Wingecarribee Shire Councillor Rachel Russell is proposing the adoption of a Finance Committee before Council commits to significant increases in land, water and sewer rates, and other fees and charges.
Cr Russell has a Notice of Motion on Wednesday’s Council Agenda to put the Terms of Reference for Shoalhaven’s successful Finance Committee on public exhibition. Also proposed is that Council’s budget should be provided with costings for each line item, and what spending is critical, important or deferrable to support Councillors to make well-informed decisions.
Cr Russell said, “Shoalhaven has saved millions with its model of Finance Committee. What’s stopping us from doing the same in the Southern Highlands?”
Financial consultancy firm AEC has just finalised a review into Wingecarribee Shire Council’s financial position. The review has identified a structural deficit in the millions that needs to be addressed to shore up Wingecarribee’s financial sustainability. A notice of motion Cr Russell put to the February 2026 meeting of Council revealed there has been little analysis of best value in service delivery in the costings used in the review.
“How can we be asking our residents and ratepayers to pay us more of their hard-earned money, when we haven’t yet assessed whether there’s a big hole in the bucket utilising a majority of out-of-area contractors for service delivery, in a regional area, instead of supporting local jobs and re-building our works department?
“That’s just one example of where a Finance Committee can help with some business cases, and finding efficiencies we haven’t yet identified,” she said.
“We have to address this budget black hole to be able to do our basics well. Why would we spend more large sums of money on consultants when we know we have highly qualified professionals in our community who are willing and ready to volunteer their services to support the best possible outcomes for the Southern Highlands?” Given the success of Shoalhaven’s Finance Committee, surely its a no-brainer that the easy and best way for Wingecarribee Shire Council to achieve financial sustainability and fix the roads is to walk our talk, and work with our community”.
