COVID to wipe nearly $2 million from bottom line for Bayside Council
The financial fallout from COVID is forcing more homeowners to put off paying rates than ever before. Here’s how the council is responding.
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Hundreds of Bayside ratepayers struggling to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic want to put off paying the annual tax without being slugged interest.
About 600 extra ratepayers, or 1.3 per cent more than usual, have applied to Bayside Council to defer their 2020 rates bill and any penalties.
The council has estimated it would lose a whopping $8.7 million in revenue as a result of the ongoing health crisis, wiping $1.8 million from the bottom line of its $138.1 million budget.
However, it has stopped short of pausing any projects, cutting rates, salaries or councillor allowances in the wake of the pandemic.
Instead it decided to charge the full 2 per cent rate increase allowed under the rate cap and was also on track to record a surplus of $15.5 million.
Bayside Ratepayers Association president George Reynolds said it was not surprising so many people were asking for a rates reprieve.
“And that’s just for the past financial year, it will only get worse when the rates fall due for this financial year,” Mr Reynolds said.
He said the council charged double the rates required to service the community and used the extra funds for “grand projects such as the Sandringham netball complex and the Dendy Beach Pavilion”.
“The council views the ratepayer as a hyena would regard a dead ratepayer – as dinner.”
The council’s corporate services director, Jill Colson, urged anyone facing financial hardship to speak to Bayside’s revenue services team about rate payment options, including an interest-free deferral.
“We recognise the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused significant financial hardship for many Australians,” Ms Colson said.
“We are constantly reviewing how we can best support our ratepayers and considering how the pandemic will continue to affect the organisation including budget considerations.”
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