Temora Shire Council budget and finances

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 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 come from the NSW Government's 'Your Council' / OLG time-series data for 2023–24. (The OLG classifies Temora as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.) Separately, the council is running a public consultation in 2026 on its own long-term financial position — that is covered under Rates & fees and Priorities & direction.

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.

See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

: $719 / yearAbout 40% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $686, vs NSW ~$1,140). Per-property rate levels reflect land values and each council's rating structure, not service quality. A separate domestic waste charge applies. (OLG time-series data.)
Average domestic waste charge: $278 (2024–25); $264 (2023–24)These are among the four lowest of the NSW councils in the OLG time-series for those years; several councils sit close by. Council's own adopted schedule sets the Domestic Waste Management Service Charge at $305.30 per bin in 2024–25 and $320.60 in 2025–26 — the OLG figure is an average across serviced properties and is not the same measure as the headline per-bin charge. Temora's kerbside service is a single weekly garbage bin, with no kerbside recycling or organics bin (see Waste & recycling).
: Operating performance ratio 1.3%Above the >0% benchmark — a small operating surplus on this measure.
Liquidity & cash: Unrestricted current ratio 4.70× and debt service cover 16.88× (both pass); 11.6 months cashAll three are well above their benchmarks (>1.5×, >2× and >3 months respectively).
Self-funding: Own-source revenue 59.3% (misses)Just below the >60% benchmark, meaning slightly more than 40% of operating revenue came from grants and contributions in 2023–24.
Infrastructure: Backlog 2.4% misses; asset maintenance 177.8% and renewals 181.1% both pass (2023–24)The OLG's 2024–25 file shows the backlog rising to 3.8%, asset maintenance easing to 114.2% and renewals falling to 86.0% — we show both years rather than picking one.
: 3.7%Well below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
The council's own forward projections: Draft 2026/27 budget: projected operating deficit of $2.7 millionCouncil's Draft Long Term Financial Plan 2026/27–2036/37 models an average operating deficit of about $5.4 million a year over the next ten years under the current funding model, after efficiency measures. These are the council's published projections, not audited results.

Temora		Meets?
1.3%	> 0%	Yes
59.3%	> 60%	No
4.70×	> 1.5×	Yes
16.88×	> 2×	Yes
3.7%	< 10%	Yes
11.6 months	> 3 months	Yes
2.4%	< 2%	No
177.8%	> 100%	Yes
181.1%	> 100%	Yes

Temora'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. Temora met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. The two misses were own-source revenue at 59.3% against a >60% benchmark, and the infrastructure backlog at 2.4% against a <2% benchmark (the OLG's 2024–25 file shows the backlog at 3.8%, with asset maintenance at 114.2% and renewals at 86.0%). Set alongside those benchmark results, the council's own 2026 planning documents project an operating deficit — $2.7 million in the draft 2026/27 budget, and an average of about $5.4 million a year across the ten-year Long Term Financial Plan — which is the basis for the special rate variation options it is consulting on. We present both the reported ratios and the council's own projections; the sources below let you check each.

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.