Residents asked to approve rate rise

Residents asked to approve rate rise

Leichhardt Council’s General Manager, Peter Head, says he will not proceed with a proposed rate rise if residents don’t approve it.

“If the community says no, this isn’t going anywhere,” Mr Head told a community meeting in Balmain last weekend.

But exactly what level of opposition would lead Council to back down is unclear. There is no vote, and the regulator only requires Council to demonstrate it engaged with the community in order to approve a special rate variation.

In a written response, a spokesperson for Council said it “will consider public feedback to the proposal from a range of sources, including (but not limited to) the online survey, public  forums, telephone survey and the like”.

Mr Head began Saturday’s public meeting with a declaration that “we are not in financial difficulties” and “our assets are currently in good condition”.

But service levels would slip over the coming decade without a boost to council’s income, he warned.

Several residents expressed concern about apparently discretionary spending being prioritised over vital infrastructure works.

“Concentrate on roads and stormwater and essentials,” one attendee suggested. “Stop putting flower boxes around Rozelle … why are we paying for things like this that aren’t used 95 per cent of the time?”

A Council spokesperson confirmed that an itemised list of infrastructure projects to be funded by the special rate rise would be presented at the November ordinary Council meeting.

Several residents also complained they were effectively paying higher rates already as a result of increasing land values. One said her Balmain land had risen in value by 15 per cent at its most recent valuation.

Others referred to Council’s perennially high commercial rates. According to a flyer circulated by resident Cornelius van Derweyden, the average business rate in 2011/12 was $6,151, compared to $5,072 in Marrickville and $2,464 in Canada Bay.

Mr Van Derweyden has also calculated that employee costs represent 50 per cent of Leichhardt’s outgoings, marginally higher than Marrickville and Woollahra, but significantly higher than Burwood and Canada Bay. But Council claims the comparison isn’t useful because it ignores contract work.

Mr Van Derweyden said too much money was spent on salaries and expensive colour marketing campaigns rather than fixing potholes and collecting garbage. He also felt Council would benefit from renewal within its team.

“Some of the people in these positions have been there for a long, long time, and I think these guys become fossilised,” he said.

Mr Head said Saturday’s meeting was part of an ongoing process of community consultation around council’s financial options. Council must notify IPART of its intentions by December 13 and submit its application for a rate variation by February 24.

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