Rate rises are defended

By Melissa Donchi
A SHIRE of Yarra Ranges ratepayer has accused the shire of holding its citizens to ransom with skyrocketing rates that are at least $200 more expensive than in neighbouring municipalities.
Les Fyffe owns three properties, one in the Shire of Yarra Ranges with the others in the City of Maroondah and City of Knox.
After the shire’s recent rate hike he now pays more than $900 for his house in the Shire of Yarra Ranges while paying just $644 for a similar property in Knox.
“Believe it or not, this $900 is a pensioner’s rate,” Mr Fyffe said.
“I would hate to think what the regular rate was – it must be crippling.” Mr Fyffe says the shire’s spending habits must be curbed or else the rates should be capped to prevent more rate rises in the future.
“The Shire of Yarra Ranges is by far the most extreme,” Mr Fyffe said.
“This is what happens when there is no cap on rates – they just keep going up.”
According to the Shire of Yarra Ranges, rates revenue is the council’s largest income stream, accounting for almost 63 per cent of the total income that is received by the council on an ongoing annual basis.
In the 2007-08 budget handed down in June this year, the council approved a rates increase of 6.9 per cent to enable the shire to maintain and upgrade a range of infrastructure as well as a boost to councillor ward funds increasing them from $7500 to $20,000.
Shire spokesman James Martin said the council’s overall rate increase of 6.9 per cent was ‘moderate’ and was in line with or slightly lower than many neighbouring councils.
“Based on rates data provided by the Municipal Association of Victoria the shire’s rates per head of population are the 53rd lowest out of Victoria’s 79 councils,” Mr Martin said.
“In other words, 52 councils charge higher rates than the Shire of Yarra Ranges per head of population.”