Wyndham City Council is warning that services and infrastructure funding could be cut if a cap on council rates is implemented.
Leader of the state opposition Daniel Andrews announced last week that if his party was elected in November it would force all Victorian councils to cap their rates at the consumer price index (CPI) and justify any further expenses.
Mr Andrews touted the plan as a fair go for ratepayers and said that any council that wished to raise its rates above CPI would have to make a special appeal to a commission.
“Under Labor, councils will be forced to limit rate rises and detail where every dollar will be spent, because ratepayers deserve a fair go,” Mr Andrews said.
“This policy also sends a clear message that we expect councils to keep their rates in line with CPI. Any increases above this must provide a clear benefit to ratepayers.”
But Wyndham mayor Bob Fairclough said that capping rates was not the best way to reduce costs and unnecessary spending.
“In growth areas such as Wyndham, the need for new infrastructure and increasing service demands in key areas, such as kindergartens and maternal and child health, means that rate increases of approximately five to six per cent are required,” Cr Fairclough said. “Capping rates increases to CPI would result in service cuts and a reduction in capital works spending, which is not what this community needs.”
Cr Fairclough said if the state government wanted to reduce rate increases it should increase grants to growth areas to help pay for vital infrastructure.
“Between 2002-03 and 2012-13, the cost of running Wyndham’s libraries rose 296 per cent, but state government funding only rose by 143 per cent during the same period,” he said.
“School crossing supervision is another example, with the cost of operating this service rising 261 per cent from 2002-03 to 2012-13 and the government funding increasing by only 93 per cent in the same period.”
