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.
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.
- $1,990 / yearAbout 75% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140 — reflecting a large, dispersed mountain LGA with a long, costly road and asset network. A separate domestic waste charge (~$552) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating deficit — performance ratio −7.2%Below the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Tight liquidity (1.24×), ~7.5 months cash; debt service cover 2.63× (passes)Unrestricted current ratio was below the >1.5× benchmark that year, though cash cover is adequate.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 3.5% (above benchmark); renewals 109.9% (passes)Renewals above 100%, but a higher repair backlog and asset maintenance at the benchmark line.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 72.7% (passes)Above the >60% benchmark.
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $552 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Blue Mountains | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −7.2% | > 0% | No | |
| 72.7% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 1.24× | > 1.5× | No | |
| 2.63× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 8.8% | < 5% | No | |
| 7.5 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 3.5% | < 2% | No | |
| 100.0% | > 100% | No | |
| 109.9% | > 100% | Yes |
Blue Mountains' 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. Blue Mountains met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24; the gaps — an operating deficit, tight liquidity, a higher infrastructure backlog, and rates outstanding (8.8%) above the under-5% benchmark — reflect the cost of maintaining a long, dispersed network of roads and assets across mountain townships. (The OLG classifies Blue Mountains as a metropolitan-fringe council, so it is benchmarked at under 5% for rates outstanding; regional and rural councils are benchmarked at under 10%.) We present the numbers and their benchmarks; whether that's good value is for you to judge from the sources below.
Sources — check it yourself
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.