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.
- $1,178 / yearAbout 3% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140. In 2024–25 the average rose to $1,246 (NSW ~$1,203). A separate domestic waste charge applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Average domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $270 / year$287 in 2024–25 — notably low compared with many NSW councils. Funds the kerbside bin service.
- Operating deficit — performance ratio −3.5%Below the >0% benchmark: day-to-day operating costs exceeded operating income before capital grants.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 58.5% (just misses)Just under the >60% benchmark, so the council relies a little more on grants and contributions than the benchmark expects.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 9.4% (misses, high); renewals 65.6% (misses); maintenance 92.3% (misses)The infrastructure backlog is well above the <2% benchmark, and asset renewals/maintenance are below their benchmarks. The 2024–25 update shows backlog 9.7%, maintenance 90.7%, renewals 60.2%.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 2.91× (passes); 15.9 months cash (passes); debt service cover 3.73× (passes)Liquidity, cash buffer and debt-service cover all sit above their benchmarks.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Eurobodalla | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −3.5% | > 0% | No | |
| 58.5% | > 60% | No | |
| 2.91× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 3.73× | > 2× | Yes | |
| Rates & charges outstanding (uncollected) | 2.3% | < 10% | Yes |
| 15.9 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 9.4% | < 2% | No | |
| 92.3% | > 100% | No | |
| 65.6% | > 100% | No |
Eurobodalla'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. Eurobodalla met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. The stand-out misses were an operating deficit (−3.5% against >0%), own-source revenue just under the 60% mark (58.5%), and a high infrastructure backlog (9.4% against <2%), with asset renewals and maintenance also below benchmark. Its liquidity, cash buffer and debt-service cover all passed. (The OLG classifies Eurobodalla as a regional council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are benchmarked at under 5%.) 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.