Newcastle Council has rejected calls to give more funding to Newcastle Now.
Four local independents called on the local council to give a further $200, 000 to support CBD ratepayers in last night's meeting, but the motion was voted down.
Newcastle Council CEO Jeremy Bath says Council injects around $850, 000 to the association each year, but says it's put a freeze on the money due to Newcastle Now's lack of recent business plans.
Independent Councillor John Church says the current ratepayer rebate is not giving adequate compensation to businesses affected by light rail.
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'But what we found was that the state government wasn't prepared to fund it and Newcastle City Council also walked away. It's a real shame because these are real people suffering real financial hardships, and we need these business traders to make our city work.'
The current rebate system requires ratepayers to pay business operators money before they are eligible to receive money back from the council as a result of light rail impact.
Councillor Church believes the current system is failing and business owners are continually being let down.
'The state government and council don't seem to take the plight of these small businesses seriously. These are people with their homes on the line, we've heard of a business 'Flying Tiger' that's had to sell their home to pay their staff. This is serious stuff, and we shouldn't be playing games or politics on this matter, we should be keeping these small businesses in focus and top of mind so that we can help them survive.'
