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 Cobar as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.) Cobar's income mix is unusual for a small shire: in the council's own Long Term Financial Plan, rates and annual charges are about $9.6M of a projected $50.5M income in 2026-27, with user charges and fees the largest single line.
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
- $2,302 / yearAbout 91% above the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023-24 was $2,213, vs NSW ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge applies (OLG-basis average ~$383 in 2024-25; the council's own adopted charge for an occupied Cobar assessment is $340 in 2026-27). Average residential rates reflect land values and each council's rating structure, not service levels. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating performance ratio −3.4%Below the >0% benchmark — an operating deficit for the year.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 2.61× and debt service cover 19.71× both pass; 5.6 months cash cover passesAll three liquidity and debt measures are on the benchmark side of the line for 2023-24.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 44.7% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark, meaning a larger share of income comes from grants and contributions than the benchmark contemplates.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 6.3% and renewals 23.6% both miss (2023-24); asset maintenance 101.9% passesThe OLG's 2024-25 file shows the backlog easing to 5.3% and asset maintenance at 100.1%. Its 2024-25 renewals cell reads 0.0%, which is an unreported/not-collected cell rather than a real figure, so it is not published here — the 2023-24 value of 23.6% is what the table shows.
- 14.3% (misses)Above the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils — that is, a higher share of rates and annual charges was still uncollected at year end than the benchmark allows.
| Indicator (2023-24) | Cobar | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −3.4% | > 0% | No | |
| 44.7% | > 60% | No | |
| 2.61× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 19.71× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 14.3% | < 10% | No | |
| 5.6 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 6.3% | < 2% | No | |
| 101.9% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 23.6% | > 100% | No |
Cobar'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. Cobar met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023-24: the three liquidity and debt measures plus asset maintenance pass; operating performance, own-source revenue, rates outstanding, infrastructure backlog and building and infrastructure renewals miss. The council's own Long Term Financial Plan 2026-2036, adopted 28 May 2026, sets out its position on the renewals question directly — it projects a consolidated operating deficit of $1.240M in 2026-27 turning to small surpluses from 2027-28, a capital program of $10.772M in 2026-27, cash balances rising across the decade, and states that the plan takes a "cautious and staged approach to capital renewal" and that the level of cash held means Council is "well positioned from a cash perspective to increase investment in asset renewal". It also assumes a rural cost differential above CPI for freight, labour and limited supplier competition. We present the numbers, the benchmarks and the council's own document; whether that adds up to 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
- Cobar Shire Council — Long Term Financial Plan 2026-2036 (adopted 28 May 2026) · May 2026
- Cobar Shire Council — Annual Report and audited financial statements · 2024-25
- Cobar Shire Council — Integrated Planning & Reporting (CSP, Delivery Program, Resourcing Strategy) · 2026
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.