A last-minute attempt to halt rate increases was defeated five votes to three on Tuesday as the East Gippsland Shire Council passed its draft budget for the next financial year.
Councillor Jackson Roberts proposed an alternative motion that council did not adopt for the 2019-20 draft as presented and “instruct officers to re-cast the draft budget to reflect the amount to be raised from rates and municipal charges in the 1920 budget – remain at the 2018-19 level rather than being increased by 2.5 per cent as currently proposed”.
“It was made very clear to me that the issue of a rate rise is more important than ever... the community is doing it hard and we need to adjust our spending accordingly,” Cr Roberts said.
Cr Roberts was supported by Cr Ben Buckley and Cr John White, who both drew applause from the gallery with their supporting comments.
Cr Buckley reminded councillors to listen to the people requesting a freeze on rates, while Cr White said the issue was a little more than one per cent reduction in total budget.
“The argument has been ‘what service will we cut, who’s going to miss out’, I disagree, and I feel that could be enabled by just looking at the efficiency of this organisation... in our council plan we have said our job is to look after our communities and I feel this is a way we can look after our communities,” Cr White said.
Mayor, Cr Natalie O’Connell, and Crs Joe Rettino, Dick Ellis, Marianne Pelz and Mark Reeves voted in favour of accepting the budget. Cr Colin Toohey was not present.
Executive manager finance, Liz Collins, outlined the adoption of the revised draft budget saying several amendments had been made since the original amendments released on May 4, which were unknown at that time.
The most significant of which was the payment of the Victoria Grants Commission allocation of $7.751 million in the current financial year, rather than next financial year, which meant the estimated operating surplus was $11.1 million for the current year.
Consequently the forecast for the 2019/20 year had reduced to a $7.001m operating surplus.
Also, the municipal charge of 18 per cent was reduced to 14 per cent of total rates and municipal charges, which Ms Collins said redistributed the municipal charge to the general rates.
Cr Ellis questioned Ms Collins on the alternative motion asking if it meant a difference of $12 million over the 10-year, long-term budget.
“If there was no corresponding reduction in expenditure and it was only a reduction in the amount of rates to be raised, yes, the compounding impact of that over 10 years would be more than $12m,” Ms Collins said.
After the motion was defeated, Crs Rettino, Reeves, Pelz and Ellis spoke for the budget.
Cr Rettino said he believed the budget was “responsible and equitable” while Cr Reeves called it “persistent and consistent leadership” and that the rates strategy gave the farm sector concessions of a 55 per cent reduction compared to other commercial sectors in the shire.
“Using the levers available to us, and they are using the differential rate strategy, this has flattened the rate burden across the shire,” Cr Reeves said.
Cr Pelz said the State Government will review rate charges and how the whole system is set up in the next 12 months.
Cr Rettino foreshadowed a motion that the CEO and operations set an objective to achieve an ongoing net saving of $1.5m for the 2019-20 financial year and report back with a recommendation on how this outcome could be achieved by September 30.
Cr Ellis questioned the point of the motion after Cr Roberts’ motion was rejected, but was passed 6-2, after the deadline was changed to December 30 on the CEO’s request, the dissenters being Crs Ellis and Buckley.
