Bendigo rates bills set to rise as council releases draft 2024/25 budget

Bendigonians are set to see their rates bills rise as council releases its 2024/25 draft budget. Find out how it will affect you.

Bendigo residents will fork out an average of $40 more in their rates bills, under the proposed new budget from council.

Bendigonians money will be spent on continued flood recovery, roads, drainage and footpaths in the new financial year, according to the council’s latest draft budget.

Rates are set to rise, by an average of $40 for residential properties, and it’ll cost more to visit the pool or register your pet.

Bendigo council has allocated $75m in capital projects, with $59.3m for newly committed projects.

About $6m will be spent on resealing roads including Nolan St and Forest Ln in Bendigo, Muriel St in Kangaroo Flat and Howard St in Epsom.

Nolan St will also see $1.8m spent on replacing a wall and the Kennington Reservoir Dam rehabilitation will cost about $900,000.

2022 flood recovery works are continuing on Spillway Rd in Eppalock.

Flood recovery works will continue across Bendigo. Picture: Facebook

“Forming this year’s Budget has centred on balancing cost increases and ensuring we can continue to invest in the priority service areas residents have said are important to them, while also accounting for unforeseen challenges like the damage caused across the municipality from recent flood events – estimated at $15m in works over the coming two years,” the budget’s introductory statement from the mayor and chief executive said.

“The City continues to prioritise its role in mitigation, relief and recovery from the recent flood events.”

Corporate performance director Jessica Howard said the Budget process reflected council’s commitment to deliver on the community’s priorities and operate in a financially responsible manner.

“With less income available, the 2024/2025 proposed Budget has been shaped by the priorities that matter the most to the community from the latest engagement results and those aligned with the council plan,” she said.

“The results of our Let’s Talk survey on the Budget were consistent with previous years, indicating that our community’s top investment priorities continue to be: Roads, bridges and drainage; Waste, recycling and resource recovery; Parks, gardens and open spaces and Footpaths, tracks and trails.”

The proposed budget will be debated at next week’s council meeting.

RATES AND WASTE

The average residential ratepayer will see an increase of almost $40 on their rates bill.

However, farms are likely to see an increase of almost $300.

But it is in the waste collection section of the rates bill that Bendigonians will see the biggest increase.

The Resource Recovery (waste) Service Charge will now be combined and called the Bins and Waste Services Charge.

You’ll pay more for your bins in 2025.

Those with three small bins will pay an extra $34 in 2025, at $461 per household.

But if you have large bins, you’ll be paying an extra $48 ($652 for the year), and if you have more than three bins, the extra fees could be as much as an additional $421 for general waste.

And if you need to go to the tip you’ll see the biggest increase of 139.29 per cent, with the domestic minimum charge for less than 20kg of waste taken to the Eaglehawk Landfill rising from $2.80 to $6.70.

For a tonne of domestic waste, you’ll be paying $336, unless its domestic asbestos which is $427 per tonne.

CHILDCARE

Expect to see increases in childcare fees for council funded facilities, with the daily rate rising by more than 5 per cent.

Full daycare for kids will now be $156 per day, and for every minute you’re late to pick them up, you’ll be paying $7.30.

PETS

Almost every dog owner will see a 4 per cent rise in registration fees (from $50 to $52), while cat owners will pay just 2.44 per cent more (with registration going from $41 to $42).

It’ll cost $52 to register most dogs but only $42 to register most cats. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Valeriu Campan

There remains no registration fee if you adopt a pet from the Bendigo Animal Relief Centre, while cats and dogs under 12 months old also remain free to register.

Vaccination fees for cats from the BARC will now cost $50 — they were previously free — while dog vaccination fees will increase from $50 to $75.

PARKING

On street parking will increase by 4.76 per cent with a 10c increase per hour, while signed all day carparking will increase by 40c.

The Hargreaves St car park hourly rate will increase to $2.20 an hour or $9.50 a day (up 30c and $1.30 respectively), while monthly Monday to Friday parking on level seven of the same facility will increase to $147 a month.

The Edwards St multi storey car park will see hourly fees increase by 10c and daily fees increase by 50c, as will the car park on the corners of Edwards and Hargreaves streets.

SPORTS AND RECREATION

Kids see the highest increase in price for entry to the pool, with the bill now $5.20, just $1.40 than an adult’s entry.

A season pass for an adult is rising by $5.50 to $122.50, unless you want access in winter which will cost you almost $300 for the season.

Entry to the indoor pool for a casual visit has gone up to $7.90, or $5.40 for kids.

If you also want to use the spa or sauna, you’ll be paying $11.80.

Learn to Swim programs for kids have gone up 80c, to $17.80 per week.

And if you’re a squash fan, you’ll be paying $17.20 for one hour hire of a court.

Season hire of reserves and ovals has also gone up by an average of 5 per cent, so expect to see that reflected in your sporting club fees going forward.

The council will also spend money on the design and delivery of stage 1 works at the North Bendigo Recreation Reserve including a new soccer pavilion and change rooms, female-friendly facilities at Golden Square Recreation Reserve, and a new junior oval at Huntly’s Strauch Reserve.

Parks and gardens will also see improvements, with $476,000 spent to renew public furniture, barbecues and drinking fountains, and another $50,000 to be spent on a Garden Gully toilet block and play space design in Ironbark.

Advocacy will also continue — though no funds have been allocated — on the design and options for the Bendigo Low Line project, a 4.4km shared walking and cycling path from Maple Street, Golden Square to Weeroona Ave, White Hills.