Adelaide City rate hikes spark marathon debate amid CBD makeover plans

Adelaide Council could scale back plans for CBD makeovers after rate hikes in its draft budget sparked controversy this week.

Adelaide City councillors will debate their budget at a special meeting on Thursday. (L-R) Jing Li, Mark Siebentritt, Simon Hou, Arman Abrahimzadeh, David Elliott, Carmel Noon, Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith, Janet Giles, Henry Davis, Philip Martin, Mary Corous, Keiran Snape. Picture: City of Adelaide

Three main CBD streets will be upgraded over the next three years at a cost of $45m.

Adelaide City Council on Thursday put forward the plan to the administration, which effectively rejects a much more ambitious plan to spend $140m on Hindley St, $24.7m, Hutt St $30m, Melbourne St $40m and O’Connell St $45m.

The compromise position – because the $140m was unaffordable — was put forward by Deputy Lord Mayor Phillip Martin after a three-hour debate last night.

His successful motion was to cap council spending at $15m for each of three unnamed main streets over the next three years.

The idea will be put to a full council meeting next week, along with forced changes to the rating system.

Council administration had planned to increase the rates cap to a maximum 15 per cent, but councillors voted to retain the maximum rate increase of 10 per cent.

No average rate increases have yet been calculated for individuals but the increase is likely to be around 7.5 per cent aligned with the increase in rates revenue.

Deputy Lord Mayor Phillip Martin.

Adelaide Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith.

What is known is that city businesses and homeowners will fork out an extra $9.4m in rates next year as Adelaide City Council rebuilds its Covid-shattered budget.

The council collected $124m in rates last year but plans $135m in 2023/24, as part of total spending of $267.9m.

Council released the 2023/24 draft budget on Wednesday, ahead of a special council meeting to debate the plan on Thursday and put it to a vote next week.

Headlining the plan is an expected average 7.5 per cent revaluation of properties – the first since 2019 – and council will continue to hold its rate in the dollar for the tenth consecutive year for general rates.

There will also be an expected 1 per cent growth in revenue from new developments and additions, which will add another $1.4m to revenue.

Across all properties there will be an average 5.5 per cent rates increase but the average household increase has not yet been calculated.

An extra $7.9m will be garnered from increases in fees and charges, from $76.7m to $84.7m.

The budget will hit 12,265 businesses and 14,660 private dwellings.

Property Council director Bruce Djite said the organisation would look carefully at the draft budget to judge the cost for businesses.

“The Property Council will review the draft budget conscious of the economic pain that landlords and tenants have shared throughout the pandemic in the CBD,” he said.

“We will continue to advocate for sensible measures that activate our city and reinvigorate our economy,” he said.

North Adelaide Society spokesman Elbert Brooks said it would carefully consider the implications of the budget.

“The issue is not only the extent of increases for ratepayers and small businesses, but the effectiveness of its spend,’’ he said.

“For too long, the previous city council and its administration have ‘played at being developer’, for which it has no capabilities.

“Maintaining and creating effective and interesting infrastructure that serves the interests of the business of the City centre, the character of residential precincts, and publicly accessible verdant park lands would be a welcome improvement.” 

Adelaide City Council looks to raise rates for ‘budget repair’

Lord Mayor Dr Jane Lomax-Smith has begun her tenure with a “budget repair” message, criticising CBD infrastructure to soften opposition to a large increase in revenue and spending.

“After three years of Covid-19 relief spending and helping our community navigate

the pandemic, it’s now time to get back to repairing our budget,” she said.

“Focusing on financial responsibility will ensure our council has enough money to pay for

upgrades to our footpaths, main streets, and other important infrastructure assets.”

Dr Lomax-Smith said she was looking forward to strong input from the community about the post-Covid recovery budget”.

“Our residents and ratepayers are as much part of the budget process as any of us,’’ she said.

“I encourage you to familiarise yourself with this document during this consultation period and provide us with your valuable feedback.

The council will have an operating surplus of $1.7m and staff costs will increase by $7.3 million from $74.2m to $81.6m.

But sponsorships, contributions and donations to community groups will be cut by $4m.

Small seed funding has been allocated to new major projects, including the Gouger Street Revitalisation, King William Street South Revitalisation, Veale Park master plan, and the Victoria Park master plan.

In total for existing and new capital works projects, $50m has been allocated.