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 Coonamble as a Rural council, 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.
The numbers
- $578 / yearAbout 52% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023-24 was $558, vs NSW ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge applies (~$415 in 2024-25 per OLG data; Council's adopted 2026-27 charge is $660 per service). Average rates reflect land values and each council's rating structure, not the level of service. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating performance ratio 4.3%Above the >0% benchmark — an operating surplus on the OLG measure.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 5.37×, debt service cover 82.84×, 13.8 months cash — all passAll three are well above their benchmarks (>1.5×, >2× and >3 months). Council's only general-fund borrowing shown in the 2026-27 Operational Plan is an infrastructure loan with $353,239 outstanding at 30 June 2026; the water and sewerage funds carry no loans.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 44.3% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark, meaning more than half of Council's income came from grants and contributions rather than rates, charges and fees in 2023-24.
- 11.9% (misses)Above the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 2.3% misses; asset maintenance 120.7% and renewals 187.1% both passThe backlog ratio is just above the under-2% benchmark (the OLG's 2024-25 file shows 2.6%). Maintenance and renewals are both above their >100% benchmarks in 2023-24 (2024-25: 139.0% and 144.9%).
| Indicator (2023-24) | Coonamble | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.3% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 44.3% | > 60% | No | |
| 5.37× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 82.84× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 11.9% | < 10% | No | |
| 13.8 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 2.3% | < 2% | No | |
| 120.7% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 187.1% | > 100% | Yes |
Coonamble'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. Coonamble met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023-24. The three it did not clear were own-source revenue (44.3% against >60%), rates outstanding (11.9% against <10%) and the infrastructure backlog (2.3% against <2%, and 2.6% in the OLG's 2024-25 file). A council with a low own-source revenue ratio depends more on grants; we state the figure and its benchmark without drawing a conclusion from it. Council had a draft Long-Term Financial Plan on public exhibition in 2026 — see the Public Exhibition page for the current documents. 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
- 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
- Coonamble Shire Council — Adopted Operational Plan and Revenue Policy 2026-27 · 2026-27
- Coonamble Shire Council — Integrated Planning and Reporting (annual reports, LTFP, asset plans) · Aug 2026
- Coonamble Shire Council — Public Exhibition (draft Long-Term Financial Plan) · Aug 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.