgrading the Hornsby Pool, renewing the Hornsby pedestrian overbridge and providing recreational facilities in Old Mans Valley.
Councillors, in collaboration with the community, also want to allocate a total of $1.5 million per ward to local projects. Residents may nominate these local ward-based projects. To nominate projects you would like to see please go to Council's web site www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au
Please take some time and learn about the proposal for an infrastructure levy by reviewing the issue papers in the "library" on the right hand side of this page. Council's web site also has information about this proposal. We encourage your participation and comments. Feedback on this forum will close 19 April 2010.
This forum was established on 21 October as part of the consultation process to give you information about a possible rate increase, to help you understand the reasons for the proposal and to enable your input. It was updated on 11 January to reflect Council's decision in December 2009 to pursue a one-off rate increase, to seek your comment about and rate increase and to give feedback about previous consultations.
A Community Consultation day was held to consult residents about their priorities for the future and to discuss the Infrastructure Levy on Saturday the 21st November 2009 from 10am to 4 pm at Asquith Leagues Club. There have been a number of community engagements to date.
This resource is provided for you to comment and contribute. This site is available for comment until Monday 19 April 2010
Please help us by contributing to this forum. Council values its community and it is important to us that our community is engaged and informed.
A website providing detailed information regarding the Infrastructure Levy has been created and will be available from the 19th January 2010 at: http://future.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/home.
A similar consultation space has been created as a resource for you to comment on the Community Strategic Plan please go to http://bangthetable.com/hornsbycommunityplan.
The following links reload the page with different content below.
Forum
| Sorted by Activity | Date
If a rate variation is approved, on what will the money be spent?
Updated 11 January 2010
Council will use the additional funds to replace the Hornsby Aquatic Centre, to replace the pedestrian overbridge at Hornsby and to provide additional recreational facilities more ...
by Hornsby Project Manager 2 4:54pm, 21 October 2009 |
5 comments
How big a variation is Council considering?
Updated 11 January 2010
Council has decided to seek a one-off rates increase of 5.8%, which for the average ratepayer would mean an additional cost of $60 to $70 per annum or $1.20 to $1.40 per week
Originally Council was considering a rate variation in the vicinity of 5% to 6%. Consultations to date indicate that a 5.8% rates increase is palatable to the majority of people spoken in order to have improved infrastructure and new facilities to meet the changing needs of the community.
by Hornsby Project Manager 2 4:53pm, 21 October 2009 |
4 comments
Why does Council wish to pursue a rate variation?
Updated 11 January 2010
The escalation of expenditure beyond the Consumer Price Index (CPI), coupled with the limitations imposed upon Council’s income by rate pegging, has seriously constrained more ...
by Hornsby Project Manager 2 4:52pm, 21 October 2009 |
18 comments
Why wasn't money set aside over time to fund improvements to infrastructure?
Council's maximum source of income, being rates, has escalated some 18.55% over the last five years. At the same time, Council's major expenditure items have escalated by more than 30%. This has created more ...
by Hornsby Project Manager 2 3:57pm, 20 October 2009 |
4 comments
What has Hornsby Council done to lower its own costs?
Updated 11 January 2010
There have been annual improvements in productivity through Council reviewing its operations and working smarter. Council continues to outsource work where viable. All services have been reviewed, and where possible benchmarked to ensure maximum efficiency.
A list of productivity improvements achieved over the past five years is included in the Library section on the right of this site.
by Hornsby Project Manager 2 3:29pm, 20 October 2009 |
6 comments
What do my rates pay for?
Yearly shopping for a shire
A new park, new books for the library and repairs to the shire’s roads - a lot goes into preparing a shopping list for a shire of 156,000 people.
What’s in our more ...
by Hornsby Project Manager 2 3:14pm, 20 October 2009 |
6 comments
Photographs
Library
Key Dates
Frequently Asked Questions
How bad is the problem at the Hornsby Aquatic Centre?
Will the Hornsby pedestrian overbridge be improved?
Why can't the improvements be funded from development contributions (Section 94)?
Does Council receive more money in rates from unit development?
How much will the rate variation cost?
What about people on low incomes and pensioners?
Who decides where the money will be spent?
How can I be sure the money will be spent on infrastructure?
Why has this need for infrastructure improvements arisen now?