A MOTION to limit rate rises in the 2015-16 budget was deferred to be considered as part of the budget process at last week’s Donnybrook-Balingup Ordinary Council meeting.
The motion, put forward by Councillor Mike King, requested Council endorse an annual rate rise target to limit rate rise increases to three per cent, with future rate rises to be reflective of the WA economic situation, CPI, inflation and average wage increases.
Cr King suggested this would reflect the economic situation in WA, which in turn provided the basis of income for many shire ratepayers. He said that in setting the increases Council should consider the capacity of ratepayers to fund increases in Council rates, fees and charges, along with the many other increases being imposed by state utilities and service providers.
“The Donnybrook-Balingup Council has endorsed a 10 year long term financial plan which calls for rate rises of between six and seven per cent each year. Rate increases over the last four years have been six, seven, 6.7 and six per cent respectively, or roughly double the CPI and rates of inflation during those years,” he said.
“During last year’s budget discussions it was evident that a reduction of $117,000, or roughly savings of one per cent across the total Shire expenditure, would have allowed a rates increase of three per cent.”
Cr King said a cut in Shire revenue, even of one per cent, would reflect in some services offered by the Shire being cut or curtailed.
In introducing his motion Cr King stated that some 15,000 redundancies were announced in 2014, and many further redundancies in engineering and mining service companies had occurred, which had reflected in reduced money circulating in the economy, with further job losses and the closure of some businesses.
He said he was aware of neighbours who had been retrenched, and had been told of several small businesses that were to close in Donnybrook.
“Low wage rises across the state, and reduced pension increases and bank interest rates, means a tightening of many ratepayers incomes,” he said.
He said the Shire’s ratepayers could not be expected to continue to fund rate increases at twice the level of WA’s average wage rises, the CPI and inflation.
“The Council might well be able to increase productivity and efficiency in some sections of its operations rather than abandoning services to ratepayers, to achieve the $120,000 - $150,000 required to achieve a three per cent increase in rates,” he said.
Council resolved by a vote of six-three to delay any decision on the resolution until after Draft Budget discussions.
Shire Chief Executive John Attwood said Council had endorsed a ten year long term financial plan which provided for services to ratepayers to remain at the current level.
“Any reduction in the proposed rate increase will require a corresponding reduction of budgets, maintenance and asset management goals in the long term financial plan,” he said.
“Council is subject to a number of cost increases, the same as the general public. Council is also subject to reductions in grants from both the state and federal governments and exposed to cost shifting exercises.”
Mr Attwood said Council needed to assess expenditure and income and then have the opportunity to make the decision when all the information was available.
“We present a budget with a number of models of rate percentage increases for Council to consider based on all known expenditure and income, taking into account Council’s long term financial plan,” he said.