6.9% rates hike shock

Alex de Vos
Residents have slammed Surf Coast Shire’s plan to increase rates by 6.9 per cent to help pay for $23 million “Taj Mahal” council offices.
Surf Coast Shire Community and Ratepayers Association’s Lyn Smith labelled the hike “phenomenal”.
“It’s a huge amount, really. Local ratepayers have to fork out all the time and it’s a lot for people to deal with,” Ms Smith said.
Surf Coast councillors approved their 2010/2011 budget on Wednesday night, predicting debt to balloon to $17.26 million over the next three years.
Under the new budget the shire also plans to sting each ratepayer an extra $20 as part of a municipal charge.
Council expected loans and revenue from fees and charges to cover the shire’s $34.51 million capital works program, which included the construction of the new shire offices at the northern entry to Torquay
Mayor Libby Coker admitted the rate increase was “higher than that indicated” in the shire’s 2005/2009 strategic resource plan, which predicted a six per cent hike.
Cr Coker said the higher rate was essential to meeting the needs of a “rapidly growing population and the construction of the community and civic precinct development”.
Cr Joe Remenyi warned his colleagues they must “reign back” rates in subsequent years.
He said the proposed hike was “uniquely high”.
“We need to take the services and review them, ask what the community wants and what they will pay for.
“I approve the budget but I can’t walk away from the rate increase. I stress that we need to reign in spending so we are not leading the way in rate rises.”
Ms Smith said the new shire offices were not worth the cost to ratepayers.
“We’re going to have to pay for years in the future because of the huge civic precinct – the Taj Mahal,” she said.
“I can’t believe they’ve done what they’ve done. Everything to do with the precinct has exploded – nothing was costed to the maximum and now we’ve got to wear it.”
City of Greater Geelong and Borough of Queenscliffe have proposed rates increases of 4.9 and 5.5 per cent respectively.