Wagga City Council is facing shortfall of nearly $5 million in federal ‘Roads to Recovery’ funds over the next few years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That’s according to a motion to be debated by councillors during Monday’s meeting.
Wagga Mayor Greg Conkey told The Daily Advertiser that the declining federal funds would have a profound impact on the council spending either on road or other areas.
“It’s a major concern that we are going to lose nearly $5m in Roads to Recovery funding over a five-year period,” he said.
“We have a significant backlog of $123m across council’s sealed and unsealed roads network
“We have about 2200 kilometres worth of roads so we have a significant amount of roads to maintain and this is going to make it even more difficult for us to maintain those roads in a safe manner that people expect.”
Some estimates have put the bill for fixing roads within Wagga City Council at $200m.
Councillors will be asked to endorse contacting Riverina MP and Transport Minister Michael McCormack as well as Assistant Roads Minister Scott Buchholz to request roads funding continue at its “current level”.
According to a council report, Wagga received more than $13.1m from Roads to Recovery for July 2014 to June 2019 but was in line for just $8.2m until June 2024.
Cr Conkey said he did not know if Wagga City Council was alone in its reduction of future funding or if councils across NSW would be affected.
“We certainly will need to have a close look at the budget to see if this matter can be addressed,” he said.
“If the council decides to put more money into roads, then that means other programs will need to be cut back; that is something councillors will have to decide.”
In a letter to the council, Mr McCormack and Mr Buchholz stated that $553 million in Roads to Recovery funding had been allocated across NSW in accordance with recommendations from the Local Government Grants Commission.
“This funding will help councils target genuine road investment that will stimulate local employment and help get people home safer and sooner,” the letter stated.
“We would like to urge councils to focus their funding on projects that improve the safety and quality of their local road networks.”
While you’re with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to you inbox each day at 6am from the Daily Advertiser? To make sure you’re up to date with all the Wagga news sign up here.