Adelaide City councillor Carmel Noon apologises after mid-meeting f-bomb
An Adelaide councillor says she felt sick after comments from a colleague that earned a stern rebuke from the Lord Mayor at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
SA News
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Amid fiery scenes in which one councillor was told “F**ck off, Mary!” a draft Adelaide City Council budget has been issued for feedback from city residents and businesses.
Deep into a three hour discussion and debate on Tuesday night Cr Carmel Noon stunned the meeting when she was heard to say “F**ck off, Mary!” during otherwise inaudible banter with Cr Mary Couros about the reintroduction of Council outdoor dining fees.
Chairing the meeting, Lord Mayor Dr Jane Lomax-Smith sharply criticised both councillors and threatened to eject them from the meeting, but later retracted her criticism of Cr Couros.
Cr Couros said she felt sick after the attack and Cr Noon apologised to the meeting for the sledge.
The pair had been discussing one of the most contentious issues in the budget; the reintroduction of outdoor dining fees for the first time since 2018.
The reintroduction will go ahead in the draft budget, as will large increases in some on-street parking fees.
City residents and business have until June 19 to object to the draft budget.
It was passed with a vote of six to four when the remnants of the former dominant Team Adelaide faction tried and failed to continue their pro-business agenda of the previous council.
Green/Left councillors now dominate the council and have embraced Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith’s call for post cost “budget repair” to improve city services and infrastructure.
The 2023/24 draft budget includes;
A surplus of $1.92 million.
REVALUATION of residential property of 10.2 per cent.
NO change to the rate in the dollar for rates calculations.
TARGETED residential property rates of no more than 10 per cent.
REVALUATION for rates calculations of retail properties at 3.1 per cent, offices 5 per cent, and commercial properties 2.9 per cent.
MOTORISTS paying $910,000 for on-street parking fees next year, up from $12 million to $12.9 million.
BORROWINGS of $29.7 million by the end of the financial year.
City businesses and homeowners will fork out an extra $9.4 million in rates next year.
The council collected $124 million in rates last year but plans $135 million in 2023/24, as part of total spending of $267.9 million.
An extra $7.9 million will be made from increases in fees and charges; up from $76.7 million to $84.7 million.
The budget will hit 12,265 businesses and 14,660 private dwellings.
There will be eight new parking inspectors, up from the current 24, to increase fine revenue by $2.4 million.
Under the new on-street parking fees, weekend motorists will be hit the hardest with a $5 flat rate for parking for any time period, up from $2.60 for the shortest stays.
In another change, new zones will mean a large area of the city in which motorists pay $4.60 per hour will be pushed into a $5.10 zone.
The draft budget will not yet have an estimated rates bill for businesses or residents, but the council voted down a plan by the administration to increase the upper limit from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Council chief operating officer Michael Sedgman said the aim was still to increase rates by around 7.5 per cent and an accurate figure would be available in around two weeks’ time.
Dr Lomax-Smith said the council could not yet reveal a plan for rates increases because some fees had not been set by the State Government and would not be known until June when the State Budget was delivered.
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