RATE capping throughout the region has been a hot topic in the community as local council’s discuss what impact the Liberal State Government’s proposal will have on them.
As outlined in the Liberal Party’s manisfesto, the State Government will appoint an indepent regulator to determine rate caps for individual regions using a Local Government Price Index.
Councils can apply to raise rates above the cap if it is able to demonstrate the support of ratepayers.
Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi has spoken out against the South Australian Local Government Association’s (LGA) rate capping stance, saying the Liberal State Government’s proposal will not have a significant impact on the current council.
While conceding the proposed cap may impact smaller South East councils, Mr Gandolfi said Wattle Range was operating at a level equivalent to the Victorian rate cap.
However, Mr Gandolfi did not rule out subsequent councils facing difficulty with the proposed rate caps.
“Last year, council rates overall went up by .5pc, which was 75pc less than the Victorian cap of 2pc,” he said.
“In the 2016/17 financial year, rates increased by 2.5pc, which was the same as the Victorian cap that year.
“Given the recent rate rises of smaller councils in the region, they will probably find some difficulty.
“That is a matter for them to address.”
In neighbouring Kingston council, ratepayers saw an increase of 7pc on their rates despite a consumer price index (CPI) increase of 2pc.
The LGA has warned council infrastructure and services, including libraries, recreation and sporting facilities and parks and gardens “could be at risk” if the State Government imposes a rate cap.
The representative body for councils has long campaigned against the Liberal rate cap plan, labelling it as a “populist policy” when first floated before the 2014 election.
Mr Gandolfi dismissed notions around council services being cut, saying the most likely cuts would be around providing assistance to outside bodies.
The Liberal Party has defended the move based on some council rates increasing “well beyond” inflation, saying some have been increased three times over CPI.
Before the election, Member for MacKillop Nick McBride said the Liberal policy was focused on metropolitan councils.
