Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said pressure on councils to maintain services that meet the needs of the community was reaching unprecedented levels.
Ratepayers were covering the cost of more than $490 annually, based on a 2025 cost shifting report that highlighted a total cost shift to councils of $1.5 billion.
Cost shifting occurred when state and federal governments forced councils to assume responsibility for infrastructure, services and regulatory functions without providing sufficient supporting funding.
Mayor Fitzpatrick said the increase in cost shifting had continued unabated by various state and federal government policies.
“When a decision is made for a service previously delivered by another level of government to be shifted to councils, often without consultation with councils and the communities they represent, it means ratepayers will be asked to cover the cost or tolerate lower levels of service,” he said.
Mayor Fitzpatrick said cost shifting examples included payment of the emergency services levy, depreciation of rural fire service assets, funding shortfall in libraries, and payment of mandatory pensioner concessions.
“More recent examples, where the state government has implemented a policy change that shifts costs and responsibility to councils, include the Cemeteries Levy, the Dam Safety Levy, and the costs we will need to wear for proposed changes to the Emergency Services Levy,” he said.
“It is unfair to our communities that such a large portion of their rates are being diverted away from local priorities.”
Mayor Fitzpatrick explained that every ratepayer contributed to state and federal tax revenue through taxes such as stamp duty, payroll tax, GST, income tax and vehicle registration.
On July 23, Bega Valley Shire Councillors agreed to publish the Local Government NSW Cost Shifting report online, and write to the Premier, NSW Treasurer and Minister for Local Government, asking for regulatory reform and appropriate funding.
After partnering with Keep Australia Beautiful NSW, the council will deliver a week of hands-on sustainability workshops in early learning centres and preschools.
Bega Valley Shire Council’s waste education officer, Ms Kruse said the EnviroMentors program was designed to teach children simple and practical ways to reduce waste and care for the environment.
“Children get to hold worms, explore composting and learn about which items go in which bin – all through play and hands-on activities,” Ms Kruse said.
“Young children are naturally curious, and they’re more likely to remember what they’ve learned when it’s active and fun.
“This approach provides the first steps towards developing lifelong habits around reducing waste and protecting the environment.”
The EnviroMentors team visited eight early learning centres across the shire and delivered 11 workshops over five days to 227 enthusiastic students.
The two workshops, In The Bin and Garbage to Garden, introduced children to the concept of waste and its impacts, and how food scraps could be turned into rich soil through composting and worm farms.
The workshops also sparked ideas for ongoing learning, with some centres integrating the content into their learning programs and encouraging families to continue the conversation at home.
“It’s been really inspiring to hear how the learning is continuing well after the workshops,” Ms Kruse said.
“We’ve heard stories of students setting up mock bins to sort their waste, creating worm farms for food scraps and coming up with ideas to make their centres more sustainable.
“That kind of enthusiasm shows just how powerful early education can be.”
The EnviroMentors program complements the council’s ongoing Let’s Get It Sorted waste education program, delivered in primary and high schools across the Bega Valley.
Bega Valley Shire Council was pleased to announce the completion of parking improvement works at Merimbula Airport.
The upgrades significantly increased parking capacity within the airport precinct, with close to 100 spaces now available, while providing spots free of charge and without time restrictions in the new space.
The council said this would improve safety, enhance accessibility and offer greater convenience for airport users by improving the airport precinct to meet future development needs.
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