That is because the federal government has ended a program that added an additional injection of cash to local road budgets nationwide. Glen Innes received $5.5 million in roads subsidies between 2014-15 and 2018-19, including $1m in 2018-19 alone.

Member for New England Barnaby Joyce announced the new funding round in a press release last week. In a later statement, his staff pointed out that the “base allocation” has actually increased by $400,000, excluding a specific one-off cash injection.

READ MORE:

“For the year 2015/16 the government doubled the allocation to $700m for that year only,” it said.

“In 2015 it also announced an additional $1.105b from new fuel excise funds, which was spread over 2015/16 to 2017/18.

“Councils were advised at the time that both of these measures were one offs.”

This additional funding stream ended this year. What that means is simple: less money for road maintenance.

General Manager Hein Basson said the Glen Innes Severn Shire has an infrastructure backlog of $16 million, according to a report completed at the end of 2018.

“Any moneys that are going to be decreased will have an effect in the sense that we will have less money to spend on roads,” he said.

Approximately 80 per cent of the council’s budget comes from federal and state subsidies and project funding (though this number does also include fees and charges). Mr Basson said this makes councils dependent on the whims of federal and state treasuries.

“They’ve got their priorities, they’ve got their election promises and stuff so it’s a balancing act for them as well,” said Mr Basson.

“It becomes a question, with all due respect, as to where local government fits in in their list of priorities ultimately.

“One would like to think (local roads are top priority) but is it? I don’t know; I’m not sure that it is.

“It’s frustrating for us to try to continually achieve more with less and that’s been the name of the game for a few decades at least. We know what our priorities are, we know what our community’s needs are but we just don’t have adequate funding sources to meet those needs.”

Under Round 5 of Roads to Recovery, Tenterfield Shire Council will receive $4.1 million. Tamworth will receive $10.6 million and Armidale $6.1 million in addition to Glen Innes' $3.4 million. 

All told the New England area will net some $47 million in roads funding over the next four years. Road to Recovery is also intended as an economic stimulus to counteract the effect of drought.

The subsidy, which is spent by councils to maintain and develop regional roads, is allocated using the proportion of Financial Assistance Grants that each local governing body receives and updated assessments undertaken by local government grants commissions.

But the total pot to be allocated is set in the federal budget. The Roads to Recovery program was cut in the 2018-19 budget from $699m to just $364m. The allocation for NSW dropped from $196.6m to just $85.4m. 

Mr Joyce announced the funding commitment last week.

“This funding to council will not only help improve safety and efficiency levels for all motorists but contribute to the economic growth of our communities as well,” he said.