Bayside Council: Estimated rates hike of 32 per cent for some residents ‘unfair’
Homeowners living in the former City of Botany Bay Council area will have to cough up hundreds of dollars more in rates each year under plans to “harmonise” rates across Bayside Council.
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Homeowners living in the former City of Botany Bay area will have to cough up hundreds of dollars more in rates each year under plans to “harmonise” rates charges across Bayside Council.
Bayside Council was established in 2016 combining two former councils, Rockdale and City of Botany Bay.
Under legislation, harmonisation of rates was deferred for four years for amalgamated councils, meaning residents have been paying rates set by their former councils.
However, amalgamated councils must harmonise their rates by July 2021 and introduce a standard rates structure across the entire council region.
Bayside Council voted on Wednesday night to place its proposed rates structure on public exhibition for eight weeks starting next Monday.
A report will then be provided back to council for a final decision to be made on its new rates structure.
Under the proposed changes, the owner of a residential property worth $750,000 would see a rates increase of 32 per cent (or $217 per year) in the former City of Botany Bay area, and a rates reduction of 15 per cent (or $221 per year) in the former Rockdale Council region.
“It is important to note that this process of rates harmonisation is a mandated requirement imposed on all amalgamated councils,” council papers stated.
Councillor Tarek Ibrahim claimed the changes would see ratepayers in the former City of Botany Bay paying hundreds of dollars more per year.
“Some people are going to have $300, $400, $500, $600 increases to their rates,” he said.
“We are not talking about $10 or $20. It is a significant increase ... it is hardly fair.”
Councillor Christina Curry agreed and said harmonisation of rates should be deferred while a pandemic was ongoing and causing financial strain for many residents.
She also said the rates changes should be rolled out across multiple years in future.
“I think the most important part here is we are in the middle of a recession and pandemic and we want to put a 32 per cent increase on rate payments which is just totally unfair and inequitable,” she said.
“This (rates harmonisation) has to be deferred. We can’t put the community under this financial stress at this time.”
She also put forward an amended motion which was not successful, for a delegation to meet with the NSW Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock and ask for rates harmonisation to be deferred.
Councillor Petros Kalligas said if Bayside Council did not proceed with rates harmonisation “we are asking for one side of the city to subsidise the other side”.
“We have known for four years that it has been coming and the overall rate burden across the city is not increasing,” he said.
“That is to say we are not increasing the amount of revenue we are going to generate across (Bayside Council).
“It makes perfect sense that we have a consistent rates structure across the entire city.”
He also pointed the finger at the former City of Botany Bay Council for not increasing rates in the past which has resulted in a large disparity.
“If they had run (the council) in a financially sustainable way we would have inherited a rates base that was sufficient for us to meet our obligations.”
State Government legislation does not currently allow any amalgamated council to
progressively harmonise their rates over multiple years.
Bayside Council also voted that if current legislation was changed, the council would consider “multiyear implementation options” to harmonise the rates.
Eight councillors voted for the new rates structure to go out on public exhibition while seven councillors voted against the motion.