Regional NSW council cuts services as it weighs 42pc rate hike

Albury City Council votes to reduce services amid mounting financial pressure Tue 28 Jul 2026 at 9:08am In short: Albury councillors have voted to reduce services amid a rising financial operating deficit. The cuts will see reduced library hours, a weekly closure at the city's major art gallery and the end of face-to-face visitor information services. What's next? Council is not ruling out applying for a Special Rate Variation of up to 42 per cent, with community consultation to close at the end of July. Albury councillors have voted six-two to reduce opening hours at some of the regional New South Wales city's facilities and make its Visitor Information Centre unstaffed as the council works to address a multi-million-dollar budget deficit. The changes, approved at last night's meeting, form part of the council's Financial Sustainability Program, which aims to reduce costs. The measures will see the Visitor Information Centre at the LibraryMuseum become unstaffed, reduced opening hours at Lavington Library and the Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) close on Mondays. The changes are expected to save about $110,000 a year. The service reductions come as councillors consider whether to apply to the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a Special Rate Variation (SRV), with options of a 40 per cent increase over three years, or a 42 per cent increase over two years. Any increase would require IPART approval before taking effect. An update on the Financial Sustainability Program before councillors last night said the council had reduced its projected General Fund deficit from more than $22 million in late 2025 to $18.9 million. The meeting heard council had delivered about $1.6 million in ongoing savings with a potential further $3.3 million in savings through changes to services, property management and day-to-day operations. Councillor Darren Cameron, who voted against the motion, said the measures did not go far enough. "In my view we're only dabbling with the measures that have been taken so far,"he said. "We have to reconcile ourselves to the fact that we are going to have to massively reduce services if we are going to avoid a SRV." Cr Cameron said he believed council should consider more significant service reductions, including placing MAMA into care and maintenance until the city's financial position improved. Councillor Stuart Baker, who supported the motion, said there was no simple solution to the council's financial challenges. "I am having trouble seeing an easy path that Albury City can get out of it," he said. "We can't get out of it by just cutting everything and reducing services because then Albury isn't the way we want it to be. "People come here and live here because it is a good place to live, work and do business and bring up families." Speaking during the public forum, Albury Ratepayers Association spokesperson Susan Keighran said the group was "representing a large number of the community that are deeply concerned about the proposed SRV". "My primary concern is that Albury City Council has shifted the financial burden primarily onto ratepayers without first exhausting internal structural reforms," she said. "I appreciate that managing a growing city like ours involves difficult decisions and I don't underestimate that responsibility for a second." Ms Keighran said many residents were already struggling with rising living costs. Ms Keighran said the association believed council should continue looking for savings before asking residents to pay higher rates. "We, the community, are asking council to look within themselves, sort out your own back of house, balance incoming funds with affordable projects and trim some financial fat,"she said. "We, the ratepayers and renters that make up this wonderful community, should not be expected to be a bank for Albury City." She said higher rates would also affect local businesses as households reduced spending on dining out, entertainment and other discretionary purchases. Community consultation on the proposed SRV closes on July 31. Councillors are expected to consider the feedback before deciding whether to lodge an application with IPART. [Image text:] MURRAY ART MUSEUM ALBURY