The Narrandera Shire Council has agreed to a request for assistance from the Narrandera Showground Land Managers to reduce the financial impact of the raw water connection to the Narrandera Showground.
Council will make a contribution of $2,500 to the Showground Trust from the Mayor and General Manager Fund and establish a payment plan for the remainder of connection fees.
Given the nature of the request, staff chose not to provide a firm recommendation, but asked that Council consider the potential impacts on the current budgets and potential precedence that such a decision could create.
The large amount of work and improvements at Narrandera Showground was acknowledged and agreed to help connect raw water to the site as the next stage of ongoing improvement.
The quoted cost for the installation of the 150mm raw water service connection was $8,345 in accordance with Council’s fees and charges.
However, there will be substantial ongoing costs associated with the connection which have been communicated to the Land Managers, including $1,633p/a access charge and $0.32 per/kilolitre consumption charge.
Based on expected water usage on the site there is anticipated to be an operational cost in excess of $20,000 a year that will need to be paid by the Narrandera Showground Trust.
The Showground Land Managers applied for raw water connection after which a quote was provided for the installation in accordance with the 2024-25 Fees and Charges.
After reviewing the quote, enquiries were made to seek assistance from Council for the installation.
The Land Managers were advised on the annual cost of the service and provided with an estimated usage cost that is likely to exceed $20,000 per year.
Beautification of the facility will also result in increased maintenance.
It was pointed out to Council in a report from Council staff that whilst this was a semi-community not-for-profit facility, Council needed to be mindful that water activities were separately accounted for by Council and this event would result in Council having to pay for the water connection, access and user charges for all of its facilities via the General Fund into the Water Fund.
Additionally, there were other similar users who would potentially seek similar assistance should the opportunity arise, the Council was warned.
“The Water Fund does not have the ability to absorb the cost of any assistance that Council may consider in assisting with this request. Therefore, there would need to be an allocation from General Fund in the form of a donation or alike that ensures the transaction is transparent,” the Council report warned.
“Council could allow for the payment to be undertaken in instalments over a period in which no interest would be applied to the debt.
“With the high likelihood of a future request relating to operational costs, it was strongly recommended that Council provided advice to this request that such assistance would not be possible.”
Council traditionally sources donations to community organisations from the annual donations fund and or the mayor’s fund. Larger donations have had special allocations – Council provided relief from water charges to both the Narrandera Bowling Club and the Narrandera Golf Club in the past.
It was pointed out that the main risk associated with this request centred around the potential precedence that could be set if Council received future similar requests from other not-for-profit entities.
Three options were presented to Council at its meeting last week. They were:
- Provide assistance with a reduction of the connection cost and identify where the funding can be allocated from. This was not recommended as it would have a financial impact on Council.
- Provide assistance with an extended payment plan for the connection cost – which was the recommended option should assistance be provided.
- Decide not to support the request and advise the Narrandera Showground Land Managers to seek alternate funding through grants or other means.
The Council report concluded that the improvements and work undertaken by the Narrandera Showground Land Managers were considered a positive. However, the desire for further improvements, including the provision of raw water to the site, would increase the operational cost of the facility that may result in further financial requests in the future.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 16 January 2025.