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 Narromine as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.) Narromine is a small shire with a very large road, water and sewer network — Council's Community Strategic Plan puts the assets it maintains at about $430 million for a population of roughly 6,400.
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
- $860 / yearAbout 29% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $823, vs NSW ~$1,140) — one of the lower average residential rates in NSW. A separate domestic waste charge applies. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating performance ratio −22.6%Below the >0% benchmark: the council's operating expenses exceeded its operating revenue (excluding capital grants and contributions) in that year.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 5.42×, debt service cover 2.73×, 13.4 months cash — all three passLiquidity and the cash buffer are well above benchmark; debt service cover clears the >2× line.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 43.6% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark — a large share of income comes from grants and contributions rather than rates, charges and fees. This is common for small rural councils with big road networks and small rate bases.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 2.0% and renewals 65.8% miss (2023–24); asset maintenance 101.6% passesThe backlog ratio sits exactly on the <2% line, so it is recorded as not met. The OLG's 2024–25 file shows backlog unchanged at 2.0%, asset maintenance falling to 86.8% and renewals falling to 57.5%.
- 9.4%Below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils, but close to it.
- Capital works planned (2026–27)
- Over $27.5 millionFrom Council's adopted 2026–27 Operational Plan: including $14.8M of civil infrastructure at the Craigie Lea Industrial Estate, $7M of rural, regional and urban road renewals and upgrades, $1.1M of sewer upgrades and $675,000 for parks, gardens, aquatic centres and sporting facilities, plus design and early construction of a new Narromine Water Treatment Plant.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Narromine | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −22.6% | > 0% | No | |
| 43.6% | > 60% | No | |
| 5.42× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 2.73× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 9.4% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 13.4 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 2.0% | < 2% | No | |
| 101.6% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 65.8% | > 100% | No |
Narromine'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. Narromine met 5 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. Three things are worth reading together: the operating performance ratio (−22.6%) is a deficit on the day-to-day operating account for that year; own-source revenue (43.6%) is well under the 60% benchmark, meaning a large share of income is grant funding; and the renewals ratio (65.8% in 2023–24, 57.5% in the OLG's 2024–25 file) means assets were renewed at less than the rate they were depreciating in both years. Against that, liquidity, cash cover and debt service cover all clear their benchmarks comfortably. Council's 2026–27 Operational Plan describes a balanced budget and states that the Long-Term Financial Plan and Operational Plan demonstrate its approach to financial sustainability. 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
- Your Council (NSW Government) — council data · 2023–24
- Narromine Shire Council — 2026–27 Operational Plan, Budget and Statement of Revenue Policy · 2026–27
- Narromine Shire Council — Annual Reports
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.