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.
- $1,133 / yearClose to the NSW council average of ~$1,140. In 2024–25 it rose to $1,253 (NSW ~$1,203), about 4% above the state average — reflecting a multi-year special rate variation (see Rates & fees). A separate domestic waste charge (~$391 in 2023–24; ~$406 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating deficit — performance ratio −8.2%Below the >0% benchmark (misses).
- Liquidity & cash
- Strong liquidity (3.11×), 14.2 months cash; debt service cover 18.92× (passes)Unrestricted current ratio, cash cover and debt service cover all comfortably above benchmark.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 11.3% (misses); renewals 147.9% (passes); maintenance 59.4% (misses)The infrastructure-backlog and asset-maintenance ratios both miss their benchmarks. OLG's 2024–25 data shows backlog easing to 9.1% but maintenance at 49.3% and renewals at 52.3%.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 47.6% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark — the council relies more on grants than a self-funding council would.
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $391 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service (~$406 in 2024–25).
| Indicator (2023–24) | Snowy Monaro | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −8.2% | > 0% | No | |
| 47.6% | > 60% | No | |
| 3.11× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 18.92× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 8.3% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 14.2 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 11.3% | < 2% | No | |
| 59.4% | > 100% | No | |
| 147.9% | > 100% | Yes |
Snowy Monaro Regional Council'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. Snowy Monaro met 5 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. The OLG classifies it as a regional council (Group 4, Regional Town/City), so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding — a wider allowance than the under-5% used for metropolitan councils. The misses cluster around operating result, own-source revenue and infrastructure (backlog and maintenance) — context for the multi-year special rate variation covered under Rates & fees. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure ratios still moving: backlog 9.1%, maintenance 49.3%, renewals 52.3%. 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.