A clear cost shifting exercise by the NSW Government has been rejected outright by Northern Beach Council.
At its meeting on 23 May, Council resolved to write again to the Treasurer, Shadow Treasurer, the Minister and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, the Minister and Shadow Minister for Local Government, all members of the crossbench of the NSW Legislative Council and local State Members, the President of Local Government NSW and the Chair of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, calling on the NSW Government to reinstate the Emergency Services Levy subsidy.
Mayor Heins said that Council vehemently opposes the highly damaging increase in the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) imposed on all councils without warning for the 2023/24 financial year.
Mayor Sue Heins said the sharp rise in the ESL through a 19.5% increase in the ESL and the removal of the subsidy paid by the NSW Government to offset levy increases in recent years would result in a $3.1 million spike (50% increase) in its cost in the 2023/24 financial year.
“This sudden announcement by the NSW Government came after we had finalised our draft 2023/24 financial year budget and started consulting our community on a plan we can no longer afford to fully fund. This means we will now have to look at cutting costs elsewhere to meet this sharp increase in the levy.
“It impacts our community because we may not be able to provide all the programs and services we had planned to provide in the 2023/24 financial year.
“Council calls on the NSW Government to reinstate the ESL subsidy.”
NSW Councils are being asked to fund significant rises in emergency services budgets.
The NSW Government has paid an Emergency Services Levy subsidy to councils since 2019/20. The subsidy covered the large increase in the Emergency Services Levy in recent years due to increasing costs following bushfires and floods along funding reforms to workers’ compensation for firefighters with work-related cancers.
In the 2023/24 financial year, Northern Beaches Council’s Emergency Services Levy will increase by $3.1 million, comprising a $1.5 million (19.5%) increase in the levy to $9.3 million, and $1.6 million through the removal of the levy subsidy.
About the Emergency Services Levy
The Emergency Services Levy is paid by councils and insurance companies to support NSW emergency services (Fire & Rescue, SES and RFS).
Insurers of property in NSW fund 73.7% of the costs. They collect an Emergency Services Levy from their customers as part of insurance premiums and this is passed onto the NSW Government.
All NSW Councils fund 11.7% of the costs of emergency services. Unlike the insurance industry, councils are not permitted to pass this levy onto our customers through rates notices.