Why Gympie ratepayers are being hit with 9.3 per cen rate rise

Gympie region property owners will need to dig deeper with another rate rise on the way. It is a decision Mayor Glen Hartwig says will not be popular but was needed to keep key services running.

Ratepayers across the Gympie region will need to dig deeper into their pockets with another rate rise on the way, in a decision which Mayor Glen Hartwig says would not be popular but was needed to keep key services running.

Gympie ratepayers’ will need to dig deeper into their pockets with rates to rise an average of 9.3 per cent.

The rate rise was revealed as part of the Regional Council’s $242.5m budget which promises to focus on water and basic services.

The increase is higher than the one delivered by the Bundaberg, North and South Burnett councils, but lower than the hike handed down at the Fraser Coast.

The budget includes a $105.87m capital works program, which includes extensive ongoing repair work to infrastructure destroyed during the devastating 2022 floods.

Rates and levies are expected bring more than $101m to the council’s coffers, and account for almost three-quarters of the council’s $136m revenue for the 2024-25 year.

The rise is expected to cost ratepayers an average of $2.75 extra each week, about $143 for the year.

Ratepayers across the Gympie region will need to dig deeper into their pockets with another rate rise on the way, in a decision which Mayor Glen Hartwig says would not be popular but was needed to keep key services running.

However the council was still only expecting to run an operational surplus of $850,000.

Mayor Glen Hartwig said the budget costs had risen “dramatically” for the council and while “we have tightened our belts” the “reluctant decision was made with the knowledge that to not do so would be even worse for our ratepayers in the medium term and would impact critical services”.

“During these difficult times, increasing fees and charges and rates is never a popular or easy decision to make but it is necessary so we can continue to fund the repairs and maintenance of our vital infrastructure which is needed to support the community and Gympie Regional Council,” Mr Hartwig said.

These included fixing the “backlog” of flood-damaged roads and “immediate” investment in water services.

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Primary producers, service stations and shopping centres escape the harshest end of the rate rise, with their rating category instead up only 5 per cent.

A new concession policy for community groups keeps them from feeling the brunt of the full increase, too.

The council’s rates and charges will increase by about $9.4 million, with the organisation saying this was due to rising goods, services, and employee costs, with inflation playing a key part in the rise.