Wollongong City Council's top bureaucrat has warned public assets could be sold and services cut as the council attempts to bring its troubled finances under control.
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General manager David Farmer yesterday went public with his concerns about the city's financial future, saying "nothing was off the agenda" when it came to selling off assets, scaling back services or even raising rates over the next 12-18 months.
His comments came after a NSW government report on the state's 152 councils last month found Wollongong to be in a moderate financial position, meaning it had recorded "minor to moderate operating deficits".
"This is hardly a resounding endorsement of our future financial viability," Mr Farmer said.
"It's saying we are currently unable to replace all our assets [when necessary] ... and that we need to take some action to address this.
"If you can't maintain your assets then things fail, they come out of service and they inconvenience the community."
He said the council did not have enough money to fund projects such as the kiosk at Mount Keira lookout, the Berkeley Community Centre, the $5.3 million Bald Hill revamp or stabilisation works on Harry Graham Drive at Mount Kembla.
General manager David Farmer."We have been working on [stabilising Mount Keira Road] and we anticipate being able to commence work on that reasonably soon, but the kiosk at the top of Mount Keira has failed and reached the end of its useful life and we don't have the resources to prioritise it higher and to replace it at this stage," he said.
The council was also struggling to maintain its "bread and butter" facilities, like footpaths, roads and public toilets, which were valued at $2.3 billion but would cost more than $3.5 billion to replace, Mr Farmer said.
"Our business turns over less than $300 million a year, so we've got a fairly small turnover business to look after vast amount of assets," he said.
"We're replacing some of them at the moment, but we've still got a suite of them that are not at the standard that our community would expect.
"They are past their use-by date."
Mr Farmer said the council would ask the community whether they would prefer to sell, replace or simply remove various buildings, facilities and services in order to make savings.
He said the council could look at privatising assets that had an income stream - such as public pools or leisure centres - but noted many of its paths, roads or toilets simply couldn't be sold.
"I think to put anything off the agenda would be wrong - they are just decisions the council will have to make and we will have to have conversations with the community in doing those things," he said.
Mr Farmer also said he could not rule out a rate rise in the near future, but said he would prefer to look at whether Wollongong council could save money on services.
UNDERFUNDED PROJECTS
• Mount Keira lookout kiosk
• Stabilisation works on Harry Graham Drive
• Berkeley Community Centre
• Road renewal in the Dapto and Berkeley area
• A $5.3 million master plan to redevelop Bald Hill
• Thirroul Beach pavilion and kiosk refurbishment
• North Wollongong Surf Life Saving Club refurbishment
• Purpose-built Helensburgh library
• Southern suburbs regional playground and refurbishments at William Beach Park in Brownsville and Nicholson Park in Woonona
Council assets that need to be maintained
• 717 buildings
• 151 playgrounds
• 87 km cycleways or paths
• 419 km footpaths
• 890 km roads
• 282 car parks
• 638 km stormwater pipes
