|
|
Shoalhaven City
Mayor’s Relief Fund – Tuesday 05 February 2019
Page
0
|
MR19.1 Support
for Local Farmers
HPERM Ref: D18/309714
Group: Finance
Corporate & Community Services Group
Section: Human
Resources, Governance & Customer Service
Purpose / Summary
To advise the Shoalhaven City
Mayor’s Relief Fund Committee of Council’s resolution (MIN18.643)
to donate funds to farmers affected by the drought, and to seek its
recommendation on the manner of distribution.
|
Recommendation (Item to be
determined under delegated authority)
That:
1. The
Shoalhaven City Mayor’s Relief Fund Committee determine the manner in
which drought funds of $10,475.90 will be distributed.
2. The
Shoalhaven Drought Assistance Fund be closed to future contributions at this
time.
|
Options
1. That
the Committee provide the funding to one of the Charitable Organisations as
outlined in the report for distribution.
Implications: The funds will
not be guaranteed to be distributed to farmers in the Shoalhaven as required by
the Council resolution.
2. That
the Committee seek out a local community organisation, such as a Lions or
Rotary Group to distribute the funding.
Implications: A suitable
organisation has not yet been identified. The funds will not be distributed to
a registered charity as required by the Council resolution.
3. That
the Committee distribute the funds to farming property owners by way of a
one-off rate discount.
Implications: The funds would
not be distributed in accordance with the Council resolution. This method
would provide the funding to all local farmers within the Local Government
Area.
4. That
the Committee distribute the funds via an application process.
Implications: The funds would
not be distributed in accordance with the Council resolution. This option
has the greatest administrative burden to the Council; however, it is
considered the best method to distribute the funds to local farmers in
need. A panel would need to be established to manage the application
process.
5. The
funds be held in abeyance at this time.
Implications: The funds will
not be used until a further resolution is passed as to their use.
Background
At the Ordinary Meeting of 28 August
2018, agenda item CL18.192 – Notice of Motion – Support for Local
Farmers raised the hardship being experienced by local farmers due to the
drought. It was resolved (MIN18.643):
That Council:
1. Recommends the
Mayor’s Relief Fund committee forwards $10,000 to the most suitable
charitable organisation to distribute the funds to our local farmers in need.
2. Request the
Mayor and the General Manager to activate the Mayors Relief Fund for a local
appeal to support the local farmers in difficult situations.
The Mayoral Relief Fund for
local farmers was established and in the period to 31 December 2018 it raised $475.90.
With the addition of the $10,000 funds specified by the Council resolution the total
Drought Assistance Mayoral Relief funding totals $10,475.90.
Research has been undertaken to
identify an appropriate organisation that could be provided the funding in
accordance with the Council resolution. An organisation that meets the
requirements of the resolution (i.e. both being a charitable organisation and
assuring distribution of the funds to Shoalhaven recipients only) has not been
located.
This report seeks to provide a
number of alternatives for the Committee to consider with respect to the
distribution of the available funding.
Option 1: Distribution
of funding can be undertaken through a registered charity
There are a number of charities
which have drought funding programs in place. Details of each are
outlined below; however, it should be noted that none of these charities are
able to 'ringfence' the funding.
Enquiries have been made with a
number of charities and the following programs/avenues for funding were
identified.
a. NSW
Farmers Drought Relief Fund
NSW Farmers has set up a drought relief appeal to collect
donations for farmers in NSW affected by drought. It will make $100 gift
cards available through IGA stores to farmers affected by drought.
Funds will be used to purchase $100 gift cards from IGA
supermarkets. These cards will be provided to the Salvation Army for
distribution through its rural chaplains to drought affected farmers in
NSW. Farmers do not have to be a member of NSW Farmers to be able to
receive a gift card.
The NSW Farmers Drought Relief Fund cannot guarantee that
funds provided will be distributed in the Shoalhaven.
b. Salvation Army
The Salvation Army has established an
Australian Drought
Relief Fund.
Donations to the fund are used in the
following ways:
· $
500 – to assist a drought affected family with an overdue bill
· $
250 – to provide food, groceries and essential household items for a
drought affected family
· $
100 – to help rural chaplains give one-on-one support to farmers
The Salvation Army cannot guarantee that funds provided
will be distributed in the Shoalhaven or in NSW.
c. Red Cross
The Red Cross
commenced a Disaster Relief and Recovery Appeal in August 2018 to collect and
distribute funding.
The website
for the Red Cross advises that the fund currently has $11.5 million of
funding to help drought affected farmers and farming communities. In NSW the
applications are managed by the Country Women’s Association (CWA).
Applications may be made by farmers, farming families or
farming-dependent contractors in drought-affected areas of NSW, ACT, Queensland
and South Australia as grants of up to $3,000 through the CWA, and in Victoria
through the Rural Financial Counselling Service (Gippsland). Red Cross
appeal funds support these grants.
Grants can be used to meet household expenses, such as
food, vehicle maintenance, school expenses, electricity, gas or rates,
telephone expenses and dental or medical expenses.
The Red Cross/CWA cannot guarantee that funds provided will
be distributed in the Shoalhaven.
The CWA advised Council to approach a local Lions Club or
Rotary Club. Lions and Rotary are service organisations rather than
registered charities for the distribution of the funds.
Option 2: A local community
organisation
An approach has not been made to
all Rotary and Lions Clubs given the requirement of the resolution to donate
the funding to charitable organisations and those organisations are not
registered as charitable organisations.
Cllr Wells, on behalf of Berry
Rotary, approached Council in October 2018 to advise that the Rotary Club had
appointed a Drought Relief Fund Committee to distribute $16,000 of funding
which it had raised. In January 2019 the Council was advised that the
Rotary Committee had decommissioned its Committee as funds had been equally
distributed to all four (4) farmers who made application.
The Australian Charities and
Not-for-Profits Commission is the national regulator of charities. A search of
the database of registered charities returned 10 results with
“Rotary” in the name. These were local Rotary Clubs and
interstate foundations or associations. The Rotary Club of Berry is not a
registered charity. A search of the database for Lions Clubs that were
registered charities could not locate a local Lions Club that is also a
registered charity.
Option 3: Distribution of
funding via Rates
In the Shoalhaven there are 855
rateable properties to which the measure could apply, consisting of 130 dairy
farmers and 725 ordinary farmland assessments.
The available funding of
$10,475.90 could be equally distributed to each farm property owner with the
amount of discount being $12.25.
Option 4: Distribution of
funding via application
The Committee may consider given
the information above, that the funds be made available via an application
process. In order to do this the Committee (or a Working Party of the
Committee) will need to establish a framework for the application process:
· Any criteria
required to be met by applicant.
· Any cap to the funding
available to each applicant, or method by which funding will be distributed to
applicants.
· A panel (or other
method) to determine the applications.
Option 5: Funds not be
distributed at this time
If given the above information
the Committee considers that the funding should not be distributed at this
time, ideally identifying when the funding would be distributed.
As at January 2019 the
Shoalhaven remains categorised as ‘Drought Affected’ by the NSW
Department of Primary Industries.
Financial Implications
The Mayoral Relief Fund totals
$65,240.40.
In accordance with the
resolution of 28 August 2018 $10,000 of those funds are earmarked for Drought
Assistance and together with $475.90 collected by Shoalhaven Drought Assistance
the total Drought Assistance Mayoral Relief funding totals $10,475.90.
