By Samantha Walker
Hume council is facing a dilemma about what services and projects may need to be chopped from its next budget, after the state government passed legislation capping rate increases last month.
The government will peg rate rises to the consumer price index (CPI) from this year, with increases beyond this needing a green light from the Essential Services Commission.
In May last year, the council said it would lose $37 million over four years if rates were capped to the CPI. Hume mayor Helen Patsikatheodorou said the cutbacks to future revenue had the potential to impact infrastructure projects and services with “ongoing expenses”.
“It’s going to be really difficult to decide what we can do without,” Cr Patsikatheodorou said.
“We’re in a bit of a dilemma, but whatever decision we make is going to be the best we can for our community,” she said.
Cr Patsikatheodorou said the council had not yet decided whether it would apply for a rate increase above the cap; it has until March 31 to do so. But Sunbury Residents Association president Bernie O’Farrell said the group’s members “wholeheartedly” supported capping rate increases and would be “violently” opposed to council raising rates above CPI.
“We believe they should be able to cut their costs to suit the circumstances,” Mr O’Farrell said.
In a submission to the ESC last August, Hume council said it would seek an exemption from rate-capping measures for two years. It said at the time this was “due to the resourcing constraints and uncertainty” the possible formation of a new Sunbury council had caused. But the ESC told
Star Weekly it had not received any applications for a higher rate rise from Hume council as yet.
Mr O’Farrell said blaming budgeting difficulties on the costs of Hume’s potential split with Sunbury was a “cop out”.
“I don’t see what the relevance is of possible separation of Sunbury from Hume for their ability to make these decisions,” he said.
Hume chief executive Domenic Isola said the council would “contemplate its options with respect to rate capping”.
