Kiama council's very expensive 'administrative error' costs its thousands of dollars

The error stemmed from a request to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to increase rates last year.

All-up 86 councils applied for the one-off offer of a rate rise - and all were approved.

However, Kiama council was the only one that requested the rate be temporary rather than permanent.

That was due to what CEO Jane Stroud called an "administrative error" - the motion put before councillors and approved mistakenly requested that temporary rise.

Council had asked IPART to change it to permanent, but the body had previously told the Mercury that wasn't going to happen.

Now it's official, Kiama council has formally had that request rejected, which means its coming 5.1 per cent rate rise is really only 4.2 per cent, because the "temporary" 0.9 per cent has to be removed.

That equated to a loss of $174,000 in rates revenue, which council papers state is a big loss, and which will occur each year from now on.

"The financial position of council is a significant concern," the papers stated.

"Council have been extremely transparent about this situation and shared regular information and reports on the financial status of the business. The reduction of $174,000 has an adverse effect on operating and unrestricted performance results, noting that the reduced rate base will continue into the future."

For ratepayers, the IPART rejection means an average saving of around $138 on yearly rates notices.

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