Georges River Council wants Revenue NSW to have sole responsibility for collecting the Emergency Services Levy.
Georges River Council will resist becoming a debt collector for the state government under new funding model for the Emergency Services Levy.
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Instead, collection of the levy should be the sole responsibility of Revenue NSW, the council said.
The Emergency Services Levy supports Fire and Rescue, the Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service.
Currently, the levy is paid only by those who take out property insurance.
All mainland states, apart from NSW, have implemented property-based levies to fund their emergency services and the NSW government committed to reforming the NSW Emergency Services Levy along the same lines.
Currently, in NSW these services are funded through a combination of insurance premiums (73 per cent), local councils (about 11 per cent) and NSW government (about 14 per cent).
"From a council perspective, that equates to just over $3 million in this current financial year," Georges River Council mayor Elise Borg said.
"We have no ability to collect additional revenue for that levy so it is literally just absorbed out of our general revenue," she said.
While the council supports the reform, there are concerns how the levy will be collected.
"The proposal that there will be a fixed tiered levy based on land values applied to property owners. So that would vary based on almost how your land tax would operate," Cr Borg said.
"There are concerns that the council may be left to do the rating process on every single lot in the LGA to determine the value.
"Another concern is that the council may be required to collect that levy. It will be listed on our rates charges, so that the community thinks it is a fee that applies to a local government rate when it is actually a state government service. It's got nothing to do with local government. We would literally be the debt collector and passing the money on.
"Council's position is that Revenue NSW should retain the sole responsibility for the administrative, billing, collection and debt recovery of any future broad-based property levy.
"This would make it transparent how these services are funded. At the moment it is hidden in the insurance premiums. It is hidden in the council rates and it isn't really transparent how these services are funded," she said.
In a Mayoral Minute submitted to the May 25 council meeting, Cr Borg asked that Georges River Council make a submission to the Parliamentary Select Committee, which is considering levy funding options, to ensure the funding model of the levy is fairer, more transparent and more equitable across the community.
The council will also encourage the community to make submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee by the June 19 deadline.
It supports that Revenue NSW take sole responsibility for the administrative, billing collection and debt management of any new broad-based property levy.
And it opposes any funding model that requires local councils to act as the primary collection agency, through the inclusion of the levy on council rate notices, particularly where such arrangements would impose additional administrative costs, resource burdens and cost-shifting pressures on local government.
Cr Borg's Mayoral Minute was unanimously supported by the council.
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