COUNCIL funding, the Fire Services Levy and freight transport subsidies – these were Horsham Rural City Council’s major focuses at the Municipal Association of Victoria State Council meeting on October 19.
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The council presented three motions at the meeting and all received positive feedback from fellow councils.
Horsham Mayor Pam Clarke and Cr Mark Radford attended the meeting, which was attended by council representatives from across the state.
The first motion asked for complete review of how local government was funded.
Cr Clarke said the motion received 100 per cent support.
“That’s rare, so it was really good. All the city services agreed that their needed to be a review as to how local government was funded,” Cr Clarke said.
“With the rate capping, the pressure on smaller councils is huge and there needs to be a more fair way to fund smaller councils.
“When you look at those smaller councils, 70 to 80 per cent of their rates come from the farming community.
“That’s a huge burden on the farming community, when you see farm prices going up so quickly as well. They don’t have any room to move and it makes it really difficult for them.”
The council’s second motion was around the Fire Services Levy, which received 98 per cent support.
“We collect all the Fire Service Levy for the whole municipality and send 100 per cent of that to the state government – we don’t receive anything for the administration of that, we just have to send it all through,” she said.
“When they put all the infrastructure for firefighting, especially in Grampians area, they put a lot of new stuff in but made us responsible to maintain it. That puts another cost shifting burden on council.
“What we asked for in the motion was to have access to some of the levy. It is only logical that we should be able to use money from the levy to assist in maintaining the fire services infrastructure.”
The third motion involved the Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal.
“There is a subsidy given to help maintain that – the Mode Shift Incentive Scheme,” she said.
“The government gives trucks a subsidy between $80 and $100 when they move a 20 foot container.
“However, when they move 20 foot container on the rail, they only get a $20 subsidy and they are looking at taking that away at the end of next year.
“We asked them to keep that subsidy going because it keeps a lot of trucks off the road and helps make business viable.”
That motion got 97 per cent support.
Cr Clarke said the MAV would now lobby the outcomes to the appropriate government ministers.
“When you get a high per cent success rate like these motions did, it gives them more clout to lobby the government. We’re really thrilled that the three were well received,” she said.
Yarriambiack Shire Council mayor Graeme Massey said the council didn’t submit any motions, however supported many from other councils.
“Horsham’s motion for the funding model received support from us; I think only three out of the 60-plus motions that were put up got 100 per cent from everyone. We do need as new funding model, that’s for sure,” he said.
“There were a few that we supported and affected us that got rejected. One was around proposing 80 kilometre speed limits on all gravel roads. Everyone who lives in the country knows to drive to conditions. To put 80 on all them is unnecessary.”
