Paying council rates is rarely met with cheer, but this month’s spike has triggered loud complaints from Yass Valley residents footing the bill.
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Pete Chatwin said his rates rose by $300.
Unhappy, he took to Facebook to say, “Our wages are not going up, so why should our rates? Council needs to be accountable for what they spend and I do believe they can be leaner and meaner with less back office functions and perks.”
The rates rise is not new news, however, with Yass Valley Council (YVC) among those approved in 2016 by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to increase the rate peg above the standard 1.8 percent to 8.5 percent for four consecutive years, ending 2020.
This would provide an additional $5.3 million to the council, which said at the time of the approval the money would allow it to remain standalone and be spent on infrastructure, community projects and maintaining service levels across the valley.
IPART chairman Peter Boxall said at the time of the approval that YVC had “appropriately engaged the community about the proposed rate increase”.
YVC held nine community forums across the valley in late 2015.
Nevertheless, the recent increase served as an opportunity for community members to join Mr Chatwin on Facebook to remind the council of where it would like its money spent, including water, waste and roads.
Several complained about the state of Yass water as undrinkable, an ongoing issue.
A couple said they hoped the money would be put towards green bins.
One resident complained about the roads, saying: “All this extra money, and roads that bring people into our town are shamefully pathetic and disgracefully rough.”
Tracy Hessenberger, who lived in Yass Valley until two years ago, agreed, saying rates were overpriced and there were not adequate roads locally for those traveling to Canberra.
Resident Stacey speculated that rates had been spent on the visit from lifestyle TV show Queer Eye: “Who paid for the tiaras for the visiting superstars? Maybe that’s why our rates went up.”
If approved by the council, rates will increase again in August 2019.