Last week, a dispute that spanned over two years between the council and a ratepayer ended in the latter being provided information about the costs associated with several works being undertaken in the area.

The Campbell Town War Memorial Oval, and Longford Recreation Ground were both mentioned in the document. When information on each was made public via Facebook, several Northern Midlands residents accused the council of overspending on both projects.

They dug up development plans from as early as 2012, indicating initial forecasted costs were far lower than where they stand today.

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However, Northern Midlands mayor Mary Knowles immediately rubbished those claims, saying the council was pleased with the results of both works.

"The initial budgets were only ever for the initial stages of the redevelopments, which were completed with a combination of construction items," she said.

"The redevelopment projects are fully funded with council authorised budgets over the full period and thankfully were substantially completed prior to the recent building boom which would have escalated project costs."

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Cr Knowles revealed works on the Campbell Town Recreation Ground, which included the replacement of the clubrooms and amenities, the upgrade and landscaping of the cenotaph, as well as the addition of formal car parks, two tennis courts, and minor pool facilities, came to a total cost of $4.874 million with works ongoing.

She said the council had a total budget of $5.05 million for the project, with a 3.48 per cent variance, and had allocated a further $126,000 as part of the 2022/23 budget for internal road and carpark sealing, $45,000 for TasWater upgrades and irrigation near the tennis lawn area, and $41,500 for acoustics improvements, an additional kitchen door, and installation of club memorabilia.

Ms Knowles also said the Longford Recreation Ground renovations including upgraded clubrooms and umpire's rooms, improvements to public amenities and grandstands , as well as the addition of a formal car park and entrance, amounted to $3.235 million, slightly under the allocated budget of $3.047 million with a 6.18 per cent variance.

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This comes after the council announced it had increased its general rates for residents of the municipality by a figure 4.5 per cent at their monthly meeting last Monday. There was also a $20 increase to the standard service charge increase for waste management.

Cr Knowles said council did its best to help the community and keep rates as low as possible, but given today's climate, a small rise couldn't be helped.

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