By Jenel Hunt
The Southern Downs Regional Council budget for this financial year has been adopted, despite two councillors voting against it.
During a special meeting on Wednesday 24 July, criticisms were levelled at the 2024-25 budget by Cr Ross Bartley and Cr Russell Wantling.
Mayor Melissa Hamilton called it a responsible budget and said new rate categories that were being introduced would bring more equity into the council’s rating system.
“We have not increased the base residential general minimum rate this year following submissions and given the cost of living issues being faced by many residents,” she said.
“We have also made further changes to ensure that no residential rates payment will have more than a five per cent increase this year.”
She said 34 per cent of residential ratepayers would see no change, or even a decrease in their general rates.
With a full cost recovery model already in place and being introduced over several years for services including water, wastewater and waste, the charges had increased in those areas, with a leap of 9.25 per cent for water and increases of 3.5 per cent for both waste and wastewater.
“I believe this is a responsible budget which acknowledges the pressures our residents are under and which tries to deliver essential services while keeping rate rises low,” she said.
Cr Bartley disagreed, saying it was not a balanced budget.
“One third of our ratepayers are not going to see an increase or may get a reduction. That means the other two-thirds are going to carry the load, and there are areas in that which will be significantly impacted.
“The two-tiered water charge being changed to the user pays, I think, will be detrimental to one of our major employers – one of our major abattoirs.
“If that organisation were to seek and find another way of sourcing their own water and treating their own water, the water charges in this community would increase significantly, because they actually assist with the viability and cost effective delivery of community water.
“We will have a major impact on that industry and we do not yet know the fallout from that.”
He also expressed concern about the rates set to be charged to shopping centres, saying the tenants would bear the brunt of the cost increases.
“It’s been released that 47 per cent of small businesses are considering folding up in Australia. Have we assisted that process for small businesses to close up?”
Cr Wantling was similarly unimpressed.
“Increasing rates on our larger shopping centres by up to 25 per cent will not do anything but punish the smaller tenants who are already faced with great pressures,” he said.
“We need to be looking at new income streams. Our current system cannot keep slugging our ratepayers. I can’t in good conscience [vote for] this budget and do this to our community.”
Cr Wantling and Bartley also criticised the proposed employment of a new person to support the mayor and councillors, but within hours of the budget being adopted, an advertisement had been uploaded to the council’s Facebook page offering a position for an executive support officer.
Cr Hamilton said the council had received 27 submissions during the community consultation phase, and 15 of the submissions had been related to the rates category review.
“A number of submissions requested that the rating review by local government rating specialists, AEC Group be made public. The previous council engaged AEC Group on terms that made this review commercial-in-confidence. However, this new council has requested that staff ask AEC Group to publicly release a summary of this review. I hope that this will be achievable and I will continue to push for this.”
The council has provided a budget snapshot itemising the broad categories of the distribution of revenue and expenditure. Revenue will include net general rates of 36 per cent, utility charges of 37 per cent, fees and charges of seven per cent and grants and contributions of 12 per cent. In expenditure, employee benefits will be 32 per cent, materials and services 44 per cent and depreciation and amortisation 23 per cent.
In summary, operational expenditure is expected to reach $100 million. Capital expenditure is expected to be $48.7 million. The community support component including art gallery facilities, river trust, Darling Downs Moreton Rabbit Board, tourism and events support and community grants will total $1.4 million.
