HORSHAM Rural City residents will have to wait until late May to find out how much their rates will increase next year.
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Councillors adopted a draft 2016-17 budget at a meeting on Monday night.
The draft budget includes a 2.5 per cent rate rise, plus an extra one per cent to cover council’s infrastructure gap.
Victorian councils will be limited to rate rises of 2.5 per cent when the state government’s rate capping policy takes effect from July.
However councils had the option to apply to the Essential Services Commission for higher rate caps.
Horsham council requested a one per cent increase on the cap, and is waiting on the commission’s decision.
Council’s corporate services director Graeme Harrison said rate capping and the commission submission meant the budget had to be prepared earlier than normal.
“Council has chosen to apply for a one per cent additional rate increase to continue with a practice it has had in place for the past eight years, to tag extra rate income towards the renewal of its ageing infrastructure,” he said.
“The growing gap between infrastructure investment by councils and the deterioration of community assets, such as roads and buildings, is a problem facing the whole sector.”
Big ticket items in the budget include a $20-million capital works program, with $7.59 million going towards roads, $1.18 million for bridges, and $2.48 million for a children’s hub in Horsham’s north.
The budget also includes a combined $75,000 for master plans for Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange and Horsham Aquatic Centre, $100,000 for design work to relocate council’s depot in Selkirk Drive to outside the central business district, and $50,000 to investigate a Wimmera River pedestrian bridge near Hamilton Street.
Council has proposed a 20 per cent farm differential, and will apply a three per cent municipal charge increase.
Mr Harrison said while the overall proposed rate increase was 3.5 per cent, the actual increase individuals paid would vary because it was a municipal revaluation year.
“In a revaluation year, rate increases are impacted by the proposed rate increase of 3.5 per cent, and the property valuation increases of individual properties relative to the average across the municipality,” he said.
The average valuation increase was 10.8 per cent.
“If a property increased by more in value than the average, its rates will increase by more than 3.5 per cent,” Mr Harrison said.
“If a property value increased by less than average, then rates will increase by less than 3.5 per cent, and could in fact reduce from the previous year.”
Mr Harrison said residents could write to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Peter Brown, PO Box 511 Horsham Vic 3400, or email council@hrcc.vic.gov.au to provide budget feedback before June 6.
Council plans to adopt the budget on June 20.
