A heads up for MidCoast Council ratepayers. Council rates will be going up by 4.5-5.5 per cent after the NSW Independent Pricing Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) gave the go ahead to an increase for the 2024-25 financial year. The previous rate peg was 3.9 per cent. While councils across the state welcomed the new rate hike it's just another cost of living expense many struggling homeowners cannot afford. The increase is a result of a new method of determining local government rates by IPART The new methodology takes each individual council area into account and sets the rate peg accordingly. This means MidCoast Council will be able to increase its total rates by 5.2 per cent. However this doesn't result in all rates going up by that amount, MidCoast Council mayor, Claire Pontin said. Individual assessments take into account a range of factors including land value and rating zones. Cr Pontin welcomed the changes and the early announcement of the 2024-25 rate peg, which she said would assist development of the budget which in turn guided the delivery of services. "You cannot have a one size fits all approach to councils because they are all different," Cr Pontin said. "This new methodology takes each council's individual challenges into account and sets rates accordingly," she said. The new methodology takes into account employee cost increases, forecast inflation and council-specific changes in Emergency Services Levy contributions and population growth. MidCoast Council's rate peg for the next financial year is comparable to other nearby local government areas including Coffs Harbour at 5.6 per cent and Port Macquarie Hastings at 4.6 per cent, Cr Pontin said. Local Government NSW (LGNSW) president, Darriea Turley AM said the new process for determining the rate peg should ensure a greater level of financial sustainability for councils. "Councils need to be able to pay for the services communities expect and deserve and this new rate peg methodology goes part way towards making that achievable," Cr Turley said. "LGNSW has been advocating for change for years and I'm confident that this will provide better outcomes for councils moving forward," she said