Gold Coast City Council election 2024: Mayor Tom Tate cost-of-living relief pitch to voters has councillor off-side
The City is being urged to overhaul its rates system and investigate an overall 10 per cent reduction. WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU.
Council Election
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The City is being urged to overhaul its rates system and investigate an overall 10 per cent reduction rather than discounts for ratepayers who pay early.
Mayor Tom Tate on Wednesday launched his 2024 re-election campaign with a promise to retain the pay-on-time rates discount – and it sparked huge debate. Critics included council governance chair William Owen-Jones, who in a Facebook post to his residents maintains those in need of a rate cut were penalised.
Cr Owen-Jones took the Mayor to task, saying the City marks up the general rates every year by 10 per cent, then offered a 10 per cent discount. Hinterland-based councillor Glenn Tozer on Thursday said he believes the new council, after the March 16 poll, should investigate the City’s rates system.
“While I don’t want to get involved in the bickering between Tom and William, I think all aspects of this issue should be reviewed,” he said.
“I think we owe it to ratepayers to deliver a rates system that is simple and efficient. It’s council’s job to investigate that. Frankly, working with Mayor Tate over the past 12 years there’s no doubt he’s had a focus on lower rates, and I have too.
“However, if the 10 per cent discount is taken up by practically everyone, shouldn’t council just investigate reducing the rates by 10 per cent across the board by an equivalent amount. A 10 per cent reduction in rates, and no discount to calculate.”
Cr Tozer said he supported council taking time to do the Budget job properly in Chambers with Mayor Tate in good faith, every year since 2012.
“What is not council’s job is to deliver a system that suits election campaign one-liners. We can all be better than that. Discounts that aren’t really discounts, because everyone accesses them, probably should not form part of a future solution,” he said.
“We provide about $18.5 million in early payment discounts to investment property owners. That’s probably not ideal in this cost of living crisis that has seen property values increase by double digits in some cases.
“What is particularly interesting is that over 88 per cent of people pay their water bills on time, even though there’s no discount. That’s more than the 85 per cent who use the property rates discount.
“Frankly, that tells us that the discount really is a furphy and Gold Coast ratepayers are smart and savvy, regardless of any incentive we might offer. Perhaps we should just simplify and save on administration costs.”
Council reports show the whole of City discount take up rate was sitting at 84.92 per cent for the July rates issue.
This means that of the 281,000 ratepayers, about 238,625 properties achieve the pay on time discount.
“Just over 40,000 ratepayers, possibly some of those most vulnerable who cannot pay on time, stand to gain by a compassionate review of the discount. That seems kind to me in this current climate,” Cr Tozer said.
“Mayor Tate has been about efficiency during our time together in Council and I hope he, sensibly, changes his mind on this issue,” Cr Tozer said.
‘Smoke and mirrors’: Mayor questioned on rate cut
Mayor Tom Tate has launched his 2024 re-election campaign with a promise to retain the generous pay-on-time rates discount.
Mr Tate, who faces eight opponents at the March 16 poll and hopes to serve a record fourth term in office, has put cost of living measures as a priority policy.
But the policy announcement, before the first major mayoral breakfast on Tuesday immediately attracted critics including council governance chair William Owen-Jones who maintains those in need of a rate cut are penalised.
“I am fully aware of current cost-of-living pressures for families and small businesses,” Mr Tate told the Bulletin.
“Today, I commit to retaining the 10 per cent pay-on-time discount for all rateable properties. “I am confident this is the most generous rate discount of any council in Australia. Under my watch, it’s staying.”
The Mayor has faced opposition from some councillors wanting to scrap the discount.
“These discussions have been raised in our closed session budget discussions so the community won’t be aware which councillors hold that view. Today, I call on all sitting councillors and candidates to declare their intention before the election,” he said.
“Make your view known so people know where you stand. Otherwise, it is a 10 per cent rate increase by stealth.”
Mayor Tate said the discount provided an average of $200 for a typical owner-occupier home. Around 85 per cent of rate payers access the pay-on-time discount.
But Councillor Owen-Jones, on his Facebook page, immediately took the Mayor to task, saying the City marks up the general rates every year by 10%
“We then offer a 10% discount. If you do not mark up the rates in the first place it will never ever be a tax by stealth. The “generous discount” is 100 per cent all smoke and mirrors,” he wrote.
“We do not offer it on any of the other Charges on your rates bill, we do not offer it on your Water notices.
“In my case, it works out to about $128 a year on the $3,700 in rates and water charges I pay every year — 85% of property owners pay on time, slightly less than the water rates payments.
“Because the general rates are marked up, before being discounted it’s actually the 15% of Gold Coasters who can least afford to pay their rates bills on time that get penalised — they loose the “discount” and pay penalty interest.”
But Mr Tate said it was concerning Cr Owen-Jones had suggested that all 14 councillors and himself had somehow colluded to artificially increase rates.
He described the comments as “inaccurate and offensive”.
“One, any collusion of this nature would be illegal and two, it has simply never happened,” he said.
Mr Tate said councillors spent months debating the budget to keep rates low and “wouldn’t simply then jack them up by 10 per cent”.
He said he had delivered 12 consecutive low rates budgets.
“Since 2012, every annual rate increase has been at, or below, CPI. It is through experience and being a reliable civic leader that we can achieve this budget reform,” he said.
“No other candidate has the experience in managing a $2 billion budget, or with a proven track record to manage emergency responses to natural events including the recent Christmas Day storms and floods.”
Asked about keeping rate increases to CPI, all four candidates at the breakfast gave the commitment, but several admitted they had not done their budgeting.
On the city’s tourism image, Ms Dunsmore said the city needed be “f-f-f amazing” and improve cracked footpaths at Broadbeach.
“Surfers looks like a detention centre. In all seriousness, would you come here for a holiday. We are not amazing, we need to be amazing,” she said.
Ms Rampino agreed Surfers Paradise needed a “good wash down” but Mr Sarroff urged them to “stop putting Surfers down”.
“Surfers is why people come here. There is nothing wrong with Surfers.”
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