Rates & spending · Inner West Council
Inner West ratepayers get seven days to inspect $2.3m financial surplus
Council’s 2025 - 26 statements record a $2.3 million operating surplus before capital grants and contributions, against a budgeted surplus of $100,000.
Reporting from draft minutes. Recorded wording may change when confirmed. How this article was prepared
Inner West ratepayers will have seven days to inspect the council’s 2025 - 26 financial statements after councillors endorsed their public exhibition. The accounts record a $2.3 million operating surplus before capital grants and contributions, compared with a budgeted surplus of $100,000.
The minutes also record net assets of $3.5 billion, including $3.2 billion in infrastructure, property, plant and equipment. Those figures describe the council’s asset base, but the resolution does not explain the factors behind the difference between the actual and budgeted surplus or indicate how much of the surplus could be used for new services or projects.
The resolution authorised Mayor Darcy Byrne and Deputy Mayor Philippa Scott to sign the Statement by Councillors and Management included in the general-purpose financial statements. It was carried with 15 councillors voting for and none against.
The minutes do not state the exhibition’s start or closing date, or how submissions can be made. They are marked as unconfirmed, and this report does not independently assess the financial statements or audit the reported figures.
What deserves a closer look
The source expressly qualifies the $2.3 million figure as an operating surplus before capital grants and contributions.
The resolution provides the surplus, budget comparison and asset figures but does not explain the factors behind the variance or how much of the surplus may be available for new spending.
The supplied minutes identify themselves as unconfirmed.
Questions for follow-up reporting
What are the start and closing dates of the seven-day exhibition?
How can residents and ratepayers inspect the statements and lodge submissions?
What factors produced the difference between the $2.3 million actual surplus and the $100,000 budgeted surplus?
How much of the reported surplus is available for future services or projects after the council's other commitments?
What happens next
Place the 2025–26 financial statements on public exhibition for seven days.
Authorise the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to sign the Statement by Councillors and Management included in the general-purpose financial statements.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
Council endorsed the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2026 for seven days of public exhibition, recording a $2.3 million operating surplus before capital grants and contributions against a $100,000 budgeted surplus, and net assets of $3.5 billion including $3.2 billion in infrastructure, property, plant and equipment.
Councillor Antoniou returned to the Meeting at 8:39 pm. C1026(1) Item 2 Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2026 Motion: (Scott/Byrne) That Council: 1. Endorse the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2026 to be placed on public exhibition for a period of 7 days, noting that: a) Council achieved an operating surplus before capital grants and contributions of $2.3 million against a budgeted surplus of $0.1m b) Net assets increased to $3.5 billion, including $3.2 billion in infrastructure, property, plant and equipment (IPPE).
C1026(1) Item 2
Open original minutes ↗The resolution authorised the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to sign the Statement by Councillors and Management, and the motion carried with no votes against.
2. Authorise the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to sign the Statement by Councillors and Management as contained within the General-Purpose Financial Statements. Motion Carried For Motion: Crs Antoniou, Atkins, Barlow, Blake, Byrne, Carlisle, Clay, D'Arienzo, Fergusson, Howard, Macri, Raciti, Scott, Smith and Tastan Against Motion: Nil C1026(1) Item 3 Post Exhibition - Draft Inner West Development Control Plan and Solar Panels Policy Motion: (D'Arienzo/Scott) That Council defer this item to the next Ordinary Council meeting.
C1026(1) Item 2
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the unconfirmed public minutes of Inner West Council’s Ordinary Council meeting held on 20 October 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The statements cover the year ended 30 June 2026.
- Council recorded a $2.3 million operating surplus before capital grants and contributions, against a budgeted surplus of $100,000.
- Net assets increased to $3.5 billion, including $3.2 billion in infrastructure, property, plant and equipment.
- The statements were endorsed for seven days of public exhibition.
- The resolution was carried with 15 votes for and none against.
Why it matters
- The exhibition gives Inner West residents and ratepayers a limited opportunity to examine the council’s annual financial statements. The reported surplus is stated before capital grants and contributions, so it should not be treated as a complete measure of the council’s overall financial result.