Maitland mayor Loretta Baker and fellow Labor councillors will put their money where their mouth was in the 2017 election campaign when they raise a motion offering rate relief on Tuesday night.
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The motion, to be raised by councillor Ben Whiting, proposes that council not take up the scheduled rate increase of 7.25 per cent in the next budget and instead limit the increase to 2.3 per cent – which would result in an average saving of $80 to $100 per ratepayer.
Cr Baker made the promise during last year’s council election campaign that a Labor council would propose and support an average reduction of $100 in rates as a one-off.
The plan drew criticism at the time from rival candidate and Independent councillor Philip Penfold, who raised concerns the proposal would lead to job cuts and an inability to fund projects.
Cr Baker said there would not be any cuts under the proposal, which she estimated would cost just short of $3 million.
She said the proposal would be paid for by forgoing increases in the level of service in the next operational plan – forecast to be $2.2 million over the next three years, as well as delaying less urgent road upgrades.
However, when questioned which services would not be increased under the proposal, Cr Baker said that was still to be decided.
“We’re still debating the operational plan,” she said.
Cr Baker said rate relief was a priority because of a lack of wage growth and rising electricity costs.
“It isn’t council’s job to subsidise electricity costs, but we have the scope to give a little bit of relief,” she said.
Cr Baker said the reason it had taken six months to introduce the motion was because councillors had to wait for the operational plan for the next financial year to be discussed, which doesn’t happen until March each year.
The motion comes after council voted in 2014 to increase total rates revenue by 7.25 per cent each year for seven years under a special rate variation.
This proposal would see the maximum rate peg introduced without the need for a special rate variation.
Cr Baker was hopeful but not overly confident the motion would be supported.
“The indicators aren’t good at the moment,” Cr Baker said. “But it’s not over until it’s over. We’ve got to fight it out.
“We made a commitment and you don’t walk away from that.”
If successful, the rate change would only be introduced in the 2018/19 operational plan and would have to be re-evaluated next year.
“Maitland will change dramatically in the next year,” Cr Baker said. “We wouldn’t be in a position to say what would happen then.”
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
