Logan announces generous cuts to fees and charges to help ratepayers, businesses and contractors

Logan City Council’s interim administrator has cut service fees and charges for the city’s ratepayers and contractors and says she hopes the incoming council will make more coronavirus concessions during the year.

Interim Administrator Tamara O’Shea announces cuts to the costs of goods and services for ratepayers and council contractors.

LOGAN City Council has released a range of measures to help ratepayers, residents and businesses who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

At a specially convened meeting this morning, Administrator Tamara O’Shea announced generous cuts to the cost of goods and services including extending council’s existing hardship arrangements for residential property owners to all ratepayers.

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Ms O’Shea, who has been the city's interim administrator since the council was dismissed in May last year, said she hoped the incoming council would add to the measures in a second phase of the support plan.

She said the package was designed to ensure business continuity and hoped the incoming council would continue to look at more ways to help alleviate hardships that she believed would be felt around the city because of the pandemic.

She also urged all residents and ratepayers to play a part in stopping the spread of the virus.

Key components announced included an additional four-month interest free period for rates and charges from April to June.

The council also cut its invoice payment time in half so contractors will be paid by the council in 14 days.

Hospitality and food operators, hotels and motels, manufacturers and a range of other businesses feeling the pinch as the federal government closes down the nation, will also be offered a 50 per cent refund for operational licence fees paid since July last year.

That measure was expected to help more than 1300 businesses.

“Fees will be waived for any application of that type received up until August 31,” Ms O’Shea said.

Logan City Council has announced a range of cuts to fees and charges for council-owned venues.

External operators managing council properties and venues will not have to pay lease fees for three months and not-for-profit organisations who lease a council community-leased venue, will not have to pay annual licence fees for 2020.

Organisations which lease a council-owned community facility and have less than 15 gaming machines will have their remissions increased to 100 per cent for the January to March billing period.

Council will redirect $200,000 from its Community Project Grants budget into an Emergency Relief Fund, as part of a broader Community Relief Package.

“These lease fee waivers and remissions will deliver much-needed financial relief to more than 180 sport, recreation and community organisations in Logan,” Ms O’Shea said.

“I would like to assure Logan residents and indeed the many candidates currently vying for election that I have not taken today’s decision lightly.

“Given the uncertain and rapidly evolving nature of this pandemic and its potential effects on the timeliness of local government election results, I thought it was critical to deliver the first tranche of relief measures as soon as possible for the sake of the city’s residents and businesses.”

At the end of her speech, Ms O’Shea said she was sorry to be leaving the city during this “difficult time” and paid tribute to acting CEO Silvio Trinca and the council’s executive team.

She said staff had worked to bring about the business continuity scheme and ensure all essential Logan services would continue during the pandemic.

Former councillor and Division 5 candidate Jon Raven welcomed the response and said it would help businesses and ratepayers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“In these extraordinary times, every level of government needs to pull out all the stops to help keep economy going.

“I welcome the decision of the Interim Administrator to call a special council meeting and announce an assistance package for our city”, Mr Raven said.

“If elected, I commit to further stages of assistance, to help Logan ratepayers in this unfolding global crisis”.