Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has joined the Local Government Association of Queensland's (LGAQ) campaign calling on Canberra to come up with a contemporary funding model for local governments across Queensland.
The "Don't leave us stuck in the 70's" campaign aims to remind politicians in Canberra that the current funding model supporting councils was first introduced in the mid-1970s and is not sustainable.
TRC Mayor Geoff McDonald said the Toowoomba Region was fully on board given Council had experienced significant funding decreases in recent times.
"I applaud LGAQ's campaign to highlight that funding of Council communities like the Toowoomba Region has been going backwards for some time.
"It's an issue we have been trying to highlight recently and for us in the Toowoomba Region, it is a genuine lived experience of funding having decreased over time.
"Councils like TRC shouldn't be punished financially because of our sound financial track record which is what has occurred recently with our Financial Assistance Grants (FA Grants).
"In the 2021/22 financial year, TRC received over $19 million in untied FA Grants from the Australian Government through the Queensland Grants Commission, an amount that was fairly consistent for quite some time.
"That amount to Council has been decreasing each year since 2021/22 and the amount we are expected to receive in the 2024/25 year is just $5.5 million, a $13.5 million decrease," Mayor McDonald said.
"To put that in perspective, a one per cent rate rise across our region is worth about $1.5 million so we are talking about a significant drop in FA Grant revenue during the past four financial years.
"If Council was to attempt to recoup that reduction in revenue through rates, we are talking about something like a 9 per cent rate rise across the board just to cover the loss of our FA Grants. Our community simply wouldn't accept that and neither should the decision-makers in Canberra who have allowed Councils like ours to be underfunded for so long," he said.
"The current funding model is not sustainable and has huge impacts on the services we provide to our communities. The decreases have been explained to us as being because of Council's ongoing sound financial position which is not fair at all to families across the Toowoomba Region.
"I call on relevant decision makers in Canberra to give local government a fair go into the future because it is having a genuine impact on families who are already struggling during the current cost-of-living crisis," Mayor McDonald said.
To find our more and lend your support to the LGAQ campaign visit - https://dontleaveusinthe70s.com.au/
