Budget & finances
Comparing raw dollar totals between councils isn't very useful — bigger councils naturally have bigger numbers. What does tell you about a council's financial health are normalised indicators: the standard ratios that every NSW council reports against the Office of Local Government's benchmarks, plus per-property figures you can compare to the NSW average. The ratios below are from the NSW Government's 'Your Council' / OLG time-series data for 2023–24. (The OLG classifies Blayney as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.) Blayney is a small council — about 7,800 residents across 1,525 km² — which is the background to its main miss: own-source revenue, i.e. how much of its income it raises itself rather than receiving as grants.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Operating performance ratio
- Whether everyday income covers everyday running costs.
- Own-source operating revenue ratio
- How much of the council's income it raises itself vs. grants from other governments.
- Unrestricted current ratio
- Whether the council has enough spare cash to pay its short-term bills.
- Debt service cover ratio
- How comfortably operating cash covers the council's loan repayments.
- Rates & annual charges outstanding ratio
- The share of rates bills that haven't been paid by year-end.
- Cash expense cover ratio
- How many months the council could keep paying bills if income stopped.
- Infrastructure backlog ratio
- The cost of fixing run-down assets, as a share of what those assets are worth.
- Asset maintenance ratio
- Whether the council actually spends what it should on maintaining its assets.
- Building & infrastructure renewals ratio
- Whether assets are being renewed as fast as they wear out.
- Operating result (surplus / deficit)
- Income minus expenses for the year's normal operations.
- OLG benchmark
- The healthy target set by the state for each financial ratio.
- Average residential rate
- The typical yearly general-rates bill for a home in the area.
- Office of Local Government (OLG)
- The NSW body overseeing councils; publishes the financial data.
The numbers
- $925 / yearAbout 23% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203. In 2023–24 it was $742, against a NSW average of ~$1,140. The jump between the two years reflects the first year of Council's IPART-approved special variation (see Rates & fees). (OLG time-series data.)
- What Council itself budgeted for 2026–27
- Average residential ordinary rate ~$1,005 (Ordinary), ~$1,009 (Blayney & Carcoar), ~$1,000 (Millthorpe)From Council's own adopted 2026/27 Revenue Policy — the rating structure has a $490 base amount in each residential sub-category plus an ad valorem component on land value. Waste charges are separate.
- Operating performance ratio +2.8%Above the >0% benchmark — a small operating surplus.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 47.0% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark. Council depends more heavily on grants and contributions than the benchmark assumes, which is common for small rural councils with a narrow rate base.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 6.23×, debt service cover 12.19×, 24.9 months cash (all pass)All three liquidity and debt measures are comfortably above their benchmarks.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 4.5% and renewals 64.7% miss (2023–24); asset maintenance 101.9% passesThe OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the backlog easing slightly to 4.2%, asset maintenance rising to 113.3%, and building & infrastructure renewals rising to 106.4% — i.e. above the >100% benchmark in that later year.
- 1.7%Well below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
- 2026–27 budget as adopted
- Consolidated operating deficit of $2.078M; capital budget $10.555MGeneral Fund deficit $2.394M offset by a $316k Sewer Fund surplus. Council attributes the deficit largely to the finalisation of the prepayment of the Financial Assistance Grant in 2026/27. (Delivery Program & Operational Plan 2026/27, adopted 16 June 2026.)
| Indicator (2023–24) | Blayney | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.8% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 47.0% | > 60% | No | |
| 6.23× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 12.19× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 1.7% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 24.9 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 4.5% | < 2% | No | |
| 101.9% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 64.7% | > 100% | No |
Blayney's financial-health indicators, 2023–24, against the NSW Office of Local Government benchmarks. 'Meets?' simply states whether the figure is on the benchmark side of the line. Source: NSW Government 'Your Council' / OLG time-series data, 2023–24.
These ratios are the standard, size-independent way to read a council's finances, which is why we use them instead of raw dollar totals. Blayney met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24, with strong liquidity and rate collection and a small operating surplus; the misses are own-source revenue (47.0% against a >60% benchmark), the infrastructure backlog and the renewals ratio — and the OLG's 2024–25 file shows renewals back above benchmark at 106.4% and asset maintenance at 113.3%. Financial sustainability is an explicit, ongoing theme in Council's own documents: the 2026/27 Delivery Program and Operational Plan states that the year is the final year of an approved 10% special variation, that additional factors emerged in 2025/26 (higher waste-landfill environmental compliance costs and a sharp rise in fuel prices), and that further remedial action could include reviewing services or a further special variation. Council also names uncertainty about the commencement of the McPhillamys Gold Project as a factor in its revenue outlook. We present the numbers, Council's own stated position and the benchmarks; whether that's good value is for you to judge from the sources below.
Sources — check it yourself
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2023–24 (all NSW councils, benchmark ratios) · 2023–24
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2024–25 (infrastructure ratios update) · 2024–25
- Blayney Shire Council — Delivery Program 2026/27–2029/30 & Operational Plan 2026/27 · Adopted 16 Jun 2026
- Blayney Shire Council — 2026/27 Revenue Policy & Schedule of Fees and Charges · 2026–27
- Blayney Shire Council — Annual Reports & Financial Statements · 2024–25
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.