Council sticks with its rates rise

At last nights Council meeting I put forward a notice of motion on the rates requesting Council to

"Suspend its application for a rate rise until the completion of Councils restructure and that any associated deficit be advertised in the upcoming budget sessions"

Just as predicted the motion was not supported but this time there was good debate around the issue and during the course of the meeting an amendment was made to the motion, to try and accommodate the opinions of Councillors

There is no doubt that Shoalhaven City Council needs to raise the rates and I have made no secret of that over the years. What Council has failed to do is a comprehensive community consultation on the issue and taken the level of complaints about road infrastructure as a gauge of community opinion.

I also think that any rate rise could have been mapped out over a couple of years with smaller percentage increase across a number of years.For example 2% each year over 4 years on top of the rate pegging amount. This years rate pegging amount is 3.6% so that would have been a 5.6% increase instead of 8%.

What was made obvious last night that Councillors didn't seem to understand that an 8% increase this year doesn't come back out of the rates next year. Once Council increase the bottom line of the rates  it stays. Councils can 'backout' a rate increase and make it valid for just one year but the amendment that was made to put this idea on public exhibition was also voted down.

And so we have it- a Council that believes to be 'strong' and show 'leadership' you have to dig in with a rates rise and not consider the opinion of the community.

If Council had done proper consultation I believe that people would have been much more supportive of an incremental increase especially once Council had its 'house in order' after the costs and disruptions of the 'restructure'.