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 ratio table below is from the NSW Government's 'Your Council' / OLG time-series data for 2023–24, the latest complete comparable year; the dollar figures are from the council's 2024–25 Annual Report.
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.
- $1,204 / yearAlmost exactly the NSW council average of ~$1,203 — unusually close to the average for a high-growth metropolitan-fringe area, reflecting the state-set rate-peg system. A separate average domestic waste charge (~$585) applies. (OLG time-series data, 2024–25.)
- Debt
- Debt-free since 2002 — nil borrowingsConsistent with the very high debt service cover ratio below. (Annual Report Snapshot 2024–25.)
- 2024–25 operating revenue vs expenditure
- $417.5M income · $221.1M operating expenditureIncome includes capital grants and development contributions typical of a fast-growing area; not directly comparable to the OLG 'operating performance' ratio, which excludes capital income. (Annual Report Snapshot 2024–25.)
- 2024–25 capital works delivered
- $132 million40% roads, 20% parks, 16% land acquisition for new release areas, 9% traffic facilities, among other categories. (Annual Report Snapshot 2024–25.)
- Infrastructure
- No infrastructure backlog reported (0.0%), asset renewals above 100%The council describes itself as having 'no infrastructure backlog and no net debt' in its 2024–25 Annual Report.
| Indicator (2023–24) | The Hills | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.1% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 53.4% | > 60% | No | |
| 2.85× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 141.08× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 6.4% | < 5% | No | |
| 38.3 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 0.0% | < 2% | Yes | |
| 182.3% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 108.3% | > 100% | Yes |
The Hills Shire'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. The Hills met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24; the two it didn't — own-source revenue and rates outstanding — sit alongside a council that reports itself as debt-free since 2002 with no infrastructure backlog. Own-source revenue below the 60% benchmark commonly reflects a fast-growing area receiving a larger share of income as grants and developer contributions for new infrastructure. (The OLG classifies The Hills as a metropolitan-fringe council, so it is benchmarked at under 5% for rates outstanding; regional and rural councils are benchmarked at under 10%.) The 2024–25 OLG time-series shows the infrastructure ratios continuing to pass (backlog 0.0%, asset maintenance 164.4%, renewals 131.1%), though OLG has removed the full 9-ratio benchmark set from mandated reporting from 2024–25 onward while it reviews them. 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 (average rate/waste charge; infrastructure ratios) · 2024–25
- The Hills Shire Council — Annual Report Snapshot 2024–2025 · 30 Jun 2025
- The Hills Shire Council — Annual Report & Financial Statement 2024–2025 · 30 Jun 2025
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.