The panel has proposed increasing residential rates 7.5 per cent over three years to raise more money for council services.

Residents and ratepayers of Wollongong have been given just two weeks and a day to comment on the proposals raised by the panel.

Information included on the public consultation website haveyoursaywollongong.com.au shows the predicted impact of the 7.5 per cent rise on average rates in a variety of suburbs – from a $76 increase in Dapto to $148 in Austinmer.

But the figures provided in these consultation documents may not give the full picture, as rates will already rise each year by an amount set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

The 7.5 per cent rise over three years is likely to come on top of this IPART-set figure.

With each year’s rate rise compounding on the previous year’s figure, the actual rate hike could be 17.22 per cent over three years. This gives a more accurate figure that includes both the 7.5 per cent rise, and the IPART-pegged rises.

The Illawarra Mercury’s figures are informed speculation. But Wollongong City Council did not provide an answer to multiple inquiries on the topic on Wednesday.

A spokesman said only ‘‘as per their interview yesterday the panel is not keen to rely on a rate rise to address the issue of financial sustainability’’.

The Mercury’s figures are conservative – they are based on an annual IPART-pegged rise of 3 per cent.

The most recent IPART-pegged rise, for the 2013-14 financial year, was for 3.4 per cent.

Our analysis also does not take into consideration that the council could apply to IPART for a rise above and beyond the pegged rate.

So while is not clear what the final figure would be, we can be certain it would be considerably more than 7.5 per cent over three years.