Lake Macquarie City Council has endorsed a suite of initiatives to assist ratepayers and the broader community through the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Councillors considered multiple assistance initiatives at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday night held after its monthly standing committee meeting.
The meetings were the council's first to be held remotely, conducted using an online audio-visual conferencing program, with councillors dialing in from home.
The council is set to extend its Financial Hardship Assistance Policy to business owners and landlords.
The policy, which outlines assistance options for rate payments, currently applies to owner-occupiers of residential properties only.
Financial hardship assistance can include the waiving of interest on overdue rates and flexible payment plans.
The standard 0.6 per cent surcharge fee on rate payments made by credit card will also be waived because the council's Speers Point administration building is no longer open and payments can not be made in person using cash.
The council will offer rent relief to commercial tenants of its buildings, ranging from zero to 100 per cent relief based on need, for a period of up to six months commencing from April 1 with backdated implementation.
Tenants of council's residential properties will also be offered 50 per cent rent relief for up to six months if they have been impacted, but only if they are ineligible for the JobKeeper payment or similar welfare programs.
The rent relief scheme is expected to cost the council $927,000 in lost revenue.
Cr Kevin Baker moved an amendment to allow the CEO to extend the provisions whilst the COVID-19 pandemic is officially declared by the Australian government, but it did not get up.
Other councillors expressed concerns about the "open-ended nature" of the proposal and its impact on the council budget.
Cr Baker said the amendment's aim was to avoid a further 28-day exhibition period if the rent relief scheme needed to be extended in six months' time.
Community organisations leasing council-owned land and/or buildings will also have their rent waived for six months from April 1.
The organisations, both non and for-profit, must have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions implemented by the federal and state governments to be eligible.
Up to 85 organisations are expected to benefit. The initiative will likely cost the council $183,568 in lost revenue over the six months.
The endorsed initiatives will be publicly exhibited for at least 28 days before final approval next month.
Council staff could also be redeployed to work with not-for-profit organisations delivering critical services to vulnerable people in the city.
They could be redeployed for up to three months from April 15, a period that could be extended by one month by the council CEO on no more than three occasions.
"Staff are very keen to be out in the community assisting," chief executive officer Morven Cameron said.