I guess it can’t be said to have come as a great surprise, but as I have said elsewhere, it was certainly a disappointing outcome, to say the least. With independent financial advice provided to both Councils indicating that a merger would be ill-advised, and in the face of the recommendation from the Independent Local Government Review Panel that mergers should proceed only where they can be shown to make, amongst other things, a “substantial contribution to addressing financial problems” the NSW Government went its own way. (more…)
The QPR Blog
…local government stuff you never even thought to ask about…
Property Valuations
In the last couple of months, all Palerang residents should have received a Notice of Valuation from the NSW Valuer General, so I thought it might be worthwhile going over how these valuations are derived and how they are used by Council in determining council rates. (more…)
Community Committees
It’s been a pretty torrid month, dealing with all the issues arising from merger proposals and their associated inquiries and submissions. In the process, however, I had occasion to reflect on the ways in which a Council interacts with its community. Of course, this happens in various ways, some perhaps more welcome than others. (more…)
Local Government Reform (Update 01/16)
They say a week’s a long time in politics, and local government in NSW is no exception at the moment. The local government reform process has moved rather quickly since IPART released its assessment of NSW Councils back in November. (more…)
Weed Control
The control of noxious weeds is sometimes a prickly issue, if you’ll pardon the pun, but it’s very much that time of the year so I thought it might be useful to provide a little background to the management of noxious weeds. (more…)
Local Government Reform (Update 10/15)
Well, we are told that the end of the process that has been under way for the better part of the last four years is drawing near. (more…)
Special Rate Variations
This seemed like a timely opportunity to provide an update on Council’s ongoing efforts to address the directives provided under the NSW Government’s Fit For the Future (FFTF) program. (more…)
Development Applications
Following recent posts on development processes, I thought I might take a step back and take a broader look at the Development Application (DA) process. (more…)
The Electronic Housing Code
In a previous post I made reference to the Electronic Housing Code (EHC), a new on-line planning approval tool. Now that Palerang data is available through the EHC, I thought I might remind readers of this new on-line service. (more…)
Section 149 Planning Certificates
Section 149 Planning Certificates are issued by local Councils under the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979. They contain information about how a property may be used and restrictions that might apply to development. Under the Conveyancing Act 1919, a Section 149 Planning Certificate must be attached to any contract of sale for a property. (more…)