Lake Macquarie sits on $1.6m unspent from stormwater levy after council vote
Lake Macquarie's stormwater levy was endorsed 8-3, but three Liberal councillors voted against, citing unspent funds.
Lake Macquarie City Council voted on Monday night to update its stormwater levy policy, which charges residential units $12.50 and businesses up to $5,000 per property. Labor and Independent councillors supported the revision, but Liberal representatives Jack Antcliff, Jason Pauling and Matt Schultz opposed it, calling it a backdoor rate rise.
The levy raised $2.44 million in its first year but only $872,000 was spent, leaving $1.6 million set aside. The council introduced the levy to tackle a backlog of 166 stormwater facilities needing repair; the backlog has since fallen to 127, with only one project completed.
Pauling argued the council should have funded these projects from its $19.1 million annual surplus instead of imposing new charges.
- 8-3 approval
- Vote result
- $2.44 million
- First year revenue
- $872,000
- First year spending
- $1.6 million
- Unspent funds held
Why it mattersCouncils can raise new charges for specific services like stormwater management, but how fast that money is spent and whether existing budgets could cover the work are legitimate questions voters ask.
AustraliaLake Macquarie residents paying the stormwater levy can now expect faster repairs to local drainage and flood-prevention infrastructure, though critics say the charge was unnecessary.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
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