Livingstone Shire Council hands down 2022-23 budget with changes and emphasis on ‘fairness’

It was nine months in the making and there were some significant surprises in Livingstone Shire Council’s 2022-23 budget handed down on Tuesday. Details here.

Livingstone Shire Council Mayor Andy Ireland.

Handed down in a time of “cost of living crisis”, Livingstone Shire Council’s 2022-23 budget adopted on Tuesday was dubbed “unlike other budgets” in pursuit of “fairness.”

In a nutshell, Livingstone acknowledged it had higher rates than comparable councils and decided to “take action” in a bid to reduce the rating burden on its ratepayers.

That factor, coupled with significant movements in land valuations, led to the council reviewing its rating structure and ultimately changing it.

What that meant was a $144 million 2022-23 budget with an average residential rates rise of 4.11 per cent ($3.37 per week) - which council documents stated was below the Brisbane Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure for March, 2022, at six per cent.

Tuesday’s meeting heard this would allow the council to generate a small operating surplus of $94,000.

The budget will see overall, council’s gross general rate revenue increase by $7.5 million.

That is predominantly driven by the structural changes to separate charges and by adjusting valuation bands, minimum rates, and some other factors.

“This increase is offset by the $3.9 million reduction in separate charges,” budget documents state.

“While residential properties on the base minimum will experience a minimal increase, higher valued properties will experience large increases.

“This structural change improves alignment with the equity principle by placing a greater burden on higher valued properties (with assumed higher capacity to pay).”

Several councillors expressed that while they were supporting the budget as a whole, there were some aspects of it that they did not agree with, and they would speak about those at the council meeting (July 26).

Cr Adam Belot.

Cr Adam Belot said this budget was “unlike other budgets” that Livingstone had handed down previously.

“It (this budget) seeks to introduce a transfer of collecting revenue from, or highly relying on levies, which is what they call a regressive tax whereby everybody pays the same,” Cr Belot said.

“This council has considered that in depth and seeks to reflect a more fairer way to collect revenue, and that’s what it’s about.

“And change is never easy, and it’s understandable that people resist change.

“And our community, I hope, will see that we’ve made a change for the better, to try and apply a more fairer system of collecting revenue that is applied to the valuation of the property.

“And we know that people on a lower income, generally will live in properties of a lower value.”

Cr Nigel Hutton.

Cr Nigel Hutton spoke about how times had changed.

“We are in a time of a cost of living crisis, and we are all facing challenges,” he said.

“The issues of our pensioners, our retirees, our struggling families and the poorest of our communities, needs to be helped.”

Cr Andrea Friend.

Cr Andrea Friend spoke about the budget delivering “fairness.”

“Everyone will pay according to their valuation, everyone will pay according to what they can afford,” she said.

“And also they will receive discounts as well... Livingstone Shire Council has had the highest separate charges in Queensland, and we need to make this more equitable.

“We talk about fairness, and as far as, in my opinion, I believe this is a more fair and more equitable way...”

Mayor Andy Ireland also addressed the rising cost of living.

“This council takes no joy in increasing rates by 4.11 per cent,” he said.

“But it is, I believe, an outcome that we can live with in the sense that it is below CPI.

“We are looking after the lower socio-economic areas, or the lower income earners of our shire, through the minimum general rates that we’ve set... we are looking after our pensioners.”

Cr Ireland said while last year’s budget saw a zero per cent rate increase, inflationary pressures were at a level “unsustainable” for the council to continue to absorb additional cost increases.

Mayor Ireland and councillors Adam Belot, Nigel Hutton, Glenda Mather, Pat Eastwood, Andrea Friend and Rhodes Watson voted unanimously to adopt the 2022-23 budget.

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

- Total budget of $144 million. Forecast operating surplus of $94,000;

- Average residential ratepayer will pay a 4.11 per cent increase on rates and charges;

- Capital works program $44 million ($30.5 million funded through capital grants and subsidies);

- Reduced total borrowings to $54.4 million (down $5.6 million);

- Providing $900,000 in rate rebates for pensioners, sporting, not-for-profits, and nature refuge assessments;

- Providing $900,000 in donations/contributions/sponsorships.