Byron Council faces a bill of at least $322,000 to complete the next stage of its long-running investigation into Mullumbimby’s future water supply, as it simultaneously prepares the ground for a possible 35 per cent increase in general rates.
A report to Thursday’s Water and Sewer Advisory Committee says a strategic planning assessment of Mullumbimby’s water options would cost at least $247,000 in external consultancy fees, plus a minimum $75,000 in Council staff costs.
At the upper end, the consultant component alone could reach $472,000 before GST, depending largely on the depth of technical analysis and community engagement undertaken.
Council currently has around $260,000 set aside for the project, meaning at least another $62,000 would need to be found if the work proceeds. Staff say the money could be drawn from the Water Fund, which is forecast to have a capital works reserve balance of around $1.5 million by the end of this financial year.
The figures give fresh weight to concerns raised by Deputy Mayor Jack Dods when councillors debated the issue in June.
‘My fear… is we are just going to spend more money on reports, more money on consultants, more money on Council staff time to get another staff report back that says we can’t do this,’ Cr Dods said.
Labor councillor Peter Doherty told the same meeting that around $640,000 of Council money had already been spent examining Mullumbimby’s future water supply.
‘We’re potentially asking ratepayers for a 35 per cent rate increase,’ Cr Doherty said.
‘I think it’s very important that we look at trying to rein in the spending and just connect to Rous and move on.’
The latest expenditure comes as Council is consulting the community over a proposed Special Rate Variation which would increase ordinary land rates by 12 per cent, 10 per cent and 9.6 per cent over three years from July 2027, amounting to a cumulative rise of about 35 per cent.
The new Mullumbimby water work follows Council’s June decision to continue investigating a range of options rather than committing solely to a permanent connection with the Rous County Council regional network.
Those options include hybrid models combining Rous water with Lavertys Gap Weir, as well as a larger treatment plant at Lavertys and a complete Rous connection.
The new consultant report says the existing decision-making process has lacked a sufficiently structured and transparent framework, limiting objectivity and contributing to ‘misinformation and reduced public trust’. It warns this could also weaken Council’s ability to secure future State funding.
The proposed assessment would include updated hydrological modelling, detailed financial and economic analysis, stakeholder engagement, a multi-criteria assessment and a detailed comparison of the competing supply options.
However, Council has also been told not to bank on help from Macquarie Street.
Staff say the State Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program is fully committed and there is currently no money available through other existing water infrastructure grant programs.
A wider State review of funding arrangements may not be completed until 2028, with the committee report concluding it is unclear when, or even if, further State funding will become available.
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