Residents slam 5.5% rates hike

Kim Waters
A proposed 5.5 per cent rates hike has angered Borough of Queenscliff ratepayers.
The hike prompted them to demand that council pegs rates to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation to end “exorbitant” increases and financial pressure on struggling families.
Queenscliff Community Association member David Kenwood said residents were “fed up”.
“Last year the residents were pleasantly surprised with a 3.5 per cent increase but now we’re faced with an increase almost double CPI,” Mr Kenwood said.
“In my opinion it can’t be justified.”
Mr Kenwood feared the budget was “locked in”, so any community consultation was pointless.
He believed overstaffing and excessive council debt was behind the rates hike.
“Queenscliffe is a small borough and we don’t need all the staff that they’ve recently added or the new offices that they’ve gone into debt for.”
The borough will have about $1.5 million in loan debts at June 30.
Mayor Bob Merriman said the rates hike was “disappointing but necessary”.
“It’s more than I expected,” he said.
“However the necessity arises from…our asset renewal program. Clearly, the assets have not been reviewed for some considerable time.
“We are now looking down the barrel at a very substantial outlay to look at our assets and maintain them…somewhere in the vicinity of $600,000.”
Cr Merriman said the borough could no longer avoid “the necessary evil”.
“Hopefully we can take action in the next 12 months to get the balance of our finances into a better shape than what they are.”