← Carrathool Shire Council
Budget & finances

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 Carrathool as a Rural council in group 9, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.)

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.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

Benchmarks met (2023–24)
8 of 9Operating performance, unrestricted current ratio, debt service cover, rates outstanding, cash expense cover, infrastructure backlog, asset maintenance and building & infrastructure renewals were all on the benchmark side of the line. Own-source revenue was the one that was not. This is what the reported figures show against the OLG's thresholds — see the table for each value.
$510 / yearAbout 58% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $482, vs NSW ~$1,140). Rate levels reflect land values and a council's rating structure, not the level of service — this figure is not a measure of either. A separate domestic waste charge (~$566 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG time-series data.)
Operating performance ratio 23.1%Above the >0% benchmark — the council's continuing operating revenue exceeded its operating expenses in that year.
Liquidity & cash
Unrestricted current ratio 17.29×, debt service cover 29.81×, 25.4 months cash (all pass)All three are well above their benchmarks of >1.5×, >2× and >3 months respectively.
Self-funding
Own-source revenue 33.1% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark — the single benchmark not met in 2023–24. The ratio measures the share of total operating revenue a council raises itself (rates, annual charges, user fees) as opposed to grants and contributions; a lower figure means a larger share comes from grants and contributions.
Infrastructure
Backlog 0.2%, asset maintenance 101.3%, renewals 125.8% — all three pass (2023–24)The OLG's 2024–25 file shows the backlog unchanged at 0.2% and asset maintenance rising to 109.7%. The 2024–25 cell for building & infrastructure renewals reads 0.0%, which is how the OLG time-series stores an unreported figure — we do not publish it as a real value.
Where the rates come from
~$4.31 million in ordinary rates for 2026/27, of which ~$3.55 million is farmlandCouncil's adopted 2026/27 rate structure yields about $2.17M from general farmland, $1.35M from irrigable farmland and $25,900 from farmland west, against about $479,000 from residential and $291,000 from business categories. Minimum rates are $445 residential and $600 business and farmland.
7.5%Below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
Indicator (2023–24)CarrathoolMeets?
23.1%> 0%Yes
33.1%> 60%No
17.29×> 1.5×Yes
29.81×> 2×Yes
7.5%< 10%Yes
25.4 months> 3 monthsYes
0.2%< 2%Yes
101.3%> 100%Yes
125.8%> 100%Yes

Carrathool'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. Carrathool's reported figures were on the benchmark side of the line for 8 of the 9 indicators in 2023–24. The exception is own-source revenue at 33.1% against a >60% benchmark, which means grants and contributions made up a larger share of operating revenue than rates, charges and fees did. Two further things to read alongside the table: farmland categories supply roughly 82% of the council's ordinary rates income, and Council has published the LGNSW Cost Shifting Report on its notices page, pointing readers to its September 2025 business paper for costings specific to Carrathool. We present the numbers and their benchmarks; what they add up to is for you to judge from the sources below. Note also that the most recent annual report published on Council's website is for 2023–24.

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.