City of Coffs Harbour introduced an Environmental Levy (EL) 24 years ago as a means of undertaking a wide range of environmental management works and to give residents the opportunity to undertake local environmental restoration works they are passionate about in their own neighbourhoods.
Since it was introduced in the local government area, it has been adopted by other councils throughout NSW. The levy currently raises around $1.3 million per annum for local environmental works at an average cost of $44 per ratepayer.
“Since it began in 1998, the levy has become a mainstay of local environmental programmes,” said Natalia Cowley, City of Coffs Harbour general manager.
“Through it, we’re able to carry out many important strategies such as bushland regeneration, invasive weed control, habitat enhancement and vegetation mapping across the local government area.
“In addition, community environmental organisations and groups have access to funding for their own particular projects such as restoration and protection of waterways, wildlife rescue and vegetation regeneration.
“Education is also a winner as many schools have become involved in activities that help their local environment while their students learn.
“Everyone benefits – the local environmental groups and organisations have the funding they need to complete their projects and the broader community benefits from their efforts.”
In the 24 years that the EL funding programme has been running, more than $28m of EL funds and grants has been put into activities that have helped protect and enhance our local environment.
“Those figures don’t include the enormous number of hours put in by the amazing volunteers working on EL projects, which are also a huge part of the end result,” said Ms Cowley.
