Community members can now have an impact on how the council charges residents directly for small local infrastructure projects.
City of Greater Geelong has begun a community engagement period to inform an update of its Special Rates and Charges (SRC) policy, which enables the community to request small upgrades to seal roads and build footpaths, kerbs and stormwater drains.
However, the policy also allows the City to directly charge owners for those upgrades that benefit their property, often to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.
Over the past year council has heard from a number of property owners protesting the amount they have been assessed to pay for improvements abutting their land.
Mayor Stretch Kontelj said community input was vital to shape the policy.
“Our current policy was developed in 2021; it’s time for a refresh to meet the needs and expectations of our community,” he said.
“We must ensure the updated policy is grounded in community input and values.”
“The rollout of these schemes is guided by residents at each step of the process, so it’s important the community is involved from the start to shape the policy.”
Councillor and finance portfolio chair Andrew Katos acknowledged that asking the community to co-fund schemes was difficult.
“Financial pressure on council budgets makes it impossible to meet all community expectations for infrastructure and services within a reasonable timeframe,” he said.
“These schemes are designed to generate the funding necessary to deliver on community requests to specific areas where they aren’t currently available or provided.”
Visit geelong.link/SRCPolicyReview to leave feedback until 5pm Wednesday 5 November.
