Vol. No. Vol. 2518No. 4427
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Wednesday, January 13, 2023 2016 Wednesday, May 17,
HISTORIC MOVE: The 2023 Horsham District league grand final will be played at Quantong Recreation Reserve after hosting rights were awarded to the venue on Friday. It will be the third time in 27 years the league’s premiership matches will not be played at Horsham City Oval. NoradjuhaQuantong president Matt Treacy and HDFNL chair Rosemary Langley visit the Quantong facilities following the announcement. Story, page 5.
Costs balancing act A
BY ABBY WALTER
Wimmera mayor is adamant alternative funding streams, other than rates, are necessary to support local governments navigating rising costs of council operations.
Hindmarsh Shire Council mayor Brett Ireland said local government expenditure was significantly exceeding revenue. “Local government inflation is running at about 14 percent for our expenditure on raw materials and fuel, while insurance has gone up by 25 percent,” he said. “Rates have been capped for the past five years and the rate cap this year has been increased to 3.5 percent. “We get a pool of funding federally
that keeps local governments going, but every time your expenses exceed your rate revenue, you must decrease services. “However, I am a big believer that we can’t keep getting money from increasing rates. “We need another funding stream or increased funding stream to cover the operational costs of local government.” Local Government Minister Melissa Horne announced the rate cap for the 2023-24 financial year would be 3.5 percent under the Fair Go Rates system. At the time of the announcement, Ms Horne said the cap took inflation into account and was set 0.5 percent lower than the independent advice
from the Essential Services Commission due to cost-of-living pressures. The rate cap limits the amount a council can increase its total revenue from general rates and municipal charges for that year. Councils set rates individually through the yearly budget process and under the Local Government Legislative Amendment – Rating and Other Matters – Act 2022, have the power to defer or waive rates, charges and interest to ratepayers experiencing financial hardship. Cr Ireland said services would diminish if expenses exceeded rate revenue. “Within the day-to-day operations of local government, it is getting harder to stretch the dollar,” he said.
“We don’t want a situation where there is rate capping for 10 to 20 years at a low percentage and all of a sudden, they let the leash off. “That would cause councils to try to play catch up, which we don’t want because rates are high enough.” A Northern Grampians Shire Council spokesperson said the council experienced minimal impacts of rising costs on day-to-day operations. “The biggest impact has been in capital works delivery, where rising construction costs have resulted in a need to reprioritise project expenditure,” the spokesperson said. “As rates are limited by the rate cap, the draft budget has been prepared on the bases of fitting within the funding profile.
“This means new projects and service expansion proposals have been kept to a minimum to ensure council maintains its current levels of service.” The spokesperson said the decision to set the rate cap considered inflation. “At a council level, there is no inflation impact on budgeted rates, as rates will be set based on the cap,” the spokesperson said. “However, if future rate caps do not keep pace with the level of inflation, the council will need to delay planned projects or reduce services.” Cr Ireland said there was also a difficult balance with the need to spend money to maintain infrastructure and services. Continued page 3
IN THIS ISSUE • State Budget wish list • Education Week feature • Volleyball squad selection Phone: 03 5382 1351 Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
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