Councils in Sydney's west have seized on the looming state election to push the major political parties for a better funding deal to drive down the booming area's "social infrastructure backlog".
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With days to go before NSW residents go to the polls, the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) has called on Labor and the Liberals to consider how, if elected, they will help meet the costs to councils of sports facilities, community centres, libraries and swimming pools.
WSROC president, Cr Barry Calvert, said local councils struggled to find funds to build and maintain adequate levels of such infrastructure.
Those funding pressures were felt more keenly in rapidly growing areas such as western Sydney, Cr Calvert said.
"These types of local facilities are essential for ensuring our communities are great places to live but funding them is expensive," he said.
He said the $150 million "liveability fund" in the western Sydney "city deal" between federal, state and local governments around the future Western Sydney Airport was welcome, but the one-off payment was not a long-term solution for providing infrastructure across the city's west.
"At the current rate of growth, greater western Sydney councils would need $150 million each year for the next 20 years.
"Already, western Sydney councils are facing a multi-billion-dollar social infrastructure backlog."
The organisation's concerns underscore widespread debate over funding for local infrastructure projects.
Parramatta and Lane Cove swimming pools closed during summer because councils were battling to keep up with the cost of upgrading the ageing facilities.
Cr Calvert said that councils had three main sources of funding for social infrastructure - all of which were set by the state and federal government. They were council rates, grants and developer contributions. But he said none of those funding sources offered sustainable, long-term solutions.
“Councils are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We are facing an unprecedented demand for new services and community infrastructure yet have little control over the amount of money coming in.
"WSROC calls on our next NSW government to consider how they will address this imbalance following the NSW election on March 23."
A NSW Office of Local Government audit previously estimated that the infrastructure backlog in local communities in the state was in excess of $7 billion.
The government has promised $120 million until 2025 as part of its local infrastructure backlog policy.
Local Government NSW, the body representing local councils across the state, included more funding for local infrastructure and public libraries among their election priorities.
Labor and the Liberals have each pledged about $60 million extra funding for libraries.
