Northern Rivers landowners can breathe a sigh of relief, council rates will not rise sharply this year

Northern Rivers local governments and landowners have had a reprieve - for now.

One increase in NSW Government charges on local councils will not go ahead and Clarence Valley Council will not have to find an additional $260,000 this financial year.

However, there is no guarantee that by July 2020 the emergency services levy hike will not again be back on the books and, there is also no guarantee that the Berejiklian Government's plan to abandon unimproved value as the baseline for land rate calculations is either dead, buried or cremated.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 August 2019:

The NSW government is backflipping on a controversial plan to force councils across the state to pay for a $14 million emergency services levy hike.

The Berejiklian government wanted the state's 128 councils to share the financial burden of the increase in the emergency services levy to fund reforms to workers’ compensation for firefighters suffering from work-related cancers.

The move follows a radical proposal to change the way NSW council rates are calculated, that would drive up costs for owners of expensive apartments, and steep increases in waste management fees in some council areas.

The emergency services levy hike was opposed by the local government sector, which voiced concerns that the increase, which varied in amounts between areas, would force councils to cut funds to services and facilities.

Local Government NSW president Linda Scott said that councils' share of the emergency services budget was embedded in council rates, with additional costs recovered through insurance premiums.....

In 2017, Premier Gladys Berejiklian's shelved plans for a new system to fund fire and emergency services in response to backlash over sharp increases in what some property owners would pay.

Labor's local government spokesman Greg Warren said the decision to grant NSW's councils a year-long reprieve from the levy increase was "little comfort to councils across the state".

"This is another backflip from the government on this issue, they've simply kicked the can down the road.....

Ms Hancock said the government would continue to "consult with local councils to better manage the impacts of the emergency services levy, especially on their annual budgeting cycles".