The Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has again urged the State Government to review the structure of how it will allocate funding it receives through the Financial Assistance Grant program.
The appeal from Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Finance and Business Strategy Committee Councillor Geoff McDonald came after an announcement was made by the Federal Government on 6 April to pre-pay 75% of next year's funding.
"We appreciate the Federal Government providing an early payment to assist local governments, however, given the proposed changes in how the money is distributed from the State Government, the Toowoomba Region will likely continue to experience a significant reduction in funding," Cr McDonald said.
"Under the new model, our Region is expecting to see a reduction of almost $8 million in operational funding over the next three years unless the State Government reconsiders the way in which these funds are distributed.
"Council is responsible for maintaining $5.4 billion of community infrastructure, including approximately $2.8 billion of road and bridge network. The Financial Assistance Grant contributes to this community infrastructure upkeep and any reduction in this program would directly impact our ability to maintain these assets.
"If we aren't able to reverse this decision, it leaves us in the unenviable position of having to consider either an increase in rates or a reduction in service levels, if not both.
"This is a terrible outcome for our community who will inevitably be the ones who suffer from this decision."
Last week Council met with the Federal Member for Groom Garth Hamilton MP to bring the matter to his attention. Mr Hamilton strongly endorsed Council's calls for an urgent review.
"I share the concerns the Toowoomba Regional Council has with the reduction of funding they're expecting to receive and the negative impact this will have on the community," he said.
"This funding program is unique in that it is untied to specific projects, unlike the grant programs allocated by the State Government which are all project based.
"Financial Assistance Grants are provided so local governments can spend it on whatever they like, including plant and equipment.
"These grants are determined by population and with Queensland experiencing a significant increase over the past year, it has received a higher portion of the pool.
"Effectively, the allocation to Queensland continues to grow, and this is combined with the fact the Federal Government continues to increase the overall amount of the program each year, yet the allocation to the Toowoomba Regional Council is expected to decrease which is completely unacceptable.
"Local governments need this source of funding to ensure ratepayers aren't left to carry the load so the decision to decrease funding without a clear explanation to our Region, shows a complete lack of transparency from the State Government."
