Last night's Federal Budget saw another $1 billion being allocated to local councils throughout Australia to upgrade roads, footpaths, street lighting and other community improvements through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI Program).

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This is on top of the $500 million allocated in May this year.

The Lismore App can confirm that the Lismore City Council funding allocation is $1.9 million after last nights budget. This is in addition to the $1.2 originally allocated in May.

It sounds small when you compare it to $1 billion but there are a lot of councils in Australia for this money to be shared. The formula used involves the road length and population. When you compare this to our neighbouring councils Lismore City Council was allocated the most for the Northern Rivers from the original $500 million.

With 1200 kms of road network to maintain, the Lismore City Council has one of the largest road networks in NSW so should get a large slice of the LRCI Program.

The next question is, what road projects will be upgraded using this $1.9 million?

The procedure is for the Lismore City Council to sit down and prioritise their list of roads and community projects then apply for the $1.9 through a government grant process.

A spokesperson for the Lismore City Council said "We will sit down as a council and work out what projects will get us the best value for money."

According to the LRCI Program guidelines this could be in the form of roads, bicycle paths, picnic shelters, playgrounds or skateparks. The main criteria is that the funding stimulates growth and creates jobs in local communities following the impacts of COVID-19.

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Now that the money has been allocated, the next step is for Lismore City Council to prioritise what is best for our community, apply for the funding and execute the plan as soon as possible.

On the Lismore City Council website General Manager Shelley Oldham says “It is unrealistic to expect that our roads will be as good as those in metropolitan areas. We have a $70 million roads backlog and we do not receive adequate funding from other tiers of government to adequately maintain our 1200km road network."

While this is true, an allocation of $3.1 million from the Federal Government will certainly help fix the worst roads.

To view the 2020/21 Roadworks Schedule push on this link https://yoursay.lismore.nsw.gov.au/lismoreroadworksprogram.