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.
- $1,993 / yearAbout 75% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140 — among the higher residential rates in NSW. A separate domestic waste charge (~$501) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Small operating surplus — performance ratio +1.3%Above the OLG benchmark of >0% — the council lived within its means that year.
- Liquidity & cash
- Very strong — unrestricted current ratio 2.78×, ~23.5 months cashBoth well above the OLG benchmarks (>1.5× and >3 months).
- Infrastructure
- Meets all 3 OLG infrastructure benchmarksBacklog 1.8% (<2%), asset maintenance 104.6% and renewals 114.1% (both >100%).
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $501 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Wingecarribee | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 71.3% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 2.78× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 10.61× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 4.8% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 23.5 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 1.8% | < 2% | Yes | |
| 104.6% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 114.1% | > 100% | Yes |
Wingecarribee'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. Wingecarribee met all 9 benchmarks in 2023–24 — a strong result on this measure, paired with one of the higher average residential rates in NSW. 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.