00:01There we go.
00:03A pint, a palmy and a side of public outcry.
00:06Pretty outrageous to be honest.
00:08It's hard for young families.
00:10Yass Valley residents could soon be forking out 76% more in rates over four years.
00:17For a $1200 rate that could look like an increase of around $4.40 a week.
00:23Paying more money for rates because of maladministration is unpalatable.
00:30We're at the financial precipice of the cliff for a lot of families.
00:33Last night the council voted five to four to take the measure to public consultation.
00:38It's a great step towards council becoming a financial sustainable entity
00:42and being able to provide the community with the services that they so desperately want.
00:47Sobering new modelling shows council needs an extra $8.3 million a year
00:52to keep operating.
00:54We've found that we have a $17 million backlog in roads.
00:58That's confirmed what we already were seeing on the ground.
01:01That our road network is deteriorating and we don't have enough funds.
01:05Public consultation will run for the next six weeks
01:08with the council stressing no final rate hike decision has been made.
01:13But the dire state of the local government coffers means there's no way out without pain.
01:20Local businesses say customers can't handle any more cost of living pressures.
01:25If they don't have money to buy the food and pay the bills,
01:29the first thing will go like small cafes, hairdresser or a gift shop.
01:34There are over 2,300 businesses in Yass Valley.
01:37They need people walking through the door.
01:39Just hope that it works, you know.
01:41If we need the money, there's not a lot that you can do.
01:43Any special rate variation must be approved by the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
