By Callum Ludwig
A small adjustment has been made to the rates for Yarra Ranges residents after the Tuesday 23 July Council meeting.
The minor change had to be implemented after Yarra Ranges Council received supplementary valuation changes from the Valuer General of Victoria (VGV) between the council adopting the 2024-25 final budget and the end of the last financial year.
Streeton Ward Councillor Andrew Fullagar spoke to the motion and said this is a fundamentally administrative adjustment.
“It flows from mainly timing considerations of providing data to the Valuer General and then our endorsement that followed shortly after, of the budget,” he said.
“This year there’s a larger than usual component of supplementary rates to the tune of around 380,000 above estimates and council needs to then marginally reduce the rate in the dollar amounts that flow to the rest of the community to comply with the rate cap of 2.75 per cent and that equates to the princely sum of around $4 per assessment,”
“I’m satisfied the calculations provided are correct and so very happy to support this motion tonight.”
If the changes weren’t adopted, it would have resulted in Yarra Ranges Council charging a rate increase of 2.94 per cent, rather than the capped 2.75 per cent increase permitted.
Changes in the number of levies of each type, the rate in the dollar (RID) itself and subsequently the revenue raised by Yarra Ranges Council for each have all altered slightly.
The number of residential, vacant sub-stand, farm and commercial levies all reduced, recreation/cultural levies remained the same and the number of industrial levies increased.
The RID was reduced in all categories, with the most significant reduction being in the uncapped recreation/cultural levies and the general total from rates has been reduced to $146,215,000.
Lyster Ward Councillor Johanna Skelton seconded the motion and said the Council always has to wait for the valuations.
“We don’t get to dictate when they come to us and in this instance, it’s caused us to have to do a bit of a correction but overall I think residents and ratepayers will be probably happy that it is that $3.97 approximate reduction,” she said.
“That’s an average but we obviously have to do this to maintain the rates being at the cap that we’ve nominated so it’s an essential and procedural process.”
Councils are not reprimanded or deemed non-compliant if they have to make a rate readjustment following the VGV valuation but the Essential Services Commission does recommend Councils have processes in place to identify possible non-compliance and readjust rates as early as possible to reduce confusion and cost for ratepayers.
