ORANGE City Council wants to maintain autonomy over its domestic waste management costs.
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Council is expected to make a submission responding to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's draft review of waste management charges made by Local Government Areas.
A recommendation to Thursday night's OCC meeting is to object to IPARTS proposal to benchmark domestic waste management charges.
However the provision of clear and unambiguous pricing principles is likely to be supported.
Environmental Sustainability Policy Chair, Cr David Mallard said council will consider its position carefully in response to IPART's investigation into the wide variations of domestic waste management charges between councils of similar sizes. Cr Mallard said a planned LGNSW forum in March would provide a clearer picture of the implications for councils.
"Clearly we all need to engage with this and look very carefully at what the implications would be," Cr Mallard said. "I think we've really got to look at the fact there are so many different ways in the way councils provide their waste services and the level of things they do.
"Orange does great work, things like the green bins, we're composting so much stuff, and we're recycling as well.
"But if we need to continue providing better waste services then we need to make the case that the pricing structure ... should have clear principles and we all should be sure that ratepayers are getting value for money out of their waste services.
"But also that we're able to continue providing the level of service that people need and the environment needs."
IPART's draft report, released in mid-December, initially recommended the adoption of pricing principles and an annual benchmark peg on the domestic waste management charge, starting at 1.1 percent for the 2022-23 financial year.
Cr Mallard said trying to fit services to an external number would be difficult.
"Clearly we're wanting to be as responsible with our waste as possible, to have as little go into landfill, recycle everything we can. It's important we deal with all those challenges."
He also said IPART's recommendation of monitoring council charges instead of pegging, was problematic.
"Any council increase above that [benchmark] will be potentially asked to give a `please explain' and then have to put a bunch of time into explaining everything that is happening in the [that council's] waste area, and why it's affecting what we need to charge."
IPART has extended the window for submissions to April 29 after lobbying from the Local Government NSW.
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