For years, Cessnock Council has boasted a strong financial position, but a closer examination reveals a disturbing reality—its budget is artificially propped up by state and federal grants, along with natural disaster payments. Buried in this month’s council agenda is an alarming detail: Cessnock Council’s net operating budget is forecast to be in deficit by nearly $30 million. The question is, who is responsible for this financial disaster, and will residents soon be hit with a special rate variation to bail out the council?
Councillors Jessica Jurd and first-time Councillor Quintin King raised concerns about financial transparency, only to be shut down when King attempted to press the General Manager on the budget’s true state late last year. The signs are clear: Labor-run councils are once again cooking the books, setting up the newly elected independents to take the fall for their fiscal mismanagement.
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