Blue Mountains Council has reduced its debt by nearly $40 million over the last eight years, reducing the burden from $59 million in 2015 to $20m now.
The reduction has freed up $4m a year which had been used to cover the debt costs. These funds are now used to support delivery of services and renewal and maintenance of council assets.
The mayor, Mark Greenhill, who highlighted the figures at this week's council meeting, said the council had been "prudent managers" in recent years.
"This council has done a pretty good job ... in setting a strategy for running this council sustainably, especially our finances.
"We have had a lot of disruption yet we have continued to reduce debt."
He thanked his fellow councillors, the executive team and the front-line staff who had worked together to manage council, environmentally and financially.
"It's a credit to everybody in the organisation," Cr Greenhill said.
Fellow Labor councillors Don McGregor and Mick Fell also noted how the lower interest payments on the reduced debt meant an additional $4m in council's annual budget.
A report debated in a mayoral minute at the meeting showed that council had recorded a surplus every year for 10 years until 2019-20, when bushfires, COIVID-19, flooding and asbestos management left the budget $5 million in the red.
But it warned that that figure could have been a lot worse without the measures that have been introduced in recent years.
"Through the improved financial position of council and active management of reserves, including establishment of a risk reserve that continues to be replenished to manage future shocks, the council has been able to manage and minimise adverse impacts from these financial shocks on service delivery for the community."
It also highlighted programs that have reduced both energy costs and carbon emissions. These include $303,000 savings in 2021-22 from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
