Newcastle council has announced the allocation of $1.1million in funding for various projects and events.
The council has characterised the funding as a new kind of COVID-19 support, even though the funds have previously been spent by Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) for decades.
This is not new funding.
The way these funds have been allocated by Newcastle council is without the usual public scrutiny and community feedback.
This is because the lord mayor, Nuatali Nelmes, has put herself at the head of the assessment panel, effectively picking winners and losers, without the benefit of community input.
The people who actually pay the Special Business Rate (SBR) have lost their voice over how the funds should be spent.
The levy on commercial property owners was previously raised by the council and handed to elected BIAs, which determined spending priorities based on their members and constituents' needs and input.
The BIAs were run by volunteer boards and many served the city with distinction for decades.
The community will remember the moves to dismantle this long-standing model and put the lord mayor in control of the funding allocations.
The external investigation into the BIAs, instigated by chief executive officer Jeremy Bath and called theCentium report, remains wrapped in secrecy and was never revealed to the public.
What I can share with the community is that there have never been any claims of fraud or misappropriation of funds.
The investigation and campaign led to two council officers losing their jobs and a third deciding to leave.
One of those employees, Jill Gaynor, has since challenged her unfair dismissal.
Last month, the District Court handed down its finding in her favour saying she should never have been sacked, exposing ratepayers to expensive legal costs in defending the case.
The judgement is also highly critical of many of the claims made at the time against the BIAs by the chief executive officer and the Centium report author.
So now we are dealing with a new method of allocation which, in my view, is fraught with problems of the council's own making.
Now we are dealing with a new method of allocation which, in my view, is fraught with problems of the council's own making.
Under the new rules, the council does not have to spend all or any of the money.
Previously the funding agreement meant that the entire rate levy was passed on to business community groups to be managed and spent.
Now the council can, at its discretion, determine the amount of SBR revenue to be made available.
In fact, the council may offer applicants less money than they asked for, such is the total control given to the lord mayor's assessment panel under this policy.
This panel consists of the lord mayor, two council employees and a consultant paid by council to administer the programs.
Business and the community no longer have a say.
This fundamentally changes the funding model from a bottom-up approach, where the community is engaged in the process, to a top-down, command and control model where the council assumes complete control.
Labor has form when it comes to these kinds of changes.
Last year they supported the winding up of long-standing committees that had previously managed the maintenance and improvements of various sports grounds.
Now these are managed by council staff. Once again, the community has lost its voice and input in decision-making
Further, under rule changes adopted by Labor last year, any organisation receiving SBR funds will need to provide audited figures of their expenditure. Good idea. But the cost of this will be borne by the applicant under this policy.
Applicants will need to fund their insurances, pay for any licences and use volunteers to administer the events or programs.
This discriminates against smaller community groups and organisations.
It is never good public policy for politicians at any level to be picking winners and losers, especially in the 12 months leading up to the local government election.
In my view, it is time to cancel the Special Business Rate altogether and provide some much needed relief to struggling small businesses.
If the council wants to fund promotions and events, it can use some of the $53 million it already raises through commercial rates and which have increased almost 50 per cent in recent years.
