IPART released its decisions on the special rate variations (SRV) for Armidale council and Liverpool Plains Shire Council (LPSC) on Monday, after a lengthy process of council surveys and community consultation.

LPSC residents will cop a two-year temporary increase of eight per cent per year in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. This will then be removed from the rate base on July 1, 2023.

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Mayor Doug Hawkins said the SRV was necessary to catch up with large cost increases over the past six years like maintaining, renewing and upgrading new assets; escalating cost pressures; increased community expectations; and inflation.

"Furthermore, if we wish to continue to receive grant funding from the state and federal governments for major projects, they expect the community to pay what they consider a reasonable level of rates," he said.

"The truth is, that if council had not been successful in gaining millions of dollars in funding through grant applications, the many major projects it has been undertaking to provide better sporting and recreational facilities, improved library facilities, projects in most smaller communities and extra funding for roads, all projects that had resulted from community consultation, would not have been possible."

Armidale residents will see the same bills as the past seven years, after a 10 per cent rate variation was approved to continue.

It will rollover for the next financial year on July 1.

It's what mayor Ian Tiley and Armidale Regional Ratepayers Association (ARRA) deputy chair, Dr Herman Ernst Beyersdorf, had been hoping for.

"If we hadn't changed this SRV now, we would've had to cut approximately $1.5 million out of our 2021/2022 budget," Cr Tiley said.

"There was virtually nobody that said they didn't want any increase or continuation of the SRV, because to do that would've meant significant cuts in services."

Dr Beyersford said IPART's decision wouldn't mean any changes for Armidale residents.

"The net effect is really zero, in terms of what happens in reality, because we had a temporary rate increase back in 2014 of roughly 10 per cent and that was for seven years," he said.

Cr Hawkins acknowledged that advocating and supporting an SRV was "certainly not the way to win a popularity competition, however, it was the responsible thing to do".

"Hard decisions had to be taken and my colleagues bit the bullet to put council in a position to better service the community in the years ahead, to meet the aspirations that community consultation has told us you desire, to further implement local government best practice and importantly to retain our own local identity," he said.

"Councillors and the management team recognise there is further work to be done to achieve the necessary results and as a team we will remain highly focused on achieving the best long-term outcomes for the community."

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