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Nominal Rate Rise for Melville

Published Date: 28 June 2012, 09:22 AM

Following City of Melville Council’s adoption of the 2012/2013 Budget on Tuesday, 26 June 2012 the City confirms there will be a nominal increase in residential rates this year.

With rates notices due out from Friday, 20 July 2012, residents can expect to see an increase of 5.2 per cent or an average of $53.00 in their general rates. This equates to about $1.00 a week increase for the average residential ratepayer. The overall increase compares favourably with other Councils.

While the draft budget proposed a 4.5% rate increase, City of Melville Council voted for an amendment to include $350,000.00 in additional funding to develop public open spaces for the community. In 2012/2013 redevelopment is marked for the former Water Corporation site in Mount Pleasant and planning and design for the former Carawatha Primary School site in Willagee.

Chief Executive Officer Dr Shayne Silcox said the budget for 2012/2013 is a sound and fair budget prepared with careful consideration to community needs as well as the strategic, facility, infrastructure and operational needs of the City.

“The 2012/13 budget has been framed against a background of continuing and significant cost increases in Western Australia, with utilities, materials, contractors and labour costs being the major cost drivers,” Dr Silcox said.

“Carbon tax cost increases have not been passed onto ratepayers, instead the budget has been designed to absorb any impact, which is as yet unquantifiable, through other efficiencies and savings.

“Residents will also notice a minimal $5.00 increase to their waste service rate, which will bring them an expanded weekly recycling service. This increase reflects the Council’s recent decision to begin weekly recycling collection using the existing 240 litre recycling bins.

“This decision is driven by the City’s goal to increase recyclables and reduce waste. A weekly recycling collection has the potential to increase recyclables by up to 20 per cent and in reducing waste will reduce our use of landfill, minimising the landfill levy burden to the ratepayer.

“As in previous years, I encourage ratepayers to pay their rates early and enter the draw to be in the running to win one of many fabulous prizes on offer from our local businesses. This fantastic competition is the City’s way of thanking those who pay their rates promptly.

“You will also automatically go in the draw to win a $3,000 Westpac Reward Saver Account.

“Prizes include: a $500.00 shopping spree at Stockland Bull Creek Shopping Centre; a $500.00 couples spa pamper package at Le Beau Day Spa in Kardinya; five cooking classes at Matters of Taste Cooking School in Bicton valued at $600.00; and a three month membership for you and a friend valued at $688.00 at Melville Recreation Centre in Melville and the newly renovated Melville Aquatic Fitness Centre in Booragoon.

“For the chance to win, pay your rates in full by Monday, 8 August 2012, complete the entry form on your rate notice and drop it into any of the sponsor entry boxes located across the City by Monday, 20 August.”

Along with their annual rate notice, residents will receive Your guide to what you pay and the A-Z of what you get 2012-2013. This guide tells residents what they need to know about more than 200 products and services on offer by the City. The guide also includes a budget summary explaining what the rate rise means for residents.

To find out more about this year’s rates prize draw, including entry box locations and conditions of entry click here or call 1300 635 845.

To see a full list of the organisation’s products and services click here.

Your guide to what you pay and the A-Z of what you get 2012-2013 will soon be available at the City’s Civic Centre, libraries, recreation centres and community centres.

Rates rise

Posted by Margaret Nicholas at 10 July 2012, 08:58 AM
5.2% is not a "nominal increase", it is a significant increase and way above cpi. Every year you ask residents to pay more and with gross rental valuation increases thrown in as well the City of Melville is fast becoming a place that nobody can afford to live. With these increases my rates have almost tripled in 12 years. General feeling in the community is that this is the City of Melville recovering what it lost in poor investments.

Rates Increase

Posted by City of Melville, Acting Director Corporate Services John Christie at 11 July 2012, 08:54 AM
Thank you for your comment. While we can understand your feeling on this issue, there is no link between investments and the rates increase. Feel free to contact me directly to discuss further. Call 1300-635-845.


Rates Increase

Posted by Rob Rose at 03 August 2012, 11:53 AM
I refer to the post by Margaret Nicholas 10 July 2012 and the reply by John Christie 11 July 2012.
I think the first post accurately reflects my views and those of many of the ratepayers I speak to. As a long term resident and therefore ratepayer in City of Melville I thing the reply was at best flippant and in any case platently incorrect. If any organisation suffers a one-off loss of investment funds, especially of the magnitude of the investment loss sustained by the City of Melville, then this money is either not available for future expenditure, or as has happened in this council snd the residents expect a continuation of services and capital works; the loss must be recovered by future revenue (read rate) increases. I would like Mr Christie to explain where else this shortfall was made up as he eludes to in his reply. Put simply the Council lost our money, we must now pay more than we would have otherwise to make up the loss. This issue in my view has been poorly handled. The original mistake was a breathtakingly poor investment decision; the council continues to "rub salt in the wound" by not adequately explaining why such an investment was made; implying that through some fantasy legal action most it may be recovered; omitting to correspond directly to ratepayers via letter the facts (not the spin) and by now disassociating rate increases from past events.

