One enormous rate rise was rejected. Now North Sydney council has eyes on 54% jump

North Sydney residents could face a rate rise of up to 54 per cent as the financially embattled council explores avenues to keep itself afloat just five months after the pricing regulator knocked back an application for an 87 per cent rate increase.

The council is seeking community feedback on three rate rise options, which would all be implemented over three years. The first maintains rates within the baseline “rate peg” – the maximum annual increase councils can charge ratepayers – of 10.3 per cent. The second option, termed the “treading water” scenario by council, would involve a 39.9 per cent rate increase, and the third, called the “eye to the future”, is a 54.2 per cent increase.

This means residents paying an average of $1076 a year in 2025-2026 could be paying $1506 or $1654 in 2028-2029 under the second or third options, respectively.

According to the council, maintaining the rate peg of 10.3 per cent over three years would result in infrastructure deteriorating and further complications for its $157 million infrastructure backlog.

The two higher options would aim to address these critical backlogs and boost future infrastructure investment.

“The reality is that expectations and funding do not always align. Understandably, no one welcomes the idea of paying higher rates,” the council said in the report.

Council needs approval from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to go beyond the rate peg.

The council’s renewed push to explore multiple revenue-raising options comes after it applied for a special rate variation of 87 per cent in February, which sparked a wave of anger from residents and businesses and was rejected by pricing regulator IPART in May.

A draft version of the council’s long-term financial plan laid bare the council’s “unsustainable” financial position, highlighting several “critical challenges”.

Chief among these is the cost of the fraught North Sydney Olympic Pool rebuild, which has nearly doubled from an initial estimate of $58 million to more than $122 million. The forecast date for completion has also been pushed back to December 4.

The blown-out pool rebuild costs have “significantly limited” capacity to invest in critical asset renewal, increased debt levels, and has placed pressure on operational capacity, according to the council.

The council said its current financial position is “no longer sufficient to sustain the level of service and infrastructure that our community has historically enjoyed,” adding that financial pressures were further compounded by ageing infrastructure and population growth challenges.

In a separate move to raise revenue, councillors in July voted to charge revellers $50 a ticket to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks display from Blues Point Park. Selling 8000 tickets would make about $400,000, which would help offset the $1 million it costs the council to host crowds.

Community consultation on the rate rise options will run for four weeks until December 3.

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