A Ballina Shire Council policy review aimed at ensuring fairness in community leases has ended with councillors moving to protect one of the town’s oldest community organisations from an unintended rent increase.

The decision came after Ballina Players president Peter Harding warned councillors that a proposed change to council’s leasing policy could have significantly increased the volunteer-run theatre group’s rent simply because it holds a liquor licence.

Following a lengthy debate, councillors unanimously agreed to remove liquor licences as a trigger for higher rents, effectively ensuring the theatre will not be caught by the new rules when its lease next comes up for renewal.

The policy review was originally prompted by concerns that some organisations receiving heavily discounted council rents had access to substantial funding streams, significant cash reserves or revenue generated through liquor and gaming operations.

Greens councillor Erin Karsten, who sits on the council’s Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee, said the review was intended to improve consistency and fairness across council-owned properties leased to not-for-profit groups.

“I think certainly the whole intent of me raising this issue in the first place was really to seek some equity and fairness in this process,” Cr Karsten said.

“We don’t want to penalise our local sporting clubs. We don’t want to penalise Ballina Players.

“But I also want to make sure as a council that we’re adequately compensated where we’ve got large organisations who are driving a fair amount of revenue.”

Theatre raises alarm

Before councillors debated the policy, Ballina Players president Peter Harding addressed the meeting, warning the theatre group had become an unintended casualty of reforms designed to target much larger organisations.

Harding said Ballina Players had served the community for more than 70 years and relied heavily on volunteers to operate and maintain the theatre.

He said while the organisation’s financial statements showed significant assets, much of that value was tied up in the theatre building itself rather than cash reserves.

“The figure quoted in the report suggesting that Ballina Players has $900,000 in total member funds fails to take into account the figure includes the building Ballina Players funded to build,” he said.

Cr Erin Karsten

Ballina Players Theatre in Swift Street.

Harding also rejected comparisons with larger licensed clubs.

“Our bar is open less than 80 nights a year, spread over five productions, and is not aimed to be a high revenue entity,” he said.

He argued that imposing higher rents simply because a community group held a liquor licence risked discouraging legitimate fundraising activities.

“If I may leave you with a question, how do we quantify an hour of volunteer time?” Harding said.

“Is it one hour away from the family, one hour to save a life, or one hour they may not return from?

“It’s certainly not a dollar figure.”

Council staff confirmed Ballina Players would not have been immediately affected because its current lease has several years remaining. However, under the exhibited policy, the organisation’s liquor licence could have pushed it into a higher rental category when that lease was renewed.

Wider concerns emerge

The debate quickly expanded beyond Ballina Players.

Councillors questioned whether the policy adequately reflected the circumstances of other community organisations, including the Ballina Hockey Club.

Council staff noted the hockey club already pays a higher rental contribution under a separate arrangement linked to funding future replacement of its synthetic playing surface.

Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said Ballina Players had become caught up in a process that was never intended to target volunteer organisations.

“What they provide for our community is outstanding,” she said.

“It was never meant to penalise all the small community groups, those sporting clubs and everything else.”

The mayor also raised concerns about how the policy applied to community preschools and childcare centres, some of which operate with significantly larger revenues than volunteer-run organisations.

As a result, councillors requested a further report examining rental arrangements for preschools and community childcare centres.

Councillor Kiri Dicker ultimately moved the amendment that removed on-premises liquor licences as a criterion for determining rental charges.

The change received unanimous support.

Summing up the outcome, Cr Karsten said the debate had ultimately produced a better result.

“I think we’ve had one of those great efforts where we’ve all worked together to come out with a good outcome,” she said.

The amended policy was adopted unanimously.

Disclosure: The author is a member of Ballina Players Inc.