Council bids to bust rate cap

Geelong’s council wants permission to beat the State Government’s rate cap, the Essential Services Commission (ESC) has confirmed.
The ESC published a list of 21 councils that had notified it of their intention to apply for a rate increase higher than the 2.5 per cent cap.
Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins set the statewide cap under a Fair Go Rates System.
The ESC said councils still had to specify the rate increase they wanted.
In a statement, the ESC said some councils indicated they might not proceed with their application.
Councils now have until 31 March to submit their applications to the ESC.
The public applications would need to specify details of the rate increase including reasons for it, the opinions of ratepayers and the community, how the higher cap would be an efficient use of council resources and whether it represented value for money.
Applications would also have to reveal whether councils had considered “reprioritising” expenditures or alternative funding options.
The ESC said its decisions would be made public, including explanations, by 31 May.
Opposition local government spokesman David Davis said the applications were evidence of the government’s rate cap promise failing.
“Because of Labor’s poorly managed process over the last 12 months, councils have hiked up their rates and gouged residents,” Mr Davis said.
“Now we learn they want exemptions to avoid the rate cap plan.
“This Labor policy is a dog’s breakfast and Daniel Andrews needs to fix this immediately before people are even more out of pocket.
“Cost-of-living pressures are already making life harder for Victorians, so what they don’t need is more bad decision-making by Daniel Andrews that makes those pressures even tougher.”