There was much ado about nothing in Shoalhaven Council's chamber on Monday night, when councillors could not agree on a possible rate rise after more than three hours of debating.
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They will be back for an extraordinary meeting tonight (Tuesday, January 30) in an effort to break the impasse.
A huge crowd turned up for the meeting, many of them wearing shirts or carrying signs saying council should be sacked and replaced with an administrator.
Mayor Amanda Findley at one stage was forced to adjourn proceedings for 15 minutes when the crowd got too rowdy.
A short time later a man was ejected from the chambers for continually yelling out insults, there were repeated calls for Cr Findley to resign, and Cr Paul Ell was forced to apologise to the mayor and withdraw comments he made during the heated debate.
The meeting really did have everything - except for a decision.
With just days to go before a submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has to be lodged for any rate rises above the 4.5 per cent rate pegging limit, question marks about council's financial position remain.
During the meeting there were some councillors supporting a 44 per cent rate rise over the next three years, others arguing that council needed to show it could cut costs before asking the ratepayers for anything more than the rise allocated under rate pegging limits.
And there was a compromise stance put forward by Crs John Wells and Patricia White, that involved asking IPART for an 8 per cent rate rise during the 2024/25 year, followed by 6 per cent rises for the three following years.
The only suggestion not discussed was the staff recommendation of a 32 per cent rate rise in 2024/25, followed by rate pegging rises the following two years, amounting to about a 40 per cent increase over three years.
But as former mayors Jo Gash and Paul Green watched on, and former deputy mayors Gareth Ward and Liza Butler sat on the sidelines, no suggestion was able to gain majority support.
Ms Butler, the State Member for South Coast, said she was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the result.
"I thought that the councillors could have worked together to come up with some sort of middle ground that was in the best interests of the community when we're in a cost of living [crisis], but to come out with no resolution whatsoever is mind boggling," Ms Butler said.
The suggestion of an 8 per cent rate rise in the coming year "was extremely fair and would be palatable by the community", Ms Butler said.
Mr Green said he was "very disappointed" with the lack of a result, while Mr Ward, the State Member for Kiama, said the councillors "have got to come to an accommodation, as what happened there tonight can't be sustained."
Cr Evan Christen led the call for council to apply for a series of rate rises above pegging limits, amounting to 44 per cent over three years.
It would start with an 18 per cent rise on 2024/25, followed by 13 per cent the following year and 8 per cent after that.
He said the rise was necessary because of council's dire financial position, outlined in a report from consultants AEC.
But Cr Christensen stressed it was just an application , not a decision on the rate rise that would be applied.
That final rates decision would be made in May during budget discussions, Cr Christen said, but not applying for the rise would restrict council's options to upgrade roads and provide all the services the community needed.
But that was supported only by fellow Greens Cr Moo D'ath and mayor Amanda Findley, while a fourth Greens representative, Cr Tonia Gray rejected the proposal because "we have lost the trust of the community".
Cr Paul Ell argued council should increase rates by only the rate pegging limit, "and than take the community with us on the journey" on finding savings and assessing council's structures.
Cr Serena Copley agreed council needed to be "frank and fearless" with finding savings before asking the community for any more money.
Cutting council costs was also at the heart of the plan put forward by Crs Wells and White, with the proposal part of a 16-step process including saving $5 million a year in council expenses, putting a freeze on hiring new staff unless there was a statutory requirement, and pausing capital projects so council resources could be focused on asset renewal and rehabilitation.
But that motion was also lost seven votes to six, leaving council without a direction forward.
With no majority decision reached, councillors are due back for an extraordinary meeting later today (Tuesday, January 30).
