Fees and charges levied by the South Burnett Regional Council will rise by an average of 2.5 per cent from July 1.
The latest increase is the second year in a row the Council’s fees and charges have risen in line with the Consumer Price Index.
This means there has been almost no change to Council fees in real terms since July 2013.
The new fees and charges were approved at today’s Council meeting in the lead-up to Monday’s 2015-16 Budget, in accordance with usual practice.
However a proposal to introduce a new fee structure for hiring Council-owned halls has been temporarily shelved.
The proposal would see the elimination of some add-on charges, such as metered electricity usage or an air-conditioning fee, in favour of a flat hiring fee.
This drew a protest from Cr Kathy Duff, who said she had missed a meeting where this matter had been discussed.
Cr Damien Tessmann agreed, saying he’d like his fellow Councillors to analyze the issue further.
Both said they had concerns about the effect any proposed changes might have on community groups who have existing hire arrangements.
At the suggestion of Mayor Wayne Kratzmann – in order to pass the bulk of the new schedule – Councillors agreed to stick to current fee arrangements for hall hires until the matter is decided.
The schedule covers both Regulatory Fees and Commercial Charges.
- Regulatory fees are charged for services that only a Council can provide, and by law must be charged on a cost-recovery basis
- Commercial fees are charged for Council services which could be sourced from another provider (eg. caravan park camping fees) and are charged on what Council believes the market will bear
The new 2015-16 Register Of Fees And Charges will be available as a PDF download from the Council’s website on July 1.