Rate Increases

Posted by Colin Delane at 06 August 2012, 09:19 AM
I completely agree with Rob Rose's comment. I have challenged the City a number of times on this very issue and have received a similar disappointing response. It is a real worry that the councillors and senior executive of the Council do not seem to fully understand the financial implications of the investment losses.
It is also disappointing that the best we get in response to questios is "understanding" when what we really want is action! Despite increases in the cost of essential services to the Council and that times are tough for some in the community, Melville Council doesn't see the need to consider what is known as zero-based budgeting, where last year is ignored and the new budget is built from the ground up rather than starting from the assumption that everything done last year will be done again plus more. It seems that all involved in the creation of the annual budget (which determines the rates that must be raised) firmly believe that no accountability is required when it comes to other peoples money.

"Nominal" Rate Rise

Posted by Bob Peters at 10 July 2012, 08:58 AM
I think it is somewhat a stretch of the imagination to describe a 5.2% rate rise as "nominal". With due respect I think the use of the word nominal in this situation to be ill advised - and probably quite offensive to many of the ratepayers. Nominal would have been the Perth CPI for the past 12 months which I understand was 1.9% for the 12 months ended March 2012.

Rates rise

Posted by Evan Biggs at 12 July 2012, 01:27 PM
I feel your dictionary has a different definition of "nominal" from mine, as 5.2% is a long way above "nominal" and even above the draught budget figure of 4.5%. For those of us on a fixed (and diminishing) income, this rise will hit hard. One hopes that the increased sums will not be gambled away as were the millions a few years ago on American ephemera.

Rates

Posted by Con Abbott at 03 August 2012, 11:52 AM
While I greatly appreciate the work that John Christie does for the residents of Melville, I have to respectfully disagree with his sentiment.

Yes, the past investment losses might not have had a direct bearing on the setting of 2012/13’s rates, however, I’m at a loss to understand how the $millions gambled on CDOs did not cause either any reduction in services and/or increase in rates/charges. Leeming residents actually experienced the former with the withdrawal of all Melville services from the Leeming Recreation Centre in 2009. To suggest otherwise would mean that Melville never actually required the $millions lost and had merely over taxed its residents.

It is also of great concern that Melville has demonstrated an unwillingness to acknowledge that it failed to meet the required standard in managing ratepayers’ funds - an apology would be welcomed by many. It has instead engaged in a PR campaign that the promoters of the ‘Carbon Tax' would be proud of. Having read Cr Bob Kinnell’s incandescent assessment of Melville’s governance in July’s edition of ‘Mosaic’, I’m expecting the new City tagline to be: “Fiscal conservatism is our most outstanding feature”. Perhaps Cr Kinnell could publicly release the internal and external audit reports he refers to, so that we can all enjoy the ‘fiscal love’.

Residents need to continue to send a clear message to Melville that quality financial administration is not an ‘optional extra’; perhaps posting our views on this website could serve as that forum.

Investment losses

Posted by Ernie Dibb Kardinya at 09 August 2012, 04:34 PM
The Millions lost by our council just shows how much we are overcharged via rates fines that are so surplus that they can gamble Residents hard earned cash .
I successfully run my home a/c with a small profit each year on our pension

Not nominal

Posted by Andrew Macgregor at 06 August 2012, 10:22 AM
My dictionary defines nominal as: "(of a price or amount of money) very small; far below the real value or cost". If I look at the Commonwealth bank website it tells me I could open an account that would get me "high daily interest" of 5%pa. Let me swap those two around for effect. Earn nominal interest of 5%pa and pay high rate increase of 5.2%.

Nominal rate rise for Melville

Posted by Ted Rowley at 07 August 2012, 08:32 AM
I attended,from memory the "2009 " Melville City Council Budget meeting and was very impressed with Councillor Pazzoli raising his concerns regarding the high increases in MCC rates a few years prior to and including that particular budget. The Mayor, Russell Aubrey made it quite obvious to those attending that he was not happy with Councillor Pazzoli raising the matter at that meeting. It would be interesting to hear what percentage our rates have increased over the period Councillor Pazzoli was referring to up until now and whether these increases average out as "Nominal" rate increases. In addition a publication of a full list of charges now made to ratepayers (in addition to rates) that were free prior to the heavy loss of Council investments in the GFC , some of which have already been made mention of in the press.

Rate rise: nominal!

Posted by Jennifer Sumpton at 31 August 2012, 11:04 AM
I certainly find "nominal" not the correct word to describe the rate rise. When do we stop having rate rises? Will this be the last one?