Toowoomba ratepayers facing prospect of 14 per cent rate increase in upcoming Toowoomba Regional Council budget

Toowoomba Regional Council will be leaning heavily on ratepayers as it works to balance its 2025-26 budget with insiders claiming a double digit rate rise is not out of the question.

Inflation and a shortfall in federal funding has plunged the Toowoomba Regional Council into deficit.

Toowoomba Regional Council is considering a double-digit rate rise that may be as high as 14 per cent as it works to finalise its 2025-26 budget.

Other revenue raising measures reportedly being considered include slashing the early bird discount for residential ratepayers by half and completely removing it for commercial property.

Worryingly, these increases are separate from the $500 annual increase to water rates tied to the $270m Cressbrook Dam spillway upgrade.

The council has for several weeks signalled that its 2025-26 budget will be scarred by austerity measures.

Funding for community groups will be slashed while new hiring may be frozen or delayed.

The Chronicle has heard from several people familiar with the preparation of the upcoming budget who have indicated the rate rise could be as high as 14 per cent.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald would not confirm the exact rate increase and said the council was still working on the document.

Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Geoff McDonald said finalising the 2025-26 budget was challenging. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“To say it is a challenge is an understatement,” he said.

“The budget will come down to the line.”

Mr McDonald highlighted that the Federal Assistance Grants that support day-to-today funding have dried up, from $19m in 2021-22 to $5.85m in 2024-25. There was a $6m drop in the FA Grants in the current budget.

“That is about a 3.4 per cent increase in rates,” Mr McDonald said.

“That is the difficult stuff we are looking at.”

It is understood some councillors are struggling with the severe financial implications for ratepayers of the budget, which is believed to be mirrored across local governments throughout Queensland trying to balance the books amid rising costs and falling external revenue.

One council insider said they had “never been more disappointed” in their time at the organisation when reacting to some elements of the forthcoming document.

There were also frustrations around the growing scope of council’s perceived responsibilities to the Toowoomba region, at the expense of its core business.

Just 12 months ago the council had forecast a modest $1m budget surplus for 2024-25 but inflation, the rising cost of construction material, insurance, electricity and fuel have set fire to its hopes.

By December that surplus had gone up in smoke, leaving behind a $14m deficit.

The council has been able to identify about $7m in savings to reduce part of that deficit.

At a council meeting on May 20, Corporate Services general manager Ann-Marie Johnston said the executive leadership team was working to minimise the deficit.

“We have been reporting since January that we’re looking at another deficit on June 30, so our operating expenditure is higher than our operating income,” she told councillors.

“Councillors will recall we had an operating deficit actual result at June 30 last year in the ballpark of $12m, so it’s not sustainable (for) our expenditure to be higher than operating income.”