Rates to rise by 6 per cent for Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes residents

Rates are planned to rise by 6.1 per cent for residents in the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes. The proposed increase for the 2023-24 financial year was voted on by councillors at the latest council meeting on May 25, with officers outlining an increase to the minimum rate for properties falling into the “general gross rental value” category from $1048 to $1112 — equating to an additional $64 a year. Properties falling under “rural unimproved” are set to have a minimum payment of $1378, up from $1299 on 2022-23 rates — an increase of $79 a year. The increase will go toward filling an estimated budget deficiency of $5.668 million caused by “enormously” increasing costs for items such as wages and insurance. The council has planned a 4.6 per cent increase to staff salaries and a 0.5 per cent increase to superannuation, in accordance with legislative requirements. Shire president Jenny Mountford said insurance alone had risen by an estimated 12.5 per cent for the financial year ahead. “The costs of everything have just gone up enormously,” she said. “I think every household is aware of the increase in costs.” Acknowledging that cost-of-living pressures had also continued to increase on residents, Ms Mountford said part of this year’s increase was actually a delayed rise that should have been levied in 2022-23, which the council deferred in an attempt to lighten the load on household budgets. As a result of that decision, which saw rates rise in 2022-23 by just 4 per cent, an added 1.57 per cent helped make up part of the 6.1 per cent rise for this year. Cr Mountford said the officers had been careful to note that CPI was sitting at 7 per cent and that increase, in addition to the rolled over rate increase, would have put too much pressure on ratepayers, which is why the overall rise they had settled on was 6.1 per cent. Only properties that fall into the differential rate category of “mining unimproved value” will see a decrease in the minimum payment from $387 in 2022-23 to $211 in 2023-24. According to the Shire, the reduction in rates for the “mining unimproved value” category was to ensure no more than 50 per cent of properties within the category were on the minimum payment, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1995. Money raised from this category is designed to provide a funding stream to cover maintenance and renewal requirements needed for council roads because of the heavy mining traffic in the Shire. For the 2023-24 financial year, the funds raised from the category will be transferred to a reserve to be used for renewal works on Maranup Ford Road or Stanifer Street. In a document provided to the public to help explain the proposed changes to rates, the Shire said it would “maintain existing relativities between all rating categories to those that applied in 2022-23 (adjusted for natural growth)“ to “ensure a consistent and equitable distribution of the required rates yield from one year to the next.” “In arriving at the proposed rates in the dollar the council has attempted to balance the need for revenue to fund essential services and facilities with the desire to limit any increase on ratepayers to an affordable level in an equitable manner,” the document said. News of the rates increase comes as it was revealed interest rates were on the way up again, with the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday hiking them for the 12th time in just over a year — and warning more may be ahead as it moves to squash inflation. The central bank increased the official cash rate by one-quarter of a percentage point to 4.1 per cent, its highest since April 2012. The move comes after higher than expected inflation for April was revealed last week and an increase announced in the minimum wage by the Fair Work Commission on Friday. The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes’ proposed increase is also in line with several other local authorities, including the Shire of Dardanup which also proposed a 6 per cent increase during the local authority’s May meeting, equating to an overall minimum payment increase for most ratepayers of about $100 for the year. City of Bunbury councillors in March voted to have a draft 2023-24 annual budget prepared based on a rate yield increase of 7 per cent, resulting in ratepayers potentially paying an average of $1861. However, other local authorities around the State have been able to keep proposed increases lower, including Augusta-Margaret River which is proposing a 4.75 per cent increase, the City of Swan at 3.75 per cent, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder at 3.97 per cent and the City of Karratha at 5 per cent. The proposed rates will now go out for public comment. To have your say, visit bridgetown.wa.gov.au/council/news-information/community-consultation.