NarrabriShire facing $5.5m deficit

NARRABRI Shire Council is forecasting a $5.5m deficit in the next financial year, with staff citing rising costs, reduced grant funding and cost shifting from other levels of government among the key budget pressures.

The council’s 2026–27 draft operational plan and budget was tabled at the May meeting, with staff addressing the seriousness of the matter.

General manager Eloise Chaplain acknowledged that Narrabri Shire was not alone in facing financial challenges.
“We are not unique here in Narrabri Shire, this is right across NSW,” she said, pointing to rising costs, ageing infrastructure, grant dependency and increasing cost shifting onto councils.

“This operational plan is not where we want to be, but it is where we are, we can’t escape that.

“LGNSW did a recent report and within NSW it is around $1.5bn in cost shifting to councils which is about $500 per ratepayer.

“I really would love to be a progressive council … to renew and sustain our assets to a standard that is acceptable to the community, and to have some great events and be a really great place to live.”

Chaplain said the council is becoming more restricted in terms of unrestricted cash levels.

“We are working very hard to increase them,” she said.

“We want to work with the councillor group on producing a financial future sustainability strategy.

“There’s a lot of work to do in the coming year.”

Councillors heard that compared to last year’s proposed budget, total income is forecast to decrease by 7 per cent, including a 60 per cent reduction in grant revenue, mainly due to a 48 per cent reduction in capital grants.

Investment income is also expected to fall by 11 per cent.

At the same time, the council’s operating costs continue to rise, with employee costs increasing by 6 per cent, while materials and services have effectively remained flat despite inflationary pressures.

Director of corporate and community services Mark Watt told the meeting the budget had been heavily scrutinised to limit unnecessary expenditure while maintaining service delivery.

“We have worked this budget really hard,” he said.

Watt also noted that borrowing costs are projected to decrease by 18 per cent as the council continues to reduce existing loans, despite new borrowings anticipated into the future.

During the meeting, mayor Darrell Tiemens acknowledged the reality of the conversations ahead, saying the questions being raised around savings, revenue and service delivery are the same questions the community will rightly be asking as well.

Councillors also discussed the difficult balance between rates and services.

“Everyone wants lower rates… but it would come at a cost of lower services,” Cr Tiemens said.

As part of the budget discussion, the council also tabled its capital works program for the coming financial year.
Among the bigger items are $1m towards the Boggabri Civic Precinct and $1.1m towards the Wee Waa Community and Business Hub.

Roads again feature as a considerable portion of the capital works, with $4m for shire roads and $7.3m towards regional roads including the sealing of Narrabri Shire’s portion of Rangari Road.

Total operational expenditure on roads makes up almost a quarter of the council’s total spending for the year.

The draft Operational Plan, Revenue Policy and associated budget documents were endorsed by councillors and will now go on public exhibition, providing the community with the opportunity to review the documents and provide feedback before final adoption.

DYLAN SMITH