Fire charge input

By Kath Gannaway
AS THE Municipal Association of Victoria raises concerns about how fairness can be achieved in the restructured Fire Services Levy, the Victorian Government is calling for comment from the public.
Local MPs and government staff and advisers will attend a meeting in Lilydale on Monday 17 October aimed at getting community views on how a fairer and more equitable property-based FSL model will look.
The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) submission on the fire services levy raises concerns about how fairness can be achieved and argues that a capital improved valuation base would better reflect capacity to pay.
MAV president councillor Bill McArthur last week said local government had been frustrated by the lack of analysis in the government’s options paper which was a pre-requisite for an informed community discussion.
He said ideally the fire agencies should be funded by the government but conceded a property-based levy was the most likely method.
In the case of a property-based levy, he said there were many possible outcomes and unknowns.
“While farmers and inner metro property owners could pay more if the levy is assessed using only land values, apartments and large shopping centres could pay more if the model uses improved building values,” he said. Cr McArthur said a levy on capital improved value would be more accurate and would avoid extreme impacts that would result under other proposed options.
Cr McArthur also said councils were opposed to collecting the levy.
He said if a property-based fire levy was collected through rates using a capital improved valuation base, the MAV analysis showed the average rate increase would be 19 per cent, and in excess of 30 per cent in some municipalities.
Other issues included the exclusion of a levy on vehicles, given, he said, that a percentage of fire call outs are to vehicle crashes.
The meeting will be held at the Lilydale Bowling Club in Hardy Street at 6pm.