Wollongong councillors have raised questions about whether the council can afford West Dapto’s continued expansion, with one labelling the plan to build thousands of new houses ‘‘dumb growth’’ that could disadvantage ratepayers for generations.
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During Monday night’s debate on the council’s annual plan, independent councillor Vicki Curran asked the administration to provide a report on the long-term costs of the area so councillors could see if this year’s budget was viable.
Greens councillor George Takacs agreed, saying the council needed to think seriously about whether West Dapto was a ‘‘smart way of growing a city’’.
‘‘This needs to be public because the implications of this going awry [will affect] the current and future ratepayers of the city of Wollongong,’’ he said.
‘‘Are we committing to a long-term unfolding disaster with this West Dapto release?’’
‘‘My concern ... is that, for the infrastructure we have to build to enable the development of West Dapto, the cost of that and maintaining that infrastructure is not going to be covered from the rate income we get from that area.
‘‘If that turns out to be the case, then we are completely going in the opposite direction from the path we embarked on with all this financial sustainability stuff we’ve been discussing for several years.’’
He said West Dapto could turn out to be "dumb growth" and the council should look at lower-cost alternatives, such as more development within existing areas.
Last month, lord mayor Gordon Bradbery revealed the suburb's new roads would cost at least $500 million, with the long-awaited Fowlers Road bridge bill jumping from $45 million to $90 million in the past two years.
Cr Curran asked for the report to include West Dapto's capital works budget and how much of that budget would come from revenue contributed by existing ratepayers, as well as how much would come from future property owners.
But general manager David Farmer said any financial information would be "significantly inaccurate" as the council's modelling was based on variable factors including the scope of works needed, the rate of development and possible third-party funding available for West Dapto.
"The issue is the accuracy of the data," Mr Farmer said.
"We have a model, but the overlying information in it is extremely variable."
Despite support from councillors, including Labor's Janice Kershaw and Greg Petty, who noted councillors had repeatedly asked for the project costs, the push to gain more financial information on West Dapto was lost six votes to seven.
Councillors eventually voted to place the annual plan and budget on exhibition.
